Kensington and Chelsea Review Autumn 2019 - The Out There Issue

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The Out There Issue Getting out, about and into the great beyond…

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Welcome to the latest issue of Kensington and Chelsea Review.

Filled with art, auction, culture and luxury, Kensington and Chelsea Review is the magazine for the rather discerning resident of the Royal Borough.

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

Savour the very best of fine Filipino cuisine in London

“Nestled amongst the pomp and circumstance of Kensington High Street, Romulo Café is a neighbourhood restaurant that you’ll want to become a regular at” Foodism

343 Kensington High Street, W8 6NW. Call us on 0203 141 6390 romulocafe.co.uk

Editors’ Letter It’s been a looong hot summer of fanning ourselves with whatever’s nearest and grumbling about the lack of air-conditioning on the Tube. So, we’ve been flitting off to enjoy the sun in more relaxed climes: the beaches of Jamaica, cosmopolitan Melbourne, the Greek Isles, and Ibiza, where a sun-kissed new stay just opened. You can read all about our adventures within. We’ve also toured the historic streets of Philly – stopping to pose like Rocky and nab a few cheesesteaks along the way, naturally – and Tallinn, where we learnt how Estonians are shaking things up.

PUBLISHER Talismanic Media FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR Sid Raghava

And, back in London, we’ve been filling the in-between hours with lazy brunches and afternoon teas, and taking a culinary world tour, without leaving the confines of the M25, with meals at Moroccan, Burmese and Peruvian eateries – plus, Maddox street’s finest Indian restaurants. And, of course, we’ve all the news that’s fit to read in the Royal Borough.

CHIEF EDITOR Kate Weir ART DIRECTOR Harriet Bedder

THE KENSINGTON & CHELSEA TEAM

MOTORING EDITOR Lisa Cur tiss OFFICE MANAGER Lee Marrero SALES MANAGER Joseph McConville CONTRIBUTORS Sid Raghava, Kate Weir, Harriet Bedder, James Massoud, Sarah Rodrigues, Sara Darling, Sarah Lavigne, Coco Khan, Madévi Dailly, Andrew Coles, Lisa Curtiss, Neil Keenan, Lauren Coffey and Tani Burns.

All material in Kensington and Chelsea Review is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system without prior permission of the publishers. Colour transparencies and photographs submitted for publication are sent at the owners’ risk and while every care is taken, neither the publisher nor their agents accept liability for loss or damage however caused. The publishers can accept no liability whatsoeverof nature arising out of nor in connection with the contents of this publication. Opinions expressed within the articles are not necessarily those of Kensington and Chelsea Review and any issues arising therefore should be taken up directly with the contributor.

Contents 4.

News

8.

Arts

14.

Travel

40.

Dining

48.

Shopping

51.

Beauty

61.

Drive

Explore the latest openings, exhibitions and events from the borough and beyond.

We talk plastic’s less fantastic side with a boundary-pushing artist.

Around the world (almost) in 24 pages…

Discover exotic flavours and ingenious menus at some of London’s most exciting international restaurants. And a few classics, too.

What to splash your cash on this month.

Your autumn beauty cheat-sheet.

The sleekest city drives and the high-end models to get a handle on.

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READ ALL ABOUT IT A rundown of news, from the worlds of art and culture (plus the items that intrigue us), all handpicked for the Royal Borough resident.

VARDO RESTAURANT Caravan Restaurants have opened west London eatery Vardo, which has a new nomadic concept. It will be housed in a new, three-storey pavilion in Duke of York Square alongside the Saatchi Gallery, which will have 360-degree wall-to-floor glazing that retracts into the floor. It’s named after 1800s Romani travelling wagons and the globally influenced menu showcases low-and-slow cooking techniques, with ingredients from across the UK. www.caravanrestaurants.co.uk

GEORGIA HARDINGE Georgia Hardinge’s first concept store opened in July in St Christopher’s Place.

At the launch guests learned how the building’s sustainable materials were sourced. And, a video projected onto the ceiling of the gender-neutral changing room showed the provenance of materials and the production processes behind making Georgia’s sculptural wearables, in an effort to encourage more open-minded, sustainable shopping. www.georgiahardinge.co.uk

EUROSTAR X WEBBEDS Eurostar, the high-speed passenger rail service, is increasing its hotel collection in partnership with WebBeds, with 70 new stays added to its travel packages in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and elsewhere.

Launched in 2018, Eurostar’s hotel collection offers an exclusive range of stays and special rates. It’s been developed with WebBeds, the world’s second largest B2B accommodation provider. The partnership has been a success, with passengers booking a hotel and rail ticket growing at an average of 25% a month. www.eurostar.com

LEPOGO LODGE One of Africa’s few entirely not-for-profit, highend safari lodges will open in September.

Lepogo Lodges are set in 48,000-hectare, malaria-free Lapalala Wilderness Reserve in the Limpopo Province – home of the ‘big five’. The two lodges, Noka Camp and Melote House sleep up to 12 guests each, and Noka Camp has five stilted villas atop a 100ft cliff. Exclusive-use Melote House opens in 2020. The lodges will be the first in Africa to offset each guest’s carbon footprint, too. www.lepogolodges.com

STUDIO LUCY SANDERSON X GEORGIA HARDINGE PHOTOGRAPHER: HARRY HAWKES

IMAGE: CARAVAN RESTAURANTS

MONACO VW The UK’s longest-established Volkswagen garage has kept the same Kensington office since its foundation in 1948. It’s provided exceptional service for over 70 years and become a leading automotive dealership.

It’s forward thinking, too: founder Nigel Smith and dealer principal Anthony Barrell are keen to stress the company’s adaptation to the changing automotive landscape, including Ultra Low emission zones and keeping up with London’s regulations. www.monacovw.co.uk

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ADMIRAL CODRINGTON Cider brand Maison Sassy teamed up with Chelsea gastropub The Admiral Codrington to launch an outdoor terrace for the summer months past. Sassy pioneered using cider in cocktails, a trend adopted by high-end bars and restaurants throughout the UK. The ‘Cod’ is a much-loved local haunt – a lively yet traditional pub with private dining and a summer terrace. Nestled in the historic streets of Chelsea, this outdoor terrace transforms what was once a wintery pub garden into a plush outdoor area. www.theadmiralcodrington.co.uk

MAYO CLINIC Mayo Clinic Healthcare and the Oxford University Clinic, two of the world’s leading names in healthcare and medical research, have joined forces for the first time to launch a new state-of-the-art diagnostics and screening clinic, now open in London’s Portland Place. The clinic will offer worldclass preventative medicine and the highest quality of care, tailored to both individual and corporate clients. With an unrivalled network of global health experts and over 40 years of experience in preventative healthcare, this partnership holds unsurpassed authority in the field. www.mch-ouc.co.uk

ROMULO’S REVAMP Romulo Café & Restaurant, the unique Filipino fine-dining venue in High Street Kensington, has been renovated and reopened with an impressive, new reconfigured layout. The refurbishment has been achieved by CADA Design, an award-winning interior-design consultancy, specialising in food-and-drink spaces. Complementing the interiors is a new menu that keeps all the favourites and signature creations but in a pared-down form, as well as a new prix-fixe lunchtime menu. www.romulocafe.co.uk

HJ’S AWARDS RECOGNISE KENSINGTON Two hairdressing salons in Kensington have been shortlisted to win the 2019 Hairdressers Journal’s British Hairdressing Awards, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional. Those in the running to win the ‘Oscar of the hair world’ are Junior Green from Junior Green Afro Hair Salon London (Kensington Church Street), and Jordanna Cobella from Cobella (Kensington High Street).

Junior Green Afro Hair Salon: www.junior-green.com Cobella: www.cobella.co.uk

CROMWELL HOSPITALS Bupa Cromwell Hospital and GenesisCare are collaborating to bring world-class radiotherapy services to London patients.

Cancer patients will have rapid access to pioneering technology, with a new MR Linac capable of targeting tumours more precisely, from spring 2020. The expanding radiotherapy service will provide London’s most comprehensive combination of treatment options for all tumour groups, with integrated clinical pathways to Bupa Cromwell Hospital. www.bupacromwellhospital.com

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IMAGE: BUPA CROMWELL HOSPITAL

THE WEST WAY TRUST Westway Trust has committed close to £1 million investment in North Kensington. This includes a new £300,000 North Kensington Community Investment Fund, dedicated to key areas such as employment and enterprise, arts and culture and youth, with £150,000 for health programmes and access to sports facilities for primary schools and clubs. Plus, £250,000 for publicrealm improvements. The new spending plans are part of Westway Trust’s ongoing commitment to projects designed and run by North Kensington-based organisations and residents. www.westway.org

IMAGE: JORDANNA COBELLA

BLUE TIT SALON COMES TO NOTTING HILL Blue Tit is a collective of lifestyle salons dotted around London, including our favourite street – Portobello Road! Since launching in Dalston in 2011, Blue Tit have opened 10 salons, and plan to open more in the next five years. Founded by three guys (Perry Patraszewski, Andi Hinteregger and Matt Gebbie), the Blue Tit experience has allowed them to reach London’s archetypal boroughs, offering bespoke cuts, colours and treatments in beautifully designed spaces. A social haven, too, they’ve created a community within the communities they’re based in. www.bluetitlondon.com

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CATFORD CALLING There’s a cool wind blowing south east at the moment: Catford is opening a huge entertainment hub with a three-screen cinema, performance space for live music and stand-up comedy and a pop-up food market where local traders cook up a diverse menu of eat-on-the-fly dishes. A passion project by the Really Local Group, Catford Mews will be opening on 25 September, with a launch event where short films by TAPE collective will be screened, bands will take to the stage and Brockley Brewery will supply the drinks.

Catford Mews, 33 Winslade Way, Catford SE6 4JU

FIND ‘THE ONE’ AT PAXTON & WHITFIELD Some food hampers are more equal than others: case in point, the Mayfair from cheesemongers Paxton & Whitfield. This beast is packed with fine cheeses, meats, wines and more, with PDO-certified baby Stilton, Cheddar truckle, Upton smoked salmon, proper piccalilli, vintage port, Champagne Grand Cru and more – including the cheeseboard and knives to prepare and serve your goodies with. Buy at Paxton & Whitfield’s Chelsea Green or Jermyn Street stores, or online at www.paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk.

TRENTINO IN A JAR We’ll take any tidbit of Italian food wizardry, so we were excited to hear that a new initiative has been launched in the northern Trentino region, to teach visitors how to preserve harvest picks and local fruits, herbs and vegetables. Until the 10 November, agrotourismos will hold workshops where you’ll learn how to make treats such as rosepetal and strudel jam, aromatic herb salts, green-tomato chutney, walnut honey and more.

For more information, visit: www.visittrentino. info/en/articles/food-and-wine/farmstayspreserves-and-jams

TEA WITH MARCOLINI Savvy, sweet-toothed Belgian chocolatier Pierre Marcolini challenges himself to reinvent ‘tea time’ each year. For 2019 he’s taken the very best cacao and delicately flavoured teas to bring us delicacies such as a dark-chocolate bar infused with Jasmine Chung Hao tea, pastilles of smoked dark and milk chocolate, and a gluten-free Earl Grey cake with a yuzu-and-matcha ganache. Truly, he’s a master of the teas…

‘Tea Time’ by Pierre Marcolini is available from the Marylebone boutique (37 Marylebone High Street, Selfridges, Harrods and online at https://eu.marcolini.com.

NEW MOON RISING Say ‘how do’ to the Hunter’s Moon, a new pub in South Ken with some serious gastronomic clout and a cheery community feel. Chef director Oliver Marlowe (of Chez Bruce and the Glasshouse) and the Coach’s David Halewood are both manning the menus, and a refined à la carte (scallop ceviche, slow-roast suckling pig…) will be served alongside more hands-on, downedwith-a-pint dishes (fat sausage rolls, oysters and charcuterie plates). A little country cosiness and conviviality along the Fulham Road. www.huntersmoonlondon.co.uk

IMAGE: TRENTINO MARKETING PHOTO BY CARLO BARONI

BEND AND STRETCH IN LECH Hotel Aurelio, a swish mountainside stay in Lech – one of Austria’s prettiest parts, come snow or shine – are holding two winter yoga retreats after the success of the one they held in summer. Ideal for muscle-soothing stretches after a ski session, they will be led by yogi and nutritional therapist Libby Limon.

The four-night retreat includes daily morning vinyasa-flow classes, flexibility workshops, and an introduction to meditation and yoga nidra. After, guests can watch film screenings, relax in the spa’s thermal suite or enjoy very fine Austrian dining.

The retreat costs from €1,980 a person and Hotel Aurelio’s Top Deluxe Double Rooms start from €980 a night (including half-board). See www.aureliolech.com for more information.

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A TWO-CIT Y SPREE WITH CONRAD Don’t settle for a one-city minibreak, with Conrad Hotel’s ‘Good Morning London, Bonsoir Paris’ package, you’ll split 96 hours between the dynamic British capital and France’s most romantic date spot. You’ll stay at the Conrad London St James and Hilton Paris Opera, and you’ll see London landmarks by Mini, take afternoon tea, ride a horse and carriage through Paris’ boulevards and splash some cash at swish store Printemps.

