Above and Beyond: Immersive Theatre at The Corinthia Hotel London

Posted by Emyr Thomas

The Corinthia Hotel London, one of Bon Vivant’s favourite hotels in London, will be staging a series of theatrical performances entitled ‘Above and Beyond’, by immersive theatre specialists, Look Left Look Right, from 18th March until 14th April 2013.

Each participant will be guided through a number of one-on-one encounters and experiences throughout the hotel – from the stunning dome of the Lobby Lounge and Victorian Ballroom to the previously unseen back of house areas.

There will be 24 immersive theatre performances a night with individuals taking part in approximately 15 scenes lasting anything from ten seconds to seven minutes long. The play will last around 70 minutes for each participant.

The performance is part of The Corinthia Artist in Residence, a unique annual initiative that champions British nurtured talent within different disciplines of the arts.

To book your immersive theatre performance at The Corinthia Hotel London, please email the hotel box office with your preferred date and show time on artistinresidence@corinthia.com or call +44 (0) 20 7321 3133.

London’s Best New Cocktail Bars of 2011

Posted by Emyr Thomas

Emma from Gin Monkey, a guide to London’s bar scene, gives Bon Vivant her thoughts on the best cocktail bars to open in London during 2011.

London is one of the world’s cocktail capitals with a wide range of cocktail bars to choose from. New bars appear on a monthly basis, almost all bringing something unique and exciting to the scene, attracting some of the best bartenders in the world. 2011 has been a great year for new cocktail bars in London, and some of the best are below:

The Zetter Townhouse

The Zetter Townhouse bar is the second opening by Tony Conigliaro and Camille Hobby-Limon . Their first bar, 69 Colebrooke Row, has received high acclaim in the time that it has been open, and I have no doubt that the ZTH will do the same.

The venue is designed around ‘Aunt Wilhelmina’, a crazy old aunt whose trinkets and artefacts from her global travels make the Zetter the most unusual venue I’ve been to in a long time. The cocktail menu is short but perfectly formed. Each cocktail is the result of a specific concept, and is the product of multiple experiments in Tony’s Islington based lab to get the final libation just right. Expect unusual ingredients, and the influence of many different techniques and fields.

Address: 49 Saint John’s Square, 86 – 88 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1M 5RJ

Phone: 020 7324 4545

Worship Street Whistling Shop

The Worship Street Whistling Shop is also a new venture from a group who have enjoyed previous success on the London bar scene - Fluid Movement. The Whistling Shop is quite different from their first venture (Purl in Marylebone), think less ‘whiz bang pop’ and more cocktails that are designed to play with your senses in the most intriguing way.

The concept is a Victorian Gin Palace for the 21st Century, putting a modern twist on classic cocktails. Their barrel aged cocktails behind the bar are a real treat, along with some true gems from the main menu. Book into the Emporium for a truly unique experience unlike anything you’ve ever seen/heard/smelt before!

Address: 63 Worship Street, London, EC2A 2DU

Phone: 020 7247 0015

Nightjar

Nightjar is a beautiful bar hidden away in a basement in Old Street – the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of London.

The bartenders at Nightjar take a lot of care and attention when it comes to making their cocktails. They’re executed with flair and are garnished with some of the most insane but beautiful garnishes I’ve ever come across. Nightjar is a great place to relax with a drink alongside laid back jazz and brilliant live music on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Address: 129 City Road, London, EC1V 1JB

Phone: 020 7253 4101

London Cocktail Club

LCC is a wonderful, fun bar with great cocktails and some of the most friendly and welcoming staff you’ll find in London. They’ve got great quality bar snacks, but then you’d expect that given the fact that Raymond Blanc was involved in establishing the venue.

It’s a classic good time bar with all the usual suspects on the cocktail menu. The ‘from the pantry’ section mixes ingredients from the kitchen with the spirits behind the bar to great effect, especially the bacon and egg Martini. London Cocktail Club is the kind of bar where you loose track of time and end up leaving far later than you intended, with a wobble in your step and a huge smile on your face!