Until 1 December 2020, prices from £2,795 (for one-way travel between London and Paris). To book, contact reservations@ conradstjames.com or call +44 (0)203 301 8080.

LK BENNET T’S SEASONAL ST YLES LK Bennett’s autumn and winter lookbook has landed on our desks and we’re excited for the temperature to drop a few degrees so we can rock their polka-dot jumpsuits, swishy dresses, blouses with voluminous sleeves, slouchy cardigans, boyish tailoring and a spectacular hotpink suit. For well-heeled wares and jewel-toned party outfits, head to their branch on the Duke Of York Square and bring some sturdy plastic. www.lkbennett.com

YOUNG CHEF OF THE YEAR 2019 For the third consecutive year, M Restaurants announced the winner of Young Chef of the Year 2019. Matthew Hurry from Hotel Café Royal’s Laurent restaurant took first place out of 16 finalists after rounds judged by paying diners and guest panelists.

Competing chefs emerged from Indian eateries Kricket and the Cinnamon Club, Boodle’s Gentlemen’s Club and Michelinstarred Umu. Hurry’s winning menu included poached lobster with coral tuille; cannon of lamb in a coriander crust with pommes Anna; and a pineapple and spiced rum upside-down cake. www.mrestaurants.co.uk/young-chef-awards-2

PERSIA UNVEILED Luxury escorted-tour specialist Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours is giving adventurous Brits the chance to discover the delights of Iran. Their new, luxurious 15day ‘Persia Unveiled’ itinerary launched in summer, and shows guests the splendour of civilisations who lived more than 3,000 years ago. Starting in Tehran, the tour takes in the best of Persian art, history, food and architecture. Highlights in the city include the Sa’dabad Palace complex and the chance to see Iran’s prized Crown Jewels at the Treasury of National Jewels. www.scenic.co.uk | 0808 301 8277

IMAGE: SAATCHI GALLERY

TUTANKHAMUN AT THE SAATCHI Some of ancient Egypt’s most precious treasures will be displayed at the Saatchi Gallery from 2 November 2019 to 3 May 2020. This is the final world tour of 150 artefacts – some leaving Egypt for the first time – including gilded reliefs, iconic sarcophogi, statues, jewellery and more.

Produced by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and IMG, and presented in London by Viking Cruises, this is a mustvisit and a fascinating glimpse into the young pharaoh’s life and death.

Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh presented by Viking Cruises opens at the Saatchi Gallery on 2 November.

Tickets on-sale now, please visit: www.tutankhamun-london.com

IT’S BEGINNING TO FEEL A LOT LIKE… Yes, Christmas is still a few months away, but it’s not too early to get into the spirit.

Dukes Hotel in St James’s Place is breaking out the boughs of holly for wreath-making classes (on 9 or 16 December), gearing up for gingerbread decorating for little ones, and prepping their pipes for a carol singalong, from 10–12 December. Plus, there’ll be special cocktails, limited-edition menus and other cockle-warming events.

Nightly rates at Dukes London start from £350, including VAT and breakfast. For more information call 020 7491 4840 or visit www.dukeshotel.com.

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AN INTERVIEW WITH CHARNEY MAGRI Charney Magri’s impressive resumé spans 20 years’ experience in the most prestigious establishments of the fashion, beauty and advertising industries: British Vogue, Nick Knight, Ralph Lauren, the Estée Lauder Group, to name but a few. This inspirational, award-winning, ethical photographer and director sat down for a chat with TANI BURNS.

Charney Magri has worked with some of the biggest names of our time, so it would be easy for her to rest on her laurels; but she’s still accruing ambitions and accolades.

In 2007 Charney launched her exhibition Beautiful Black Women and in 2012 published her first book, Women of the UAE, focusing on inner beauty and women’s contributions to the region. Hillary Clinton has publicly recognised the book, and both UN Women (an entity acting as the global champion for gender equality) and the Australian Embassy Abu Dhabi use her books as cross-cultural communication tools and state gifts.

For the majority of her photography career Charney has focused her professional sights on the worlds of fashion and advertising, but five years ago she had her ‘eureka moment’. It first presented itself as a moral crossroads, then a moment of clarity. Forced to question the direction she was heading in, she realised there were ways in which her commercial work could be more in line with her core values. She didn’t have to choose one or the other. By using her established standing as a photographer, alongside a burgeoning career in directing, Charney’s passion projects merged into her commercial work, shifting the focus to influencing changes in behaviour and making a positive global impact.

As an active public speaker, in 2016 Charney travelled to nine countries with Nikon MEA teaching commercial-photography workshops; in doing so, she was recognised as one of Nikon MEA’s outstanding instructors and mentors, while visiting Pakistan. She is an active member of the SheSays UK committee and in 2017 launched the VOWSS platform (The Voice of a Woman with SheSays) at Cannes Lions, to support women in film and help them showcase their creative work.

Charney’s wish to use fashion as a ‘force for good’ led her to co-direct her first docuseries, Catwalk to Creation, which she launched through global boutique creative production agency Do Epic Sh*t’s sustainability arm Do Epic Good. She has already spoken at several major global conferences and events, including the United Nations General Assembly in New York (September 2018) and at SXSW (2019), where she curated, moderated and spoke on three panels for the United Nations.

Catwalk to Creation follows the reverse journey of transparent sustainable fashion, collaborating with insiders, companies and brands who decided to make a difference: those who design with the environment in mind, showing that sustainability is not only possible, but beautiful.

And now, Catwalk to Creation; Part 2 is live for all to watch online, featuring footage from fashion-production factory Lenzing in Austria, who work with next-gen solution materials and interviews with high-profile industry insiders (Fashion Revolution’s co-founder and creative director Orsola De Castro, British Fashion Council’s CEO, Caroline Rush CBE, and the founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Dame Ellen MacArthur.

To learn more, we sat down with the director herself for an enlightening chat…

‘I ALSO WANT TO SEE

SUPERMARKETS EMBRACE REFILL OPTIONS AND BRINGING YOUR OWN PACKAGING’

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TANI BURNS (TB): Did you think your early books would have such a significant impact?

CHARNEY MAGRI (CM): I ‘hoped’ they would have the impact they did and continue to have, as they are a part of a larger, global conversation of diversity, inclusion, women empowerment and more. But when this impact was confirmed it really continued to push me forward. I knew then that there was an interest in and a need for this type of dialogue.

TB: As those books were much earlier on in your career – a career that has evidently taken wings – do you have any words of wisdom for people hesitant to follow their passion projects?

CM: Keep your ‘everyday’ job to pay the bills while you build, what I call, your ‘side hustle’.

Eventually the time will come where you can take the leap to move your ‘side hustle’ to your full-time job.

TB: What can the average reader learn from watching the film?

CM: Given almost 63 per cent of textiles are synthetics (meaning oil and plastics) and 83 per cent of our waters contain plastic microfibres with a third of this said to come from the fashion industry, the only way we are going to solve issues such as this is by raising awareness, encouraging people to be more curious and ask more questions.

Through Catwalk to Creation we are aiming to highlight the importance of sustainability.

Our mission is to prove why we need to design for a lifetime, not a season. Catwalk to Creation provides consumers with the transparency they deserve, a much needed, behindthe-scenes look at the industry.

TB: So, what can we do to try to be part of a solution?

CM: Look for second-hand options, mend your clothes if possible, repurpose your clothes, look for rental options. There are loads of alternatives.

TB: Are there particular industries other than fashion that you consider to be big contributors to plastic pollution?

CM: Beauty is huge with their packaging. My pet hate is single-use products in hotels and I wish this would stop. I also want to see supermarkets embrace refill options and bringing your own packaging, for hair products and cleaning products too. And single-use food containers are a massive problem. For example, there’s a really cool store in Thailand that wraps their food in banana leaves instead of cling film, which I love.

TB: Why is it now the crucial time to publicise fashion’s contribution to plastic pollution as you have done through Catwalk to Creation?

CM: When ‘Blue Planet’ recently hit our screens, David Attenborough was able to finally really wake people up to the issue of plastic pollution. But when you learn that a third of that problem comes from the fashion industry, then that’s a massive eye-opener – it’s time to also make people aware of those facts.

Watch Catwalk to Creation, Part 2 online now via the Instagram account @doepicgood PAGE 9

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CHRIS HEDLEY-DENT: A SENSE OF SPACE

How wonderful it is to get a glimpse of the world through the eyes of modern artist Chris Hedley-Dent. The Devon-based painter created a fantastically broad selection of work for his most recent exhibition ‘A Sense of Space’ at the Piers Feetham Gallery in September. The paintings, all created in the last three years, are exciting explorations of the Devonshire landscape, Morocco, Spain, the Austrian Alps and the still-life genre.

When asked about his personal inspiration he says ‘I am interested in the territory which lies between abstraction and figuration. I have learnt from many different traditions and artists from pre-Renaissance Italian painters to Matisse. Cubism has been particularly important as I am interested in presenting multiple viewpoints.’ Some of his paintings also reflect his interest in Islamic and Oriental art.

His starting point is always working from observation, immersing himself in a specific landscape or environment as he believes that grappling with fact embeds him in his chosen subject matter and allows him to improvise freely in the studio in a much more abstract way. His studio is a fabulous Cubist-style eco-friendly space, where he paints listening to jazz and cricket on the radio. His labradoodle Pippi often nudges him to take her for a walk when he’s been in there too long.

Lovers of Devon’s landscapes may recognise Chris’s landscapes: Dartmoor and the River Teign, which were painted onsite and range from closely observed works to more concise paraphrases using heightened colour with a focus on rhythm.

These studies form the basis for larger, freer and more complex abstract pieces. When asked about his working practice outside Chris says, ‘I often work on very fast little reaction drawings that try to fix a particular rhythm or disposition of forms that come from scanning the landscape through a wide angle.’ (No iPhone in sight for this artist.)

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Walking is a key part of Chris’s landscape-appreciating experience, and the Austrian series captures the joy of mountain walks and, the majesty of their forms and soaring sense of space. He talks of the ‘gradation of colour, from lush greens at low altitude to the greys, violets and infinite variety of whites to be seen on the glaciers.’

For those wanting something more exotic, his paintings from a recent Morocco trip are just the ticket. They vary from small studies to more complex paintings that try to communicate his experience of the extraordinary and mysterious architecture in Marrakech, particularly the contrasts of the almost claustrophobic and tunnel-like nature of the Medina with the open sunlit spaces of the large squares and intimate riad gardens. In some of the paintings there is a suggestion of the human figure, and the flat patterns seem to echo Moroccan carpet designs.

As well as painting, Chris is a writer and keen amateur pianist, so it is no surprise that in Marrakesh III he uses a layering technique that derives from his interest in musical structures, particularly polyphony, an idea that he initially used in some of the Spanish watercolours. Several strong paintings based on the Islamic buildings of Andalucía vibrate with the Flamenco spirit of mixing music, singing and dance.

TThis dynamic one-man show was an explosion of colour and stars awe-inspiring landscapes. What Chris manages to capture so well is his love of his native Devon. The Moroccan, Spanish and Austrian paintings bring not only the architecture but the spirit of the places to life. It was a delight to see this talented artist showcasing his work in London at the Piers Feetham Gallery (www.piersfeethamgallery.com).

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www.hedley-dent.com IG - @chrishedleydentartist

PIERS FEETHAM GALLERY

Marrakesh I 49 x 120cm Oil on Canvas

CHRIS HEDLEY-DENT A Sense of Space 10th – 14th September 2019

Works from Chris Hedley-Dent’s most recent show, Private Views: A Sense of Space 6.30 – 8.30pm Tues.10th September

Thurs.12th September 6.30 – 8.30pm

Devon Farm 55 x 65cm Oil on canvas

Piers Feetham Gallery 475 Fulham Road London SW6 1HL+44 (0)7747 309 191 www.piersfeethamgallery.com www.hedley-dent.com Tuesday - Friday 10-6 Saturday 10-12.30 Nearest station: Fulham Broadway. Buses: 14, 211 & 414

A NEW OPERA ABOUT LEONARDO DA VINCI ... and your chance to be involved in it! Acclaimed composer Alex Mills stages his highly anticipated second opera, ‘Leonardo’, at the V&A in November and is seeking patrons and supporters. The opera explores Leonardo’s private life and emotional world with a text drawn from his notebooks and journals.

You don’t have to try too hard, or even at all, to find something to pique your interest in the life of Leonardo da Vinci.

After all, he was a scientist, philosopher, artist, engineer, architect, musician, astronomer, mathematician, geologist… the list goes on. Or, if a slightly more sensationalist viewpoint gets your attention, Leonardo’s most recent biographer, Walter Isaacson (who has also mapped out the lives of Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs and Benjamin Franklin), describes him as ‘illegitimate, gay, vegetarian, left-handed, easily distracted, and at times heretical.’ It’s this seemingly endless depth to his life and personality that fuels his enduring intrigue and allure today.

This intrigue has peaked this year, the 500th anniversary of his death, as myriad exhibitions, panel talks, TV programmes and publications have peeled back some of the different layers of his life. But there is one important aspect of his life that remains tantalisingly less explored: his emotional world, inner thoughts and private life. This is partly because less is known about this aspect of Leonardo’s life, but also because finding the right medium to explore this content is tricky. That’s where opera comes in.

My introduction to Leonardo came when I was about six or seven years old and visited his final home, now a brilliant museum, in Amboise in the Loire Valley on a family holiday.

If, as adults, we can find so much in his life to captivate our imagination, as a curious child, my mind was completely blown.

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The experience stayed with me and I’ve always wanted to write a piece about him. Seeing the 500th anniversary on the horizon, I knew the time was right.

The result is ‘Leonardo’, a new opera with a text drawn from Leonardo’s extensive personal notebooks and bringing us closer to the man by exploring his emotional landscape and personal relationships. The V&A is the perfect setting for the piece because they have five of his precious notebooks in their collection and their beautiful Grade-I-listed lecture theatre – where the opera will have its world premiere, running from 8–10 November – has a portrait of him on the wall.

My collaborator, writer and dramaturg Brian Mullin, has created a lean and subtle libretto that takes us through several different vignettes of Leonardo’s life. In particular it focuses on Leonardo’s restless and obsessive personality and his relationships with two pivotal men in his life: his assistant Salai, his lover and companion for over 25 years, and Francesco Melzi, another assistant who entered the household later in Leonardo’s life and who became like a surrogate son.

The primary source of the text is Leonardo’s notebooks, supplemented with other period texts that help add additional layers of context and emotion to Leonardo’s writings.

Keen to stay as close to the facts as possible, we’ve consulted two leading Leonardo experts during our creation of the opera: Martin Kemp (Emeritus Research Professor in the

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“LEONARDO” [IS] A NEW OPERA DRAWN FROM LEONARDO’S EXTENSIVE PERSONAL NOTEBOOKS AND BRINGING US CLOSER TO THE MAN BY EXPLORING HIS EMOTIONAL LANDSCAPE AND PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS.

History of Art at Oxford University) and Martin Clayton (Head of Prints and Drawings for Royal Collection Trust at Windsor Castle), who have offered invaluable insights. Meanwhile, the music will be played by the highly acclaimed viol consort Fretwork – bringing audiences an authentic sound-world from Leonardo’s life and times.

It’s been a truly fascinating journey up until this point and now, as we start the very exciting process of preparing the opera to be staged, we are seeking patrons and supporters who would like to play a crucial role in bringing ‘Leonardo’ to life. Please do get in touch if you would like to be involved and I hope to see you all at the performances, at the V&A from 8–10 November.

ABOUT ALEX MILLS - COMPOSER Originally from Pembrokeshire, London-based composer Alex Mills studied music at Cambridge and privately with composer Raymond Yiu. His music has been performed at the Barbican, LSO St Luke’s, Cheltenham Music Festival, Café OTO, Kilkenny Arts Festival, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Kew Gardens, the Sónar music festival (Barcelona), the Mona Bismarck American Center (Paris), University of Richmond (USA), and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and 4.

The Guardian described his first opera, ‘Dear Marie Stopes’, as ‘Music of supernatural poignancy, melodic but otherworldly, narratively urgent but poetically impressionistic.’

It returns to Kings Place in September 2019.

BECOME A PATRON OF ‘LEONARDO’ • There are many ways to get involved in supporting Leonardo, from private donations to corporate sponsorship.

Please email amillsprojects@gmail.com for more details.

• All patrons will be credited in the programme for the production; have the opportunity to attend rehearsals; and, of course, are invited to attend the world premiere.

• All funding raised will go towards covering the necessary production costs to stage the opera, including artist and musician fees, costumes, and the creative team.

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KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

We land in Jamaica just before the sun sets into pinks, purples and blues behind the lush mountains of the island’s interior.

Jetlagged as I am, it’s a welcoming sight on my first visit to the Caribbean isle. I’m here for a five-day stay at Jamaica Inn (not the gloomy, Daphne du Maurier-famed Gothic dive – although the owners’ links to Cornwall suggest it may have been some inspiration), located in the glamorous Ocho Rios port town on the north coast – home to some of the ritziest resorts. The drive from Kingston is around 90 minutes; we arrive after nightfall to be greeted with chilled towels, porters and our room keys.

THE INN CROWD KATE WEIR finds old-school island glamour and the best sun-lounging spot in the Caribbean at Jamaica Inn

KENSINGTON & & CHELSEA CHELSEA REVIEW REVIEW KENSINGTON

THE HOTEL Out of the hotel’s 52 suites and cottages, I’m in a Deluxe Verandah Suite, a simple yet elegantly dressed space with white walls, vintage furnishings and an outrageously comfortable pencil-post bed. There are blissfully efficient fans inside and out, ample bath products, a roomy closet and a terrace behind shuttered doors, furnished with comfy sofas for admiring the sea-and-sand views or gatherings that go on long after sundown. They’re intentionally lo-fi: TVs and radios have been removed to create a soothing, meditative space; but, there are USB ports by the bed if you must plug in. You can choose suites that are best placed for sunset in the west, or with the beach on their doorstep, or pick the White Suite for the peace and privacy of staying on your own peninsula. Honeymooners – or those who simply enjoy the finest things in life – should choose one of the cottages, which are set away from the main resort, over a foliage-draped bridge, on their own viewblessed bluff. Cottage 7 was a favourite for its double-aspect window walls and private infinity pool.

Come morning, as the sun rises, I first glimpse the hotel in all its glory: jacaranda-hued buildings with whitetrimmed verandahs, clustered around neat lawns, lush plants, sculptural palms and flowering bushes, with a backdrop of pristine turquoise sea and the unruffled sands of a 700-foot beach (one of Jamaica’s loveliest), dotted with palapa-shaded loungers. Shadow – the owners’ sociable black labrador, who absolutely steals the spotlight – ambles about cheerily. Some mornings she can be found paddleboarding, too.

The hotel opened in 1950 and it’s retained its old-school airs and graces – one can imagine Noël Coward and Errol Flynn jockeying around at the bar or Marilyn Monroe sashaying down to the shore; after all, they stayed here. You can see pictures of them holidaying in the PAGE 10 library and lounge, as well as photos of the Morrow family, who have owned the Inn since it opened. Their descendants are very much present today. Each PAGE 14

‘STAFF WILL SHOW YOU PICTURES OF THEIR FAMILIES, TELL YOU WHAT

THEY DO ON THEIR

DAYS OFF AND WHAT THEY LOVE ABOUT THE ISLAND.’

staff member, dressed in a white blazer or retro chambermaid uniform, greets guests warmly, taking the time to learn their names and daily needs (preferred sun-lounging, drinks and dining spots…), and for dinner on the fine-dining terrace guests are required to dress up: collared shirts and trousers for men, proper shoes and smart casualwear for women. Of course, being Jamaica none of this feels overly formal.

DINING If, like me, your knowledge of Jamaican cuisine extends to something jerked eaten from a carton during the Notting Hill Carnival, the Inn seeks to educate you in high-end island dining. Breakfasts are a lavish spread of colourful tropical-fruit platters, warm baskets of pastries and breads and just-squeezed juices. And, refills of bracingly strong, richly flavoured Blue Mountain Coffee – a costly treat in the UK. À la carte, there are fry-ups, eggs any way, hashes, waffles and pancakes; plus, healthy spa picks and a Jamaican special of the day, from salt fish and ackee to steamed callaloo. The lunch menu changes infrequently, but highlights were jerk pasties, a Niçoise salad with freshly grilled tuna and a triple-decker ham and cheese named after Teddy: the hotel’s longest serving staff member who joined as a teenager when it opened.

Dinner is preceded by mint daiquiris, rum-heavy punches and canapés on the terrace. The menu changes daily, but fish and seafood are outstanding, with gigantic parmesan-crumbed prawns, carpaccio, Escoveitch-style snapper, and blackened or jerked catches-ofthe-day. Plus, tempting meat and veggie choices. A breeze comes in from the sea and a live band plays old-school groovers and reggae favourites. Or, the hotel can arrange for you to dine in town at laidback, rainbow-hued eatery Miss T’s for authentic ‘yardie favourites’: oxtail pasta,

curried goat and small plates of ackee on cassava or crab back with tropical relish.

WHAT TO DO WHILE YOU’RE THERE Play croquet, taste rums from light to dark, accompany chef Maurice to the local market before he cooks up your spoils, practice yoga on a sea-facing terrace, or enjoy complimentary kayaking, snorkelling, paddle boarding and sunfish sailing. The spa is a remarkably restful spot with a soaking pool looking out to sea and four wooden cabins and treehouses for all manner of massages, rejuvenating facials, masks, wraps and mani-pedis, plus couples packages. All rooms have sea views and plinky-plonky spa muzak is replaced by the much more soothing murmur of waves. There’s a sauna, too, but the ice-cool gym is a more appealing prospect in the heat.

One of the Inn’s most impressive aspects is its conservation efforts. A glassbottomed boat ride (led by co-owner Belinda Morrow, with Shadow as her trusty first-mate) is a chance to ooh and aah at submerged gardens of seagrass, plus brain, staghorn, finger and fire corals, and to see the nurseries where new corals bud along ropes – a concerted effort to curb the blight caused by more acidic waters. We arrive off-season for turtle hatchings (August to October are the most active months), but we’re privileged to witness one, overseen by resident ‘turtle whisperer’ Ovan Coombs. While hatchlings are given a helping hand (they usually emerge at night, but the hotel’s bright lights confuse them), it’s humbling to watch them skitter towards the water to start a journey that will see the males swim for the rest of their lives and the females return to the beach to nest again.

And, yes, get a selfie with a baby turtle…

You only get brief glimpses of the ‘real’ Jamaica here, with most guests coming

to flop-and-drop. But, ask around and the staff will show you pictures of their families, tell you what they do on their days off and what they love about the island, and you’ll start to get a feel for the culture beyond the beach resort. So it’s worth propping up the bar and engaging your shoreside server to see the bigger picture.

WHAT TO DO ON THE ISLAND You can bomb through the Blue Mountains by bike (a not-too-arduous downhill ride), take a picnic at Noël Coward’s former residence Firefly, swing by Bob Marley’s birthplace, tube along White River Valley, and swing yourself from a rope into the Blue Hole for a swim in a ravishing beauty spot. Ride a speedboat to Dunn’s River Falls (our group climbed up without a guide, so there’s no need to pay extra, but if you wish to stay on the beach, the

PAGE 15

charge is US$25). It’s worth the exertions for pictures in a lush lazy glade. Or watch polo, go rafting and stop to marvel at the aptly named Luminous Lagoon.

Or, you could simply relax. Here, it doesn’t take long for your circadian rhythms to lull into a slow beat of sunlounger-lazing sessions punctuated by fruit or rum punch deliveries (each guest gets one free each day, at 11.30am), the click of a croquet mallet, the swoosh of cocktail shakers at the beach bar and the restful susurrus of the waves washing onto the talc-soft sands.

Jamaica Inn serves the Caribbean distilled – a potent, heady elixir.

Find out more about the Jamaica Inn here: https:// jamaicainn.com. Room rates start at US$349 (around £269) for a Superior Balcony Suite, based on double occupancy, excluding breakfast, tax and service.

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THE HILLS ARE ALIVE A ski break in Saalbach offers plenty to sing about, finds SARAH RODRIGUES

Gondolas and high-speed chairlifts soar overhead as we swerve down the mountain: Saalbach is well known for the quality and breadth of its lift system, which makes exploring its vast, 270 kilometres of piste relatively hassle-free.

The mountaintops are shrouded in cloud today and the snow quality isn’t as fluffy as we’d like, although it’s proving to be fun for the mogul-ready experts in our group – no bad thing, since steep blacks are in short supply here and they may otherwise have been somewhat underwhelmed. Generally speaking, the Saalbach pistes are best suited to an intermediate level of skill, with broad spaces facilitating long, cruising turns and contributing to a reassuringly uncrowded feeling: when your ski legs are wobbly, few things are worse than feeling that every stumble is going to take down half the denizens of the mountain like dominos.

Postcard good looks? Saalbach has them in spades: charming Alpine architecture creates a quaint village vibe, with a stand-out garlic-bulb-domed church and a river that babbles soothingly. The main street is pedestrianised and makes for a pleasant wander by day; by night, however, the vibe is overwhelmingly and rather uncomfortably male. There’s a lively après scene, yes – but it seems to come with an unasked-for side-order of physical contact.

‘Too many pests,’ mutters my friend, glaring forbiddingly in the direction of a man who’s just tried, rather forcefully, to pull her on to the Castello dance floor, on which bare torsos, spilled drinks and shouting along with the cover band seem to be the order of the day.