Address: 61 Goodge Street, London, W1T 1TL

Phone: 020 7580 1960

Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town

The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town combines great music and atmosphere with good quality cocktails. Taking inspiration from some of the speakeasies of New York, the entrance is hidden through a Smeg fridge in the new Breakfast Club venue just off Bishopsgate.

Thankfully they’ve managed to create a fun and quirky bar with great original cocktails on the menu alongside some of the usual suspects. Their bloody Mary station on a weekend is perfect to compliment the brunch on offer upstairs too.

Address: 12-16 Artillery Lane (in the basement of the Breakfast Club), London, E1 7LS

Phone: 020 7078 9639

Experimental Cocktail Club

The Experimental Cocktail Club brings the concept of the original Paris bar over to London, which opened earlier this year to a lot of excitement. The ECC is a beautiful bar with ornate wallpapers, mirrored tables and long, dark comfortable seats. The cocktails are fantastic, however not quite as experimental as you’d expect. They also have an impressive range of vintage spirits behind the bar which, if you’re feeling flush, they can whip up into a vintage cocktail for you.

A bar where you definitely need to book and use a fair amount of charm and skill to navigate the doorman!

Address: 3A Gerrard Street, W1D 5PS

Phone: 020 7434 3559

Another very new addition to London which is well worth keeping an eye on is:

Shaker & Company

Shaker & Company has just opened on the cusp of Camden & W1. The bartenders are all trained by the world renowned Shaker Bar School, so they certainly know their stuff. The venue has a relaxed, easy-going ambience where everyone will feel welcome whether you’re looking for a cocktail or a pint.

Downstairs sees monthly residences by spirit brands who can transform the space into whatever wonderful hideaway they choose. This bar may be a little bit off the beaten track but it’s well worth a visit!

Address: 119 Hampstead Road, Euston, London, NW1 3EE

Phone: 0207 0606 877

Hotel Bars

London has witnessed the addition of two new upscale hotel bars over recent months. Bar 45 at the Dorchester Collection’s new hotel in Mayfair, 45 Park Lane, and Bassoon Bar at The Corinthia Hotel, both of which are great additions to London’s hotel bar scene.

New openings to keep an eye out for in 2012:

A new venture from London Cocktail Club with a distinctly naval twist and hopefully another bar from Fluid Moves (they’re looking for venues at the moment)…

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London’s Best New Restaurants of 2011

Posted by Emyr Thomas

2011 has been a great year for London food enthusiasts with an extraordinary number of new restaurants, a large proportion of which have been of an excellent quality. Here’s Bon Vivant’s guide to best new openings of the past 12 months.

Dinner By Heston

2011 started with a bang in January with Heston Blumenthal’s first foray into the London restaurant scene at the Mandarin Oriental with Dinner by Heston. ‘Dinner’, one of the most anticipated restaurant openings of recent years, received immediate acclaim by critics, collecting its first Michelin Star in the 2012 UK Michelin Guide later in the year. The signature ‘Meat Fruit’ is worth a visit alone.

Hedone

Quiet Chiswick High Road is not renowned as a cultural hotspot, but perhaps that’s why Mikael Jonsson chose it as the location for Hedone, his first restaurant project. The Swedish ex-lawyer turned Chef is not afraid to challenge people’s assumptions and since opening in July 2011, Hedone has not only challenged, but surpassed expectations.

Critics and Chefs alike have flocked to try some of the most unusual and triumphant dishes on the London restaurant scene, and with a three-week waiting list for tables, one to book ahead.

Riding House Café

The team behind the acclaimed Garrison and Village East in Bermondsey opened the Riding House Café, an all day Brasserie offering a selection of small plates to share as well as traditional main courses in Fitzrovia. The restaurant has a great vibe and a ‘buzzy’ bar area too.