The Castello may not be the kind of place where Cinderella would be keen to drop a shoe, but the fairytale, for those who want it, still exists. Eschewing the pistes in favour of some exploration one afternoon, we take to the terrain in a horse-drawn sleigh towards the end of the Saalbach-Hinterglemm valley, where the highest treetop trail in Europe is located. A kilometre in length, it soars up to 30 metres above the ground; as part of its construction, there’s a 200-metre long suspension bridge, dubbed the Golden Gate Bridge, from which we drink in sweeping views of the snowy Alpine landscape. We’re light headed and euphoric when we descend, and the sleigh ride back feels as though it should be accompanied by tinkling bells and flasks of vodka stashed among fur throws and rugs.

It’s perhaps no wonder that we don’t fancy the heaving after-dark scene of the Goaßstall after this magical interlude – the mechanical goats that form part of its renown have nothing on our velvet-nosed sleigh horses. Instead, more bliss awaits us at Naturhotel Forsthofgut, a five-star haven located mere metres from the Asitz gondola and accessible on skis – a slope runs right past its dining area. We feast on locally sourced Austrian dishes like saddle of venison, washed down by an impressive selection of wines.

The aches we’ve accumulated on a few days of hard-going snow could have coped with a bit more

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piste-bashing… But that was before we saw the Naturhotel spa.

Built from natural materials and flooded with light, it’s a dreamy place surrounded by equally exquisite scenery. Even had snow conditions been optimum, we likely would have favoured luxuriating here, in the indoor and outdoor pool areas, exploring its range of treatments, some of which involve hot stones and mountain crystals, easing out every one of those post-ski kinks.

Those wonderfully relaxed muscles are once again clenched in something akin to terror the following evening, but it’s not the vagaries of the pistes at play: we’re at the Spielberghaus restaurant, where we’ve feasted on excellent ribs and possibly too many beers (perhaps even a cheeky Schnapps) and now we’re faced with the return journey, which happens only by way of a kamikaze toboggan ride down the same road we were transported up by PistenBully earlier. It’s good fun – and, on second thoughts, it’s likely that those aching stomach muscles are more the result of shrieking hilarity than anything else – certainly nothing that another day luxuriating in the watery bliss of the Naturhotel won’t remedy.

Saalbach and Salzburgerland Tourist Boards: www.saalbach.com, www.salzburgerland.com Naturhotel Forsthofgut: www.forsthofgut.at Alpine Golden Gate Bridge: www.baumzipfelweg.at Spielberghaus: www.spielberghaus.at Crystal Ski Holidays (www.crystalski.co.uk; 020 8610 3123) offers a week’s half-board (two sharing; departure 11 January 2020) at the five-star Saalbacher hof in Saalbach from £995 a person. Alternatively stay at fourstar Art-Hotel Kristiana from £839 a person on exactly the same basis. Price includes flights from London Gatwick to Salzburg and transfers. Direct flights are also available from major UK airports.

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‘WE’RE LIGHT HEADED AND EUPHORIC, AND THE

SLEIGH RIDE BACK FEELS AS THOUGH IT SHOULD BE ACCOMPANIED BY TINKLING BELLS AND FLASKS OF VODKA STASHED AMONG FUR THROWS AND RUGS.’

PAGE179 PAGE

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GET US TO THE GREEK

HARRIET BEDDER splits her holiday between Athens and Corfu on a legendary Greek getaway.

Every year, when the summer holiday season ends and autumn dinner parties begin, discussions about travels throughout the year show a split between cultured city breaks and lazy beach holidays. For many, the idea of a week in Barcelona is better than a week in Bali. Why, in couples or families is there a preference for one over the other? The answer: the holiday decision making is usually led by the person with the itchiest feet. The person for whom lying on the beach for a solid seven days is hell.

This summer, being undecided on whether a city or island break would be a better use of our annual leave, we choose to merge the two trips into one. Neither myself nor my partner are particularly opposed to either a city or beach break, but I feel strongly about a holiday by a large body of open water, so on our getaway we decide to include a coastal stop.

Greece is our chosen country, and a place where we’ve never been before. So, we assign four days to Athens, and a long weekend to Corfu, an island an hour northeast of the Greek capital, which has always been popular with British tourists.

‘WHY, IN COUPLES OR FAMILIES IS THERE A PREFERENCE

FOR ONE OVER THE OTHER? THE ANSWER: THE HOLIDAY

DECISION MAKING IS USUALLY

LED BY THE PERSON WITH THE ITCHIEST FEET. THE PERSON FOR WHOM LYING ON THE

BEACH FOR A SOLID SEVEN

ATHENS Athens, a three-and-a-half-hour flight from London Gatwick, is the oldest city in Europe, and we have chosen to travel here in mid June. The weather is already close to 28°C, so we’re glad we haven’t come any later, especially after the record heatwave this year.

WHERE TO STAY The day we land, we check into Grand Hotel Resort Lagonissi, a vastHUI resort onfinds the Athenian Riviera, cultural located around an hour JOY LIN a hedonistic playground… from Athens International Airport. We spent our first afternoon at the hotel where we sit and plan the next few days. After a walk around the 72-acre private peninsula we’re ready for our city walk to work up our appetite for a large dinner.

First on our list is a swim, and we’ve picked the right place for it. At Grand Resort Lagonissi, the water is clearer than the white-sand beaches in the south of France. What’s more is that the hotel has 16 private beaches, which means that I get to experience all of them without rubbing elbows with other holiday makers.

We then take an apéritif at the beach bar, Mediterraneo, which also serves food all day. We find ourselves indulging in divine Greek fava beans, calamari, sardines and salad. This taste of the Mediterranean has us looking forward to dinner at the Captain’s House restaurant (one of eight at the hotel) later that evening. After getting our glad-rags (or more formal summerwear) on, we devour a delicious dinner with a starter of fresh figs, oven-baked cherry tomatoes, mastic and carob croutons, plus tomato carpaccio, followed by black Angus smoked boneless short-rib and Espelette pepper.

On our last day at Grand Resort Lagonissi, we have massages booked, so we’re excited to wind down and prepare for the second leg of our trip – and ease off the calf strain from the past few days of touring the city. We have dinner at the exceptional onsite Polynesian and sushi fusion restaurant, Kohylia, stuffing ourselves with unagi rolls, black cod and ‘Summer Cup’ cocktails (with white wine, Tanqueray gin, pomegranate juice, St. Germain, and a dash of peach bitters).

Entry bungalows rates are 310€ for 2 pax on BB basis in low season and 380€ in high season.

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DAYS IS HELL.’

WHAT TO DO We decided on recommendations from friends, that it would be wise to visit the Acropolis and the Parthenon first thing in the morning (although before dusk is a good time too), to avoid being blinded (and cooked alive) by the heat reflecting off the white marble. We are advised to book a guided tour through by our hotel, who also helpfully arrange our travel to and from the city centre. We can, apparently, fly by helicopter from the hotel’s helipad – the favoured mode of transport for Leonardo di Caprio, apparently – but instead opt for a more reasonable taxi transfer.

From the Acropolis, the views of the city are astonishing and Athens sprawls out below, completing a bustling panorama that fades into the distance; as far as the eye can see.

Throughout the remainder of our short trip to Athens, we decide to meander around the city’s oldest neighbourhood below the Acropolis. The Ottoman quarter that the town of Plaka inhabits has a vibrant atmosphere, with bars, shops, and cafés galore, nestled between magnificent buildings. The cobbled streets are often photographed and lead you through a maze of the city.

We head for a drink at one of the best bars in the world, Baba Au Rum, in the early evening and watch the locals and tourists enjoying their tipples. In the evening we head to Klimataria – because it was recommended to us by three English couples, a native in the hotel and Time Out. We get the tis oras (a grilled meat sharing platter) and a lot of wine, while we enjoy the live music and may or may not make fools of ourselves by attempting to Greek dance at the end of the evening.

Last but not least, we head to Varvakios Agora: Athens’ central market. We want to stock up on oil, feta, lemons and herbs, but we remember we’re not going straight home. We sit in a taverna and watch the locals haggle over lamb and steak while we enjoy a cold glass of local rosé.

PAGE 18

IMAGE: GRAND HOTEL RESORT LAGONISSI

HOW LONG TO STAY We found that you only really need four days in Athens, but we could have used an extra one at the hotel to dedicate to relaxation. A day to soak in the sunken bath tub, work out in the gym (admiring the panoramic backdrop of the Saronic Gulf) and to stuff our faces with octopus and Greek salad at the beach restaurant, would have been an excellent end to our stay, but instead, we have a long weekend in Corfu.

WHERE TO STAY MarBella Nido Suite Hotel is our home for the next three days, and as soon as we arrive at the glass-fronted hideaway we’re greeted at reception with three drinks. Delighted already, we drink a smoothie, a glass of water and a glass of wine (all before midday) before being whizzed up to our room atop a mountain.

The hotel, nestled into the hillside, offers a shuttle service, but you can also go it on foot if you wish.

The room is perfect for the weekend, with a large terrace, panoramic ocean views and a hot tub. Other rooms have infinity pools but we opt for the hot tub because most of our terrace is in direct sunlight, and we don’t plan on doing much aside from sunbathing and eating. The whole hotel is adults-only, so we bask in child-free silence.

The breakfast and evening buffets offer something for everyone, and at lunch the pool bar runs a full menu, but we fall in love with the private pebble beach and delightful Akrogiali Taverna Kerkyra at the entrance of the hotel, so we resolved to eat only our first and last meals there at MarBella. There is also an exclusive gourmet restaurant, Apaggio Gourmet, onsite that has just 20 covers, so we book early for our dinner on the second evening. The food surpasses our expectations by miles and the alfresco lamplit tables are the perfect romantic setting to share a bottle of wine and a fine three-course meal. I order steak tartare, which I am skeptical about outside of the UK – it’s delicious: the meat is tender and the mustard and yuzu sauce is delicious. I could eat it all again. For the main I had slow-cooked lamb, served with lemon-infused leeks and greens. For dessert, what else but a mille-feuille?

We’re sad to leave the hotel, and Greece, behind; but we feel like we’ve been away for two weeks instead of one, and are ready to return to see what lies behind the country’s white walls, bougainvillea-clad alleyways, and blue mati- (evil eye) topped doorways.

MarBella Nido (www.marbellanido.gr, +30 26610 76452) offers rooms from £135/153€ per night on B&B basis.

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IMAGE: MARBELLA NIDO SUITE HOTEL

CORFU A short internal flight later we reach the island of Corfu. We head straight to the hotel from the airport and leave only to wander to the beach to sunbathe and drink wine in the handily placed bar.

We end up eating here a lot and advise you to do the same.

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THE MELBOURNE WAY ANDREW COLES learns why Melbourne is the perfect jumping-off point for a small-scale Australian adventure. All images by Andrew Coles.

Your typical Londoner would feel at home walking the streets of Melbourne, Australia. After all, the city was built on the toil of convicted Brits deemed unfit for Georgian society, so it’s only natural that an Anglo attitude still lingers.

Like London, Melbourne too has risen from its dreary roots to grow into a true capital of culture. Australia’s famous speciality coffee scene had its genesis here, the urban brunch culture is second to none, and Melbourne was one of the first places outside of Shoreditch and Brixton for graffiti to be formally recognised as street art.

Except, there are a few differences. It’s a little sunnier in summer, there’s plenty of space and the coast either side is lined with hundreds of miles of sandy beaches. There’s no hustle and very little bustle, and the Melburnians quite like it this way.

In the heart of Melbourne’s ‘Little Italy’ on Lygon Street is its newest hotel, Zagame’s House, and its offshoot Lord Lygon wine bar. It’s here that my girlfriend and I have based ourselves for a few days, while we explore the state of Victoria’s capital and those surrounding beaches.

We start our first night with a corner table at Lord Lygon.

There are over 300 different bottles in this corner wine shopcum-restaurant, and the focus is on small-scale producers with over 70 per cent of wines stocked being certified organic or biodynamic. Manager Marcus Radny turns sommelier and runs us through the finer details of his favourites before helping us navigate the maze of terroir this and mysticism that.

We soon have our noses in a glass of 2017 Provenance Shiraz from nearby Geelong, an area that even the most well-

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read wine toffs are likely not familiar with. The regional, postindustrial city is better known as the historic former home to a Ford car factory – but its bottles are about to get a boost, because presenting surprising and unexpected wines from Victoria and the rest of Australia is Lord Lygon’s USP, after all.

When it comes to food we don’t even make it past the first page of the menu, instead choosing a glorious parade of tapas-style selections. One by one, the plates arrive full and leave empty. Famous Coffin Bay oysters in lime vinaigrette, duck bao buns (made to the chef’s secret recipe), chorizo and wagyu meatballs, bourbon-marinated lamb ribs and pork belly with apple slaw. The crescendo in a meal of high points is surely the garlic- and thyme-infused baked camembert which we scoop up with pieces of toasted Turkish bread, but – it turns out – the only way is up from there. Marcus arranges a selection of international cheeses, prosciuttos and a wicked fermented-fennel salami to round the night off, with slices fresh from a polished Berkel, the Leica of meat-slicers. They’re so dainty that you can place them on the bill and the subtotal remains visible, but the better reason for their slenderness is to enhance the flavour to your taste-buds, we’re told.

It’s lucky that our room at Zagame’s House is just upstairs, past a golden bulldog statue named Tickles, who guards the reception desk. We expire on our room’s sofa, which, luckily, is the size of a typical London flat. The hotel itself is bang-upto-the-minute in its design and amenities, but it’s the touches bordering on whimsy that delight. Our room displays an amply stocked wine rack and its minibar is complete with a ‘lover’s kit’,

PAGE 22

“WE SOON HAVE OUR NOSES IN A GLASS OF 2017 PROVENANCE SHIRAZ FROM NEARBY GEELONG, AN AREA THAT EVEN THE MOST WELL-READ WINE TOFFS ARE LIKELY NOT FAMILIAR WITH. THE REGIONAL, POSTINDUSTRIAL CITY IS BETTER KNOWN AS THE HISTORIC FORMER HOME TO A FORD CAR FACTORY – BUT ITS BOTTLES ARE ABOUT TO GET A BOOST.”

containing a few articles sure to raise an eyebrow or two.

Well rested, we set out to explore Melbourne on foot the following morning, and first head for the nearby Public Library, just a short walk from Zagame’s House. It may appear a dull choice but the Reading Room here is surely one of the most impressive temples to literature ever conceived. Locals sit flipping through novels or playing chess on eight long counters that span out from a central octagonal desk, above which a 10-storey tall void is enclosed by what was the largest dome in the Southern Hemisphere at the time of its construction in 1884.

The library features year-round exhibitions and the Gateway Gallery’s collection pictorially depicts Melbourne’s evolution over the past 200 years. Its various exhibitions give an account of English colonial history from an Australian point of view, acting as an interesting counterpoint to the story told in the various British museums.

We continue on for a lunch stop at the Queen Victoria Market where cheap, run-of-the-mill imported goods increasingly compete for attention with more traditional high-quality fruit and produce. It’s indoors you need to head, where you’ll witness the best parts of Australian multiculturalism laid out in a wonderfully preserved grid of period-market shopfronts.

Australia was flooded with European migrants seeking a better life post-World War Two, and their descendants remain today as second and third generations, proudly offering the delicacies of their ancestral homelands – served with a local twist. Some of the most authentic Italian, Greek and Turkish cuisines are found in Australia, which is why you better bring an appetite with you for traditional treats and irresistible fusion dishes – kangaroo salami, anyone?

We while away the afternoon exploring the riverside promenade on the Southbank waterfront, and the magical hourlong performance of the Federation Bells in Birrarung Marr Park: a series of 60-or-so freestanding, digitally controlled bells that play open-sourced tunes written by local community composers.

Of course, for any London visitor with a few days to spare, Melbourne is just the jumping-off point. An hour in any direction takes you to vastly different landscapes. The Hamptons-esque Mornington Peninsula wine region, the famous Bells Beach and Great Ocean Road, Daylesford’s country retreats and day spas and the temperate rainforests of the Dandenong Ranges are all within easy reach.

And that’s why the Melburnians – and the Brits that hung around – seem that little bit cheerier.

Andrew stayed at Zagame’s House as a guest of Visit Victoria. Rooms start at AU$240 (£135) for the House Room. See more here: www.zagameshouse. com.au.

For more information on Melbourne and Victoria, visit www.visitmelbourne. com.

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KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

We love the West Country at the KCR, so with cider and wellies on our minds, we sought out the best stays in the west…

‘IF THE METEOROLOGICAL GODS CHOOSE TO BE UNKIND, THERE’S NO HUDDLING IN DAMP SPACES HERE; RATHER, EACH TENT OPENS UP ONTO A SPACIOUS LIVING AREA, HOUSING A DINING TABLE, COMFY SOFA AND CHAIRS, WITH A WOOD-BURNING STOVE CASTING A WARMING GLOW OVER IT ALL.’

THE GLAMP: TALL TREES Forget muddy fields, you can earn your camping stripes without compromising on comfort SARAH RODRIGUES discovers in Somerset.

The long line of French poplars that flank the driveway of Tall Trees are what the ‘glampsite’ takes its name from; you’d be forgiven for thinking, based on name alone, that luxury treehouses are what this upmarket site has to offer.

However, the reality doesn’t disappoint: four stylishly appointed safari tents, situated at privacy-preserving distances from one another, in a large field ripe for games of cricket and rounders. There’s even a football pitch on the other side of the drive. The owner’s family home, from which a handful of holiday cottages have been created, is also here, and guests at Tall Trees are welcome to use its games room and WiFi. An old bullpen has been converted into an onsite store, where emergency supplies can be bought on an (admittedly pricey) honesty-sheet basis; in a nearby shed, there’s also a collection of bikes, which can be cycled around the property, or hired for days out.

Clement weather is always the dream when it comes to planning a Great British Break, and if the weather is pleasant, there’s ample alfresco space for dining and relaxing, with a firepit-style barbecue, upcycled pallet sofas and a picnic table in front of each tent. There’s also a mobile pizza oven that can be hired for the evening; the £10 a pizza charge includes doughballs and toppings, so you can make your own.

If the meteorological gods choose to be unkind, there’s no huddling in damp spaces here; rather, each tent opens up onto a spacious living area, housing a dining table, comfy sofa and chairs, with a wood-burning stove casting a warming glow over it all. Large bedrooms, partitioned by wooden walls, contain cloud-soft beds, adorned with white sheets and quilts.

Plus, there are electric blankets to chase off any initial chill. Kids are bound to scrap over who gets to sleep in the loft bed, an adorable nest of cosiness located a few steps up a ladder above the luggage hatch. Banish thoughts of grotty shower blocks, too – from the zippered back-door of each tent, you walk over a raised walkway to a private bathroom, where underfloor heating, thick white towels (on heated rails), excellent water pressure and temperature controls dispense with any chills acquired on blustery walks.

There’s no shortage of places to take those walks, either – and since Tall Trees is dog friendly, there’s no reason why your

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

family pet can’t enjoy these with you. Nearby Glastonbury offers its eponymous Tor and plenty of quaint tearooms and alternative and esoteric shops (this is hippie heaven, after all – so, if you’re in the market for ‘erbs and magick books, you’re set). Cheddar Gorge, with its evocative scenery, circular skyline walk and show caves, is an easy drive away. Or head east, bypassing the brashness of Burnham-on-Sea to reach Brean, where gnarly cliffs and walking trails tower over a vast expanse of shimmeringly reflective beach. Closer by, on the Somerset Levels, there are also cider orchards and producers, as well as wild-swimming spots along the Rivers Brue and Parrett. Tall Trees also offers ‘far from the madding crowd’ accommodation during the ‘you may have heard of it’ Glastonbury Festival, with a shuttle service running between the two sites throughout.

Visit from March to the end of October. Prices range from £100 to £170 a night depending on the time of year. Visit https://talltreesglamping.com for more information.

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THE CITY STAY: NUMBER THIRTY EIGHT CLIFTON KATE WEIR explores the UK’s wonderful west-coast city from a cosy home base Bath may have its spas and Regency terraces, but Bristol has the edge when it comes to West Country city breaks. It brings an easygoing attitude to Georgian refinement, with a university city’s youth and dynamism, a creative social conscience and real gastronomic clout (the city glitters with Michelin stars). At the top of this hilly hotspot sits Clifton, an upmarket enclave of exceedingly grand Georgian and Regency townhouses, built close to quintessentially English Clifton Village and Isembard Kingdom Brunel’s famed suspension bridge. It’s here that boutique bed and breakfast, Number Thirty Eight Clifton, provides a pastel-hued haven for city visitors, with 12 rooms inside elegantly refurbished Georgian merchant’s houses.

We’re staying in the University View Suite, a room big enough for a Regency ball, with mint-green walls, a huge, bouncy Super King-size bed, and a bathroom with a twoperson walk-in shower and freestanding copper bath tub (also for twosomes, with some maneuvering) – and an enormous TV. From the bedroom window, we can see Bristol breathtakingly spread out before us, down the hill to the neoclassical edifices at the centre and beyond to the green stretches of the Cotswolds in the distance. And from the bathroom window at the front of the building, we can see the trim green expanses of the Downs (both Clifton and Durdham). It’s a mind-boggling difference, and the building itself has an Escher-esque labyrinthine feel: The restful lounge areas are set above the hotel’s garden terrace and rooms are spread over five floors. It’s a touch disorienting, but makes it all the more charming, and fun to explore.

Rooms are beautifully appointed with crisp, high-quality linens, a minibar stocked with cans of G&T and Pimms (and a warming eye mask, for bleary-eyed mornings after, perhaps). They have one toe daintily pointed into the past and a foot firmly set in the future: traditional painted wood panelling and bow windows are given a modern spin with colourful contemporary artwork and judiciously chosen furnishings (we have velvet wingbacks and brass-edged bedside tables), and there’s a relaxed air to proceedings that feels fresh. Check-in is informal and guests are given the door code to come and go as they please. It’s nailed the home-from-home feel. Breakfast (a Continental selection of muesli, cereals, fruits of all kinds, yoghurts, fresh juices, artisanal pastries from local suppliers and more; plus an excellent à la carte with eggs all ways, avo toast, a full English to be proud of and its veggie counterpart).

Exploring is easy from here – largely as it’s all downhill. From the door, Clifton Village is a 30-minute walk to the left, or you can head right into the city, a fascinating meander past wellheeled shops, artisanal and sustainable cafés, provenanceobsessed restaurants and cosy pubs, plus Bristol’s statue-clad uni buildings, the Wills Memorial Tower, Brutalist churches and decorative Bristol Byzantine edifices. If you go all the way down to the harbour, where medieaval remnants mingle with live-forthe-weekend bars by the water, you feel the full force of the city’s Number Thirty Eight Clifton, 38 Upper Belgrave Road, Bristol

BS8 energy. And, after a knee-trembling climb back to the top (or a slightly cheating Uber ride) Number Thirty Eight Clifton’s cocooning feel is all the more welcome.

Rooms start from £115 a night. Visit www.number38clifton.com to book. Our writer’s stay was hosted by the hotel.

WHERE TO GO THE RIVER COTTAGE KITCHEN Star chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s eatery has distinctly local dishes with a strong suit of veggie and vegan picks.

St Johns Court, Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2QY www.rivercottage.net/restaurants/bristol UNDER THE STARS Set on a moored boat in Bristol harbour, this quirky venue does a fine line in fruity cocktails and tapas plates – the crab croquettes and parmesan-crumbed beef are superb.

Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA www.underthestarsbar.co.uk PASTA LOCO A petite and popular pasta joint – so booking ahead is essential.

All pasta is freshly made and dishes change regularly. Wine and cocktails are good too.

37A Cotham Hill, Bristol BS6 6JY www.pastaloco.co.uk THE VEGETABLE DIVA An ethical, sustainable, vegetarian- and vegan-friendly, packaging-free café with delicious salads, curries, tagines and brunches with healthy grains.

Invicta, Unit 1 East Building, Millennium Promenade Bristol BS1 5SY www.thevegetablediva.com

THE COUNTRY MANOR:

BABINGTON HOUSE KATE WEIR finds her dream country home in classic members’ country club, Babington House.

These days, the hallmarks of Soho House’s members’ clubs (artfully idiosyncratic furnishings, paintings and tchotchkes; haute shabbiness; BFF staff and such) are as instantly recognisable as the brand’s signature striped sunloungers.

It’s testament to Soho House Group founder and CEO Nick Jones’ hotel knowhow that laidback ‘make yourself at home’ exclusivity is practically built into boutique retreats now. But, it’s easy to forget just how revolutionary his OG country outpost, Babington House, was when it opened back in 1998, making dinosaurs of stiff-upper-lip stays and bringing a louche punkitude to minibreaks.

Today this Grade-II-listed Georgian manor house is a classic manicured timepiece with mod swagger and rolling grounds, set a 30-minute drive from Bath and 10 minutes from the cobbled market town of Frome (pronounced ‘Froom’, as the locals do). On arrival your car rumbles down a big-reveal drive past a football pitch for kids, croquet green and small chapel (where many paired-off celebs have said ‘I do’ and some of the noble former owners are buried out front). It’s the stone-hewn stuff of bodice-ripper dreams.

In the entryway are cushioned window seats, a blush-pink conversation sofa, vintage chandelier and original fireplace and staircase, coloured by sunlight through a stained-glass window reclaimed from the chapel. To our left, a woodpanelled library; to our right, a scarlet-walled billiards room.

We already feel at home. On this sunny day, with time to kill before our room is ready, there are diversions to be had onsite: salad-days pastimes of cricket and croquet; time-outs in the Cowshed spa; hiking, biking or strolling through the gardens; a dip in the large-enough-for-laps pool; or even a board game somewhere quiet.

Instead, we hit the bar, beloved by media folk for its William Morris-esque wallpaper clashed with artwork by the likes of Tracey Emin and Polly Morgan – and an air of clubby discretion (pictures are banned, of course). It’s still awash in Mac

pings satisfyingly when tapped. The toilette has quite literally everything you’d need to move in here: toothbrushes, loofahs, chargers, Cowshed minis, a few somethings for the weekend, sir… Plus, there’s a wet room with a rolltop bath tub and another larger tub on our terrace, plus one of those doublesize loungers, both hidden from view.