Spuntino

Spuntino was one of three new ventures in 2011 from the team behind Polpo and Polpetto, the successful Venetian ‘bacaros’ in Soho. Spuntino also features sharing plates, but inspired by New York instead of Italy, with its various sliders and Mac’n’Cheese being stand-out dishes. Like its sister restaurants, Spuntino has a no reservation policy, so expect to queue as this place is still very popular.

Pollen Street Social

Jason Atherton, formerly of Gordon Ramsay’s Maze, opened Pollen Street Social in Mayfair, and it has quickly risen to become one of London’s most popular restaurants, also collecting its first Michelin star towards the end of the year. The restaurant is a modern, relaxed take on a ‘fine dining’ restaurant.

Massimo’s

Massimo Restaurant & Oyster Bar is a Mediterranean restaurant specialising in seafood, in The Corinthia Hotel, located between Trafalgar Square and Embankment. The head chef, Massimo Riccioli, comes from the celebrated La Rosetta in Rome.

The main dining room, designed by David Collins, is truly stunning. The restaurant also features an oyster and crustacean bar and The Chef’s Table caters for up to 18 diners with its own dedicated kitchen where Massimo Riccioli cooks for guests.

Hawksmoor Guildhall

The team behind Hawksmoor opened their third steak restaurant and cocktail bar, Hawksmoor Guildhall, in the City in October. With impeccably cooked steaks and a cool cocktail bar, this is already a huge hit in the City.

CUT at 45 Park lane

Continuing with London’s interest in steak restaurants, ‘Cut’ opened in the new 45 Park Lane hotel, the latest hotel from The Dorchester Collection.

‘Cut’ is a restaurant by Wolfgang Puck, the celebrated US chef, who opened the original ‘Cut’ at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills in 2006. The London outpost serves excellent steaks in a suitably glamorous dining room.

Opera Tavern

London has seen the addition of some great Spanish restaurants, starting the year with the Opera Tavern, a ‘restaurant and tapas bar’ in Covent Garden from the team behind Salt Yard and Dehesa.

Located in a renovated pub, the restaurant retains some of the building’s original features, and the exposed bricks and low lighting create a relaxed, intimate feel.

The Delaunay

The Delaunay, sister restaurant to The Wolseley from restaurateurs Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, has recently opened on the corner of Drury Lane and Aldwych. The restaurant is open seven days a week – until midnight from Monday to Saturday and 11pm on Sunday – serving breakfast, afternoon tea, and à la carte lunch and dinner menus ‘inspired by the grand cafés of Europe’.

34 Restaurant

Caprice Holdings has launched ’34’, a restaurant located just off Grosvenor Square in Mayfair. 34 is the group’s first restaurant launch and will add to its portfolio, which includes The Ivy, J Sheekey’s and Scott’s, one of Bon Vivant’s London favourites. The restaurant specialises in meats and seasonal game but also offers ‘lighter dishes, fish and shellfish’.

If you liked this top 10 feature, why not read our guide to the best brunch in London, the most romantic restaurants in London or the best alfresco restaurants in London?

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What has been your favourite restaurant of 2011? Which new restaurants are you excited to see in 2012? We would love to hear your thoughts below.

Massimo Restaurant & Oyster Bar

Posted by Bon Vivant

Massimo Restaurant & Oyster Bar, a Mediterranean restaurant specialising in seafood, opens today in The Corinthia Hotel, located between Trafalgar Square and Embankment. The head chef, Massimo Riccioli, comes from the celebrated La Rosetta in Rome.

In addition to the 100-cover restaurant, Massimo features an oyster and crustacean bar and The Chef’s Table caters for up to 18 diners with its own dedicated kitchen.

Menu highlights include mixed seafood crudo; grilled octopus and avocado with a spicy Amalfi lemon oil; linguine “Carmelo-style” with seafood and fresh tomatoes; Beetroot gnocchi with tomatoes, aubergines and salted ricotta; and sea bass in lemon sauce, crispy red prawns and green beans.

For further information, visit the website at www.massimo-restaurant.co.uk or to make a reservation please contact your concierge.

Address: 16 Northumberland Avenue, London, WC2N 5BY

Phone: 020 7998 0555