Dinner is in the Orangery, a glass-lined room with lake views. Ingredients are locally sourced, many from the House’s vegetable garden. Dishes are delightful: a goat’s cheese stuffed courgette flower with chilli and mint; served-in-shell scallops with pancetta and spicy tomato; beef short-rib with crispy on the outside, pillowy on the inside gnocchi; whole lemon sole with herb butter; and a refreshing Bellini sorbet. When we ask to pop outside for a cheeky ciggy, our waiter dashes out to set up a table, before grinning and giving us a thumbs-up.

I love him.

The next day, we have until noon to check-out, so we order breakfast in bed, tumbled in blankets and squishy duvets as we wolf down eggs Benedict and a waffle topped with maplesyrup-drizzled bananas. We fill the trough on our terrace and spare the blushes of the pottering gardeners below as we dip in and out. We say goodbye to the ducks and enjoy one last drink sprawled on a lounger. I’d assumed that I would be sneakily looking out for celeb guests, but – aside from it being a déclassé thing to do – the low-key attitude here makes you want to simply enjoy your own privacy. We could stay another day, a week, maybe just move into our attic hideaway. But, lacking the dividends of a wealthy divorcee or the residuals of an A-lister, I’ll simply have to dream – but we’ll be back Babington.

Babington House, Somerset BA11 3RW. Telephone: +44 (0)1373 812266. To book visit here: www.babingtonhouse.co.uk Rooms start from £130 a night. Our writer’s stay was hosted by the hotel.

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

Copyright Soho House Babington House

Airbooks, but welcoming, too – whether testament to our lush tendencies or top staff training, the barkeep recognises us soon enough.

Outdoors, tables overlook next door’s farm and a glittering lake, which we tipsily tromp around after our ciders, befriending the brace of friendly resident ducks.

And then our room is ready. We’re in the attic’s Rooftop Room, set in the eaves – but even the maddest of Mrs Rochesters would be content here. We have a velvet chaise-longue each, a sprawling blankettucked bed, a minibar that’s an actual bar with bottles of pre-mixed cocktails and crystal glassware that PAGE 26

STATE OF THE ART SARAH RODRIGUES investigates the recent addition to London’s hotel scene – Bankside Hotel combines a prime location with bags of character.

It’s fitting for an area that’s host to such London attractions as the Tate Modern, National Theatre and Southbank cultural complex, that Bankside Hotel would have art as one of its core components. The walls are adorned with modern paintings and there’s also an onsite studio where painters and sculptors in residence can be observed at work and engaged in Q&As.

Pampering facilities are all very well and good when you’re in some middle-of-nowhere stay intended for Do-not-Disturb signs, but they seem a waste of money when you’re in a location you intend to explore fully; a location where your hotel will be a bed to get back to. With London’s delights in mind, Bankside has pared back the frills and put their energies into ensuring each room – all 161 of them – is suitably fabulous, when you decide to retire to them. There are surfaces that beckon your touch: smooth raw-concrete pillars are contrasted with chunky knitted throws, soft sofas and spacious wooden armoires, plus floor-to-ceiling windows and alluring architectural curves.

Rooms are spread across eight categories, but even the smallest offers ample space for a city break. And the hotel’s art theme is as evident in rooms as it is in public spaces: works are hung on the walls and a delightful little wooden box of art supplies allows you to answer the call of ‘the muse’. The allimportant Nespresso machine is present, too, plus tech of a decaffeinated sort: an interactive iPad clues you up on what’s available (although – it must be said – a request for bubble bath and extra coffee-pods wasn’t resolved), and TVs, in some suites, have screens integrated into bathroom mirrors, to ensure that you can luxuriate with your favourite show in front

of you.

Rooms don’t have a minibar, but the hotel’s low-key approach provides a creative solution. In keeping with its sustainable ethos, it has corridors equipped with waterdispensers allowing you to fill your own bottles, and there are vending machines that dispense beer, champagne, crisps… even Apple earpods, engagement rings (hey, you never know) and sparkly knickers – for emergencies, natch.

For a hotel that’s clearly aimed at the frequent and intensive traveller – in the sense of someone who wants to get fully immersed in their destination – there’s an astonishing level of detail here. The reason? Dayna Lee, a former film-set designer, whose awareness of light, space and objets curation is undeniably impressive. Anyone with less of ‘an eye’ might wonder why the giant abacuses that act as room dividers or the wildly diverse textures work so perfectly – but, thanks to Lee, they absolutely do.

Despite the wealth of gastronomic options on your doorstep here, it’s well worth staying in for at least one lunch or dinner at the hotel’s Art|Yard Bar & Kitchen, where a toothsome burrata accompanied by heirloom tomatoes and black olives had us making unforgivable noises at the table. I’d like to say that was our most shameful moment of eating ecstasy, but things degenerated as we got stuck into the layered drippingfried chips. Sorry, fellow diners - but thank you, implicitly, Bankside Hotel.

To book, visit bankside.com. Rates start from £290 (including VAT) on a bed and breakfast basis.

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FROM TRADITION TO INNOVATION: A CULTURAL TOUR OF TALLINN SARAH LAVIGNE sees the ancient Estonian capital’s contemporary side.

Unconventional Post-Soviet rapper and fashion designer Tommy Cash was born in Tallinn in 1991, the year Estonia became an independent country. This year, the KUMU Art Museum showcased the young Estonian’s work in collaboration with edgy US designer Rick Owens, in a postmodern sound-and-vision experience. With its charming UNESCO-listed medieval centre, sandy beaches, countless museums and green spaces, Tallinn is an ideal travel destination, but this exhibition revealed the Estonian capital in a whole new light. I wanted to understand how Tallinn draws from its long history of invasions and occupations to create today’s dynamic culture, proudly combining Estonian tradition with experimentation, artistic freedom and an openness to the rest of the world. Armed with a Tallinn Card, I made my way to the city’s most fascinating districts, immersing myself in the architecture, art and food, meeting passionate locals along the way, proud to share their heritage.

TALLINN OLD TOWN: A UNESCO-PROTECTED MEDIEVAL CITY The Old Town’s narrow streets are paved with uneven cobbles, leading through stone passages to Gothic churches, medieval fortifications, towers, gates and the large Town Hall square, lined with cafés and restaurants, where tourists leisurely sip their drinks. Medieval stone houses line the streets, their heavy wooden doors lit by cast-iron streetlamps, some painted yellow or pink, some given an Art Nouveau makeover. They once housed merchant families, but today they’re museums, art galleries, bars and restaurants. Beyond the iconic Freedom Square and the Kiek in de Kök fortification tower, the upper town is a contrasting patchwork of architectural styles. Surrounded by leafy parks, a medieval fortress blends into Toompea castle, a beautiful Baroque palace, home to the Parliament of Estonia.

Across the wide square, the Alexander Nevsky cathedral stands as a proud example of Orthodox religious architecture. My next stop was Leib restaurant, for my first taste of Estonian cuisine.

Leib means ‘bread’ in Estonian: ‘the most authentic Estonian food’, Leib co-owner Kristjan told me as we sat in the elegant dining room, nursing a glass of orange wine. ‘An Estonian will miss the bread before he misses his friends!’ he continued. After tasting Leib’s rye sourdough, freshly baked onsite, I understood why. The Leib team use ingredients sourced from local farmers and producers they have cultivated strong relationships with, to create a focused menu full of tradition, simplicity and creativity.

From the light fish-sausage to the vegan oat milk with seabuckthorn ice cream, each seasonal dish is perfectly balanced in tastes and textures, with evocative flavours. The team includes some of Estonia’s top sommeliers, including Ketri Lei, winner of Estonia’s Best Sommelier four years running. Just a few minutes’ walk towards Tallinn Bay is Leib’s trendy little sister, Umami. The same driving principles – quality ingredients, top wine pairings – are applied to a fun Asian-inspired menu.

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‘I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND HOW TALLINN DRAWS FROM ITS LONG HISTORY OF INVASIONS AND OCCUPATIONS TO CREATE TODAY’S DYNAMIC CULTURE.’

IMAGE: ERIK RIIKOJA Tallinn Card is available from visittallinn.ee or tallinncard.ee Leib: leib.ee | +372 611 9026 | info@leibresto.ee Umami: umami.ee | +372 600 1035 | info@umamiresto.ee Noa: noaresto.ee | +372 508 0589 | noa@noaresto.ee Ülo: +372 605 0052 | info@ulo.ee Schlössle Hotel: schloesslehotel.com | +372 699 7700 reservations@schlossle-hotels.com

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IMAGE: KAUPO KALDA - SOURCE: TALLINN CITY TOURIST OFFICE & CONVENTION BUREAU

KADRIORG PARK: BAROQUE SETTING OF MODERN CULTURE In the district of Kadriorg, east of the Old Town, oak- and horse-chestnut forests provide an idyllic setting for a complex of museums and gardens. At the centre, surrounded by flower beds and fountains inspired by Versailles, rises the grandiose Kadriorg Palace, commissioned in the early 18th century by Peter the Great. Its beautiful Baroque façade hides large collections of Dutch, Russian and Italian paintings. And, at the opposite end of the spectrum is KUMU Art Museum. The grey concrete structure stands as a Modernist contrast to the majestic palace; within are examples of modern Estonian art, from the 18th century to today. Permanent and temporary exhibitions show how Estonian identity and history and outside influences have shaped the country’s artwork, from the Impressionist and Romantic movements of the 19th century to the Socialist Realism of the Soviet era. This was also apparent in KUMU’s special exhibition ‘The Pure and the Damned’, where – through installations and soundtracks – Tommy Cash and Rick Owens twisted tradition, classic art and popular culture collided to create a tongue-incheek critique of today’s world. From KUMU, I made my way through the peaceful Japanese Garden to the Song Festival grounds, the iconic site of the Singing Revolution: a pivotal series of song protests, by which the Estonian people united against an oppressive Soviet regime. Standing on the grassy hill, looking down to the undercover stands, I imagined the multitude, heads held high, repeatedly singing the words to the symbolic national poem. I then headed to Noa Restoran for a laidback fine-dining experience. The waiter escorted me to my table and I watched the waves of the Baltic Sea crash gently onto the sandy shore through the bay windows. The sea view with the Old Town in the distance is so breathtaking that the sunset times are printed on the back of the menus. Noa feels like an elegant beach house, where the daring flavour combinations are inspired by the sea and the chefs’ travels.

TELLISKIVI CREATIVE CITY: INSPIRATION FROM THE SOVIET ERA On the edge of former fishing village Kalamaja, now a trendy residential district, is a spot that draws from the industrial heritage of the Soviet era. Surrounded by overgrown train tracks, the brick buildings of a former components factory make up Telliskivi Creative City, home to 250 businesses, including tech start-ups, fashion designers, vintage-inspired home

stores, record shops, bars and restaurants, and murals by top Estonian and international street artists are scrawled over the exterior. Within an industrial exhibition space, you can see work by award-winning Tallinn-based photographer Iris Kivisalu; her show ‘Before/After’ contrasts Telliskivi in the days of the Kalinin Plant metalworks. with today’s creative space, where relaxed employees and business owners explore ideas and sip flat whites freely. The patriotic music of the past has been replaced by the sound of Estonia’s best musicians during Tallinn Music Week, one of the 600 events hosted in Telliskivi every year. Just across the abandoned train tracks is Ülo restaurant. ‘Ülo is an old-fashioned Estonian name, meaning joy, good vibes and happiness’, Ülo co-owner Rain explained. That’s exactly what walking into Ülo feels like. The smiling wait staff, the colourful decor, hip-again Soviet-era furniture, and the gentle bustle to and from the kitchen create a relaxing atmosphere. Here, locals gather for vegan or vegetarian feasts. Mushrooms, fresh berries and seasonal vegetables are creatively prepared with seeds, nuts and spices, exploring new taste and texture fusions in plantbased diets. ‘Everyone’s choices must be honoured’, said Rain, pointing to the small meat and fish section on the menu.

WHERE TO STAY IN TALLINN Over the years, the Schlössle Hotel has welcomed the likes of Prince Charles, Massive Attack and Bon Jovi. In a quiet Old Town street, the hotel’s stone walls, large wooden beams and vaulted dining rooms reveal its medieval heritage, updated with subtle vintage-inspired decor. The marble fireplaces bode well for cosy winters. I was lucky, instead, to enjoy fine dining in the private courtyard, where a gentle summer breeze blew as I dined on Stenhus restaurant’s delicious food. On my last day, after a lavish breakfast, I headed to the hotel’s spa for a private sauna. As I relaxed in the heat of the stones, I wondered what the likelihood was that recent guest Bon Jovi was sat here last week unwinding after his show. Walking around the Old Town, Kadriorg Park and Telliskivi, meeting locals along the way, I had only scratched the surface of Tallinn’s exciting culture. A new development project opened in Noblessner Port, just north of Kalamaja. Restaurants, cafés and museums have taken over the site of an old submarine factory and soon to open is the Kai Art Centre, where Estonian and International artists will be given residencies, expanding Tallinn’s dynamic art scene even further… As if I needed a reason to go back.

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TRULY BLESS-ED

SARA DARLING experiences Ibiza’s more sophisticated side with a stay at its lavish new luxury hotel Yes, we know summer’s on the wane, but start daydreaming about future poolside drinks and balmy nights because the glamorous BLESS Hotel Ibiza is the latest addition to the Leading Hotels of the World group – and, we rather like it.

Built in 1970, the property has just undergone a complete refurbishment, giving its seaside spot a Miami-fabulous look.

It’s perched on the cliffs overlooking the cove of Cala Nova, so nearly all the bedrooms have a prime view of the Med. Tranquil and grown-up, it’ll likely attract a sophisticated older crowd whose glowstick-waving days are behind them.

Set a 30-minute drive from the airport, the hotel is in the town of Es Canar – by no means one of the busiest on the White Isle, but that is precisely why it’s ideal for this upmarket retreat. But, if you’re worried it’s too calm for Spain’s club paradise, fear not: the BLESS collection of hotels (the first of which was inspired by Coco Chanel and resides in Madrid’s swish Salamanca district) is exploiting the fact that done-raving guests don’t want pack up their party shoes when they hit 35. They recognise that now visitors to the isle would rather splash their expendable cash on Michelin-starred Basque feasts (chased with a large Aperol spritz, perhaps) or Piscos in a beach cabana.

As a design hotel, BLESS is modern, with Art Deco-style flourishes in its Deluxe Rooms, Junior Suites and Suites. Each has a walk-in shower, open-plan dressing room, lounge and balcony. Techy features include USB ports, Bose Bluetooth speakers, plenty of plug points, a hairdryer, straighteners and flatscreen TVs with satellite channels – so there’s no need to fret if you’ve forgotten anything. Rooms are ideal for twosomes, each has plenty of space to make your own. Within the 151 blissfully air-conditioned rooms, there’s a Presidential Suite, with panoramic penthouse views, a private terrace with day-beds, dressing room, elegant retro furnishings and lashings of Gallic, Chanel-inspired charm.

A trademark of the BLESS Hotels group is the pillow menu, which offers medium, hard, soft or foam pillows, and all rooms include espresso-makers and free bottles of water, plus a nightly turndown service. If you don’t have a Jacuzzi on your balcony, your jetted bath will work the same magic and you can even call in the resident ‘bathologists’ to advise you on what best suits your skin type: a sensual bath, an energising bath, a relaxing bath, an exfoliant bath or the signature Bless bath (don’t worry, they’ll leave when you’re ready to soak). Choose the one you like best and enjoy a completely sensory experience that’s sure to include candlelight, a little mood-setting and the delicious aromas of artisanal soaps.

Things only get more decadent in the hotel’s eateries.

They range from the laidback Mediterannean/Andalusian eatery

Salao on the ground floor, which serves a tapas-inspired menu, to Eastern-style snacks in the rooftop bar, with a 360-degree viewpoint. But, the main draw for diners at BLESS is its Etxeko restaurant. Led by acclaimed chef Martín Berasategui – who has 10 Michelin stars to his name – whose wildly innovative dishes are served in a wood-panelled dining room that serves as a stylish backdrop. Here, guests can enjoy avant-garde plating and meals that put a modern spin on the Basque kitchen: hake and Iberian bacon on fennel pearls with olive bonbons, foie-gras mille-feuille and such. The wine list is pretty impressive, too.

The five-star treatment continues in the indulgent Magness Soulful Spa. Inspired by the peace of the Ibizan countryside, it’s filled with greenery and comfy loungers, with relaxing music piped through. A place of serenity, it shows a different side of Ibiza: a soothing, nurturing side fostered through a programme of massages, facials and aesthetic treatments, which use natural products and Ibizan herbs. Post-massage, why not enjoy a power nap on one of the four private waterbeds? This is a space to revitalise and regenerate – hop in the Turkish sauna, try the water circuits, or maybe some hydrotherapy, an aromatherapy shower and spell in the Jacuzzi for a full wellness experience.

Finish off with a visit to the hair salon – led by Italian maestro Rossano Ferretti, who can beautify you for special evenings and give you a banging blow-out.

For more energetic sorts, there’s the FiTNic Power gym, which is open 24 hours, where you can choose from a personal trainer or the Sweat Box experience: a high-intensity training session offered in a virtual room with 360-degree surround sound and incentivising images.

In the morning, help yourself to a healthy breakfast on the terrace (there are less-healthy options too…), while you leisurely join the rest of the world and stroll down to the beach. It’s a beauty, with shoreside bars and a crystal-clear sea, and it’s accessible down a quiet path, where you’ll meet residents heading out for a dip. Alternatively, scope out the comfortable sun-beds, parasols for shade and soundtrack of chill-out Balaeric beats beside the pool.

Everyone knows Ibiza for its wild side, but BLESS Hotel offers grown-up hedonism. Leave the all-nighters and treat yourself to incredible Spanish dining, cocktails and views, with uninterrupted access to the under crowded stretch of Cala Nova coastline; This is a prime spot for indulgence and we all need a bit of that now and again!

A stay at BLESS Hotel Ibiza starts from £325 a night for bed and breakfast. www.blesscollectionhotels.com

‘A PLACE OF SERENITY, IT SHOWS A DIFFERENT SIDE OF IBIZA: A SOOTHING, NURTURING SIDE FOSTERED THROUGH A PROGRAMME OF MASSAGES, FACIALS AND AESTHETIC TREATMENTS, WHICH USE NATURAL PRODUCTS AND IBIZAN HERBS.’ KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

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RABBIT IN THE SPOTLIGHT At chic Cotswolds hideaway The Wild Rabbit, KATE WEIR buys into the Bamford way of life.

Carole Bamford is the de facto queen of the Cotswolds – she’s the owner of Daylesford, the UK’s most sustainable organic farm, and as such she’s launched a series of upmarket cafés and farm shops, a bath and body empire of wholly natural products and a charming inn and hotel, The Wild Rabbit. It’s here we’ve pitched up for the night, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the trim fields, rampant wildflowers and fertile hedgerows on the walk from the station. This locally loved inn is set in Kingham, a spot so pretty it feels like a show-village Cotswolds Tourism concocted from a collage of vintage Quality Street lids.

The hotel itself is a vision in wisteria-hung honey-hued stone guarded by twin topiary rabbits – the overall effect is winsome rather than twee.

The Wild Rabbit has somewhat set a precedent for ’our first minibreak’ hotels in the Cotswolds. City-edged rusticism reigns throughout: barn-wood furnishings, tactile organic fabrics, fluffy throws, butcher-block sinks in the bathrooms, and a hefty helping of Bamford mini lotions and potions, of course. Rooms are named after woodland critters: ours is The Fox, duly accented in wily orange. Others are characterised by restful creams and exposed beams, white tongue-and-groove panelling and the odd four-poster. There’s a warren of cottages too, each a farm-to-fashion-plate haven. Our bed is yielding yet hay-bale sturdy (in a ‘good for the back’ way) with downsoft pillows and crisp cotton sheets. A window overlooks a courtyard that’s yet another page ripped from Town & Country, with dove-grey beams and a behind-glass fireplace, which can be admired from our romantic window-seat. Downstairs is a flagstone-floor pub with twin fireplaces, sprigs of wildflowers all around, and leather wingbacks and wooden booths awaiting ramble-wearied behinds. It rings with the convivial chatter of locals and fellow Londoners, an all-age assortment. This

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

drinkery opens out into the dining room, where butcher’s tables display meat slicers and other authentic trappings. A glass panel in the floor lets you peer into an ancient well; you can spy the busily occupied chefs in the kitchen and the generously sized tables are mostly occupied.

This is The Wild Rabbit’s main stage, where you’ll be wowed by country-produce-led dishes and a showpiece tasting menu (a satisfying seven-course steal at £65 a person). The majority of the ingredients come from the family farm, naturally, ensuring that even our simple pre-starter crudité plate is a delight, with chunkily cut, pleasingly crunchy carrots, cauliflower and such.

An amuse-bouche of delightfully piggy pork croquettes arrives before we start the menu in earnest. To begin, a garden salad (quite literally from the garden) with curds and pickled walnuts, which is both light and indulgent. Jerusalem artichoke and scallops are bathed in a creamy curried soup and a ruggedly coarse and meaty rabbit and duck-liver terrine comes with slices of homemade fruit bread. Our two ‘mains’ include pliant delicate cod in a velouté with mini brown-shrimp lifesavers bobbing around it and a sprinkling of sea herbs; earthy Cotswolds lamb is simply served with yoghurt, asparagus and mushrooms to let the field-reared meat’s flavour shine. Then, dessert arrives in light and heavy iterations: a chilled yoghurt parfait with Wye Valley rhubarb and Valrhona chocolate delice piqued with a brisk passionfruit sorbet.

Divine provenance aside, it’s a superb meal that aims to innovate while respecting the country-dining tradition of fussfree heartiness. If I lived locally, it would be hard not to set up a tab here. Each dish is strong enough to hold its own in a greatest-hits menu. And, it’s impossible not to get caught up in the sommelier’s enthusiasm (after all, each glass has a dream dishy partner) especially after the fourth matched glass

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of something gluggable. Post-dinner we retire to the bar for a warm and welcoming nightcap, which the barman is only too happy to assist with, firing recommendations for wines to drink fireside and the smokiest whiskies. When we finally stumble upstairs we sleep soundly in the call-of-the-wild-punctuated Cotswolds peace.

There are more ways to indulge yourself during a stay here.

Just a five-minute drive away is the Bamford Haybarn Spa, where you can meditate, practice yoga or Pilates or book a holistic treatment: massages, facials, exfoliation, reflexology – all of which will leave you smelling meadow-fresh after a liberal application of signature products. It’s situated next door to the Daylesford farm shop, where you can stock up on justpulled-from-the-ground or plucked-from-the-tree vegetables and fruits or pause for a healthful lunch or less healthful tea and cake. Cookery lessons are available for the curious, plus floristry and craft workshops if you’re looking to return home a well-rounded domestic god or goddess.

But, there’s a great deal to be said for sitting back and letting the kitchen team take charge. We’re here for produce that couldn’t be roused from even London’s greenest quarters, the inherent cosiness found in a country rest stop enveloped in balmy night, and the lingering sense of unadulterated ruddy-cheeked freshness only found beyond Slough. And, as talented as Daylesford’s cookery tutors are, altogether this is an experience we’ll never be able to recreate back home.

Our writer was hosted by The Wild Rabbit, find out more about the hotel here: www.thewildrabbit.co.uk. Starting room rates are £135 a night in low season, £150 in high season. Cottages start from £400 a night, and require a minimum two-night stay).

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ON ROCKY GROUND SARAH RODRIGUES swerves the frenetic pace of the Big Apple and gets an East Coast long-weekend fix in the City of Brotherly Love, instead.

‘Stand here, right here.’ urges the man, his smile revealing missing teeth. ‘Here. Look! That’s where Rocky stood!

Rocky Balboa!’

As person after person completes that famed run up the 72 steps outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, they are cornered and shuffled into spot. We’re perplexed. I mean, obviously, that’s where Rocky stood. The soles of his trainers are embedded in the concrete, after all, and the name ‘ROCKY’ is carved above them. So why are these (slightly breathless) people allowing themselves to be nudged into position, relinquishing their phones, posing with their arms raised and then handing over a fistful of dollar bills? And why does this particular guy own the hustle on this spot? Why is no other fast-talking local elbowing him out for their share of the action?

Still, this is the City of Brotherly Love, I guess. Tolerance, and all that.

We had posed for photos with the 10-foot tall statue down at street level and puffed our way up the steps before continuing on through the entrance of the Museum. Inside, we explore a wing devoted to American art; gaze upon paintings from the likes of Renoir, Monet and Cézanne; then move through elegant spaces and pause in the Great Stair Hall to admire the soaring golden figure of Diana by Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

We’re staying in the gorgeously eclectic Aloft Hotel, which is housed in a landmark building by City Hall and the historic Masonic Temple. The care that’s been taken to seamlessly meld hip details with original Italianate features is all the more impressive, given that this building was the only one on the block spared from demolition when the adjacent Convention Centre was expanded. High arched windows throw light over the lobby, bar and pool area; the rooms, too, are bright and spacious, offering aspects of street action by day and city lights by night.

From here, it had been just a short walk to the Love Park, with its reproduction of Robert Indiana’s iconic red statue (smaller than we expected, but still a must-take photo-op) and onwards down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway that morning.

Walking (not running – sorry, Rocky) along this stretch, the cultural attractions in every direction made it easy to see why it’s nicknamed Museum Mile. With only a few days at our disposal, we wanted to focus on exploring the city at street-level, rather than spending too much time indoors, so we reluctantly made the PMA our only art-stop.

Well, the only conventional one, that is. Philadelphia brims with art: its streets are punctuated by statues, many of which commemorate historical figures and events, and its walls and buildings are emblazoned with a multitude of murals. Publicart programme, Mural Arts Philadelphia, offers guided or selfguided tours, but we decide to aimlessly wander and find treasures on our own, a favourite of which is the Philadelphia Muses, a celebration of contemporary creativity located just off the Avenue of the Arts, at 13th and Locust.

Not far from here, in the South Street neighbourhood, it’s mosaics that stud the walls: huge, dazzling displays of broken tiles, fractured pottery and splintered glass, and whole corridors of refracted light and colour. This is the genius of local artist Isaiah Zagar, whose greatest creation, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, occupies half a block, combining an immersive

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

IMAGE: KYLE HUFF FOR PHLCVB

outdoor installation with indoor galleries. It’s a joyfully disconcerting mess of shattered ceramics, bottles and mirrors, punctuated with bicycle wheels, dolls’ heads, typefaces and folk-art statues.

Zagar’s backstory is also compelling: from 1994 to 2002, his work extended from his studio to the adjoining vacant lots – partly a determined expression against urban ugliness and partly a coping mechanism driven by his own mental-health struggles. In 2004, the out-of-state owner of the vacant lots decided to cash in on rising property prices and sell the land for development, requiring the destruction of the work; but, Zagar campaigned for public support and funds, eventually overturning the sale and establishing the Gardens as a nonprofit organisation.

It’s ‘stick it to the man’ stuff, but even beyond the Magic Gardens, Zagar’s influence on this area is unmistakable, with whole corridors of his dazzling work to admire. It’s difficult to capture the scale and magnificence of the mosaics in photos, so we content ourselves with honing in on details: a glass bauble, an inverted mermaid clutching a bouquet of shells… Look out, too, for Zagar’s ‘self portraits’ in which he is depicted as having four arms, like Shiva: Zagar identifies with the god of transformation and destruction since he transforms destroyed things.

We’re back in Rocky territory the following day, roaming the streets of the open-air Italian Market. It’s an absolute feast for the senses, an appetite-stoking mass of cheese, meats, oils, vegetables, fresh pasta and pastries. This is also where you’ll find Pat’s King of Steaks and Geno’s Steaks, located

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with its user-friendly grid system. We average about 20 kilometres each day and such distances need fuel! Fortunately, the Aloft is located within minutes’ walk of Reading Terminal Market. It’s here we start each day with funnel cakes, soft pretzels, eggs and scrapple, freshly squeezed juices and breakfast roll-ups of turkey sausage, cheese and egg. There are plenty of temptations for later meals, too, with soul food, corn dogs and world foods ranging from paellas and falafel to Asian noodles and Indian curries.

The Market’s bright fluorescents signpost each vendor, the bold rainbow effect of their colours curiously at odds with the plain clothes, scrubbed faces and distinctive head coverings of the Amish vendors (head to Beiler’s for the best doughnut you’ll ever eat). There’s also a distinctly local flavour to proceedings, with shift workers sitting at counters and signalling for a coffee refill, or trundling in with wheeled shoppers to stock up on produce. Despite its location, just opposite the Pennsylvania Convention Center, it’s very clear that this historic market doesn’t exist purely for the benefit of visitors.

That, in fact, is precisely the sense that we get from Philadelphia: it’s entirely welcoming but also wonderfully selfcontained. New York is only three hours’ journey by train but feels a world away, so marked is the contrast between its brashness and Philadelphia’s ease. An ease perfectly summed up by an Aloft employee when I checked in: ‘You know that this is the City of Brotherly Love, right?’ he asked. ‘It’s like, you hang out in the morning, you beat each other up in the afternoon, and you get drunk together in the evening.’ He’s joking, of course – but being here truly does have that level of comfort and familiarity. Culturally and historically rich, yet simultaneously easy to navigate and digest, Philadelphia makes a refreshingly easy-going long-weekend alternative. No wonder that hustler on the Rocky Steps is making such a killing.

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

Room rates at The Aloft Downtown start at US$179 www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/travel/phlad-aloft-philadelphiadowntown Mural Arts Philadelphia: www.muralarts.org Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens: www.phillymagicgardens.org One Liberty Observation Deck: www.phillyfromthetop.com Stratus Rooftop Lounge: www.stratuslounge.com Reading Terminal Market: www.readingterminalmarket.org For further details on Philadelphia, visit www.discoverPHL.co.uk.

Aer Lingus offers seamless connections from London Gatwick to Philadelphia, flying via Dublin where guests can pre-clear US Immigration before stepping onboard their transatlantic flight.

Fares from UK start from £219 (£949 business class) each way, including taxes and charges, when booked as a return trip.

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IMAGE: KYLE HUFF FOR PHLCVB

within spitting distance of one another. These are allegedly the best places in town to grab a Philly cheesesteak. Expect queues and tourists, or skip them both and head to George’s Sandwich Shop (900 S. 9th St), which is located smack bang in the heart of the Italian market and offers a far more authentic experience, with round stools at a shiny metallic counter, a family team serving local banter on either side of you and a Philly cheesesteak of your cheesiest, beefiest dreams.

This down-home attitude permeates much of our time in Philadelphia: it’s easy to forget, at times, just how critical a role this city played in the shaping of the country. Compared to New York, which seems to trumpet its importance at every turn, Philadelphia wears its historical past in an endearingly low-key way. Much of what’s to be seen comes, refreshingly, without a price-tag. Several sites linked to the founding of the United States and the American Revolution are to be found at the Independence National Historical Park: we head to the Independence Visitor Centre for free, with timed tickets to Independence Hall, where the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution took place. From there, we visit the President’s House (essentially the White House from 1790 to 1800). Later, we walk through the Liberty Bell Center, which ends with the cracked icon. Newer attractions, such as One Liberty Observation Deck, are pricey for what they offer: we get an equally lovely view from the Stratus Rooftop Lounge, which is also in the historic neighbourhood.

Near Washington Square, we stumble across quaint cobblestone, tree-lined lanes. There are several of these streets of architectural (and undeniably Instagrammable) gems in Philadelphia; Quince Street is a particular favourite, but lovers of front doors and gorgeous edifices should also walk down the bottom end of Spruce Street, en route to the eponymous harbour, itself an enchanted evening spot full of hammocks, fairy-lights, floating lanterns and street food trucks.

Philadelphia is very much a city that lends itself to walking,

‘I FEAST ON SQUIDINK PASTA LACED WITH CLAMS,

PARSLEY AND

GARLIC, AND SIP ON

THE SORT OF OVERTHE-TOP COCKTAIL (RUM, PINEAPPLE JUICE, ALMOND-

SCENTED CALISSON CREAM) THAT CAN ONLY MAKE SENSE IN PROVENCE.’

IMAGE: DIDIER DELMAS

THE WHITE CLIFFS OF CASSIS MADÉVI DAILLY looks for sea, sun and serenity in the Parc des Calanques From a stony ledge, I peer down at the luminous, impossibly blue waters of the Mediterranean. I’m at Les Roches Blanches – ’the white rocks’ – an aptly named beauty perched on Cassis’s jagged limestone coast. Gleaming vintage cars are lined up alluringly in the courtyard; the breeze rolls in from the Mediterranean, scented with salt and pine. I’ve followed a winding path, past sun-dappled patios, canopied day-beds and a private gate, right down to this seaside perch and its ladder plunging straight into the waves.

After a 14-month head-to-toe revamp that saw floors ripped up, terraces extended and a luscious second pool added, this luxurious bolthole – a mere 40-minute drive from raucous Marseille – reopened last summer, restored to the glory of its art deco heyday. The era’s bold geometric shapes find echoes in the bedrooms’ gilded headboards; unabashed glamour lingers, too, in the lobby’s stuffed peacock and the exotic green tiles of the Sisley spa’s hammam.

Les Roches Blanches has now settled comfortably as the hotspot for the well-heeled on this genteel stretch of coast, within easy boating distance of the pristine islands and coves of the Calanques. I arrive just in time for Sunday brunch at the hotel’s main restaurant Les Grandes Canailles, a rather civilised buffet skipping merrily from oysters to burrata and just-seared beef. There’s a celebratory mood: birthdays, engagements and anniversaries are fêted on the sweeping terrace with lashings of champagne. It’s one of three hideaways for the peckish: its more laid-back sibling Les Petites Canailles rustles up all-day sharing plates, foie-gras topped burgers, while the Loup Bar is just the poolside spot to nibble on sashimis and tartares. Chef

Florian Cano takes inspiration from the Mediterranean diet, with a seasonally changing wine list highlighting the pick of the region’s Cassidian wines. I feast on squid-ink pasta laced with clams, parsley and garlic, and sip on the sort of over-the-top cocktail (rum, pineapple juice, almond-scented calisson cream) that can only make sense in Provence.

I’ve come here for a top-up of tranquility and restorative splashes in warm waters. The latter is easily achieved: my inner mermaid is torn between the lure of the sea, a cliffperched infinity pool and the newer dark-tiled number – a sliver of reflective, bath-hot water that seems to melt into the horizon. I admire a baseball-capped fellow padding into its seductive depths with a Kindle in one hand and an enormous glass of wine in the other. I ponder the paddle boards and snorkels guests can help themselves to, but surrender instead to the child-like pleasure of jumping off the rocks into the waiting waves.

As for tranquility? Les Roches Blanches is all smiles and hushed tones, bliss-inducing cocktails and discreet pool attendants cajoling parasols into optimal positions – all of which help to lull me into a state of serenity I haven’t experienced for months. Exhausted by the rinse-repeat cycle of pool and sea, I flop on the day-bed of my room’s private terrace and fall soundly asleep, soothed by the Mistral and the gentle ballet of boats on the bay – a dreamy end to a pitch-perfect stay.

Les Roches Blanches, 9 Avenue des Calanques, 13260 Cassis. To book, visit https://roches-blanches-cassis.com.

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Think of the Cotswolds and you may think of picture-postcard Bourton-on-the-Water, the pretty Painswick and antiques of Burford, or its main centre, Cirencester. But Tewkesbury – a midsize medieval market town on both the edge of the Cotswolds and the rolling Malvern Hills – has more than its fair share of charm.

And there is perhaps no better place to enjoy it than from the calm and soothing surrounds of Tewkesbury Park, a four-star spa and golfing hotel.

Set on the outskirts of Tewkesbury, the grand historic building, boasting 93 rooms, is believed to have been built in the late 18th Century (though its origins are probably much older, it is likely to have begun as a hunting lodge to the Lord of Tewkesbury).

It’s certainly retained the feel of a royal residence: it chooses carpets and rugs over exposed floorboards, luxurious embroidered curtains over blinds, and traditional rolled arm or camelback style seating throughout. But Tewkesbury Park doesn’t feel old or dusty. Its recent million-pound renovations have added a touch of sparkle throughout; the glass roof gives it a light and airy feel, while flourishes of yellow and gold amid a mostly pale palette feel thoroughly modern. To say a space would suit most people is to designate it boring and inoffensive, but Tewkesbury Park pulls off such a feat tastefully, with character.

And the proof of this is in the clientele. We stayed on a Thursday and Friday night and were able to see the broad demographic of visitors Tewkesbury Park attracted between the mid-week and weekend crowd: couples of all ages, parents and adult children, friends in groups…

For golfers, Tewkesbury Park’s course is named after the

previous use of the land it was built on. Called the Deerpark, it’s now a 6,579 yard, Par 72 golf course created by renowned designer Frank Pennink and has regularly found itself in the prestigious Top 100 Golf Resorts in GB and Ireland rankings – from Golf World and National Club Golfer.

But aside from dozing on a deckchair looking onto the course – enjoying the sunshine and the thwack sound of club meeting ball, sending it soaring into the sky and panorama of the Malvern – I am not there for golf. Instead, I am here to rest my weary London bones and unwind.

We’re staying in one of nine historic suites, at the top end of Tewkesbury’s offering. Our room has dual-aspect Cotswold views, and comes with a luxurious Hypnos bed to melt into, and a doubleended, deep bath tub to soak in. Widescreen mounted televisions and a fully stocked Nespresso machine give you everything you need for a lazy start to the day, though if you need anything else there’s 24-hour room service. The suites are decorated in the royal residence style (think regency armchairs, marble tiles, and real silverware) and are sure to make any guest feel like a VIP.

Mint, Tewkesbury Park’s on-site restaurant, has been revamped recently and must surely now be one of the best restaurants in the Cotswolds (at least as far as I’m concerned). The head chef Anuj Thaker has made his way to Tewkesbury from Devon’s Dartington Hall, and his menu is proudly seasonal, local, and fresh.

The menu changes with the seasons and during our visit it’s blissfully sunny, so we’re delighted to share in a variety of fish and seafood dishes, delicately cooked in garlic and butter, or cured salmon on rye. We’re seated in the orangery section of the restaurant – with daylight coming in through the glass walls it’s a perfect spot to take breakfast and afternoon tea.

The spa itself has treatment rooms, an indoor swimming pool, which somehow we seem to have to ourselves most of the time and connects to an outdoor area where the Jacuzzi sits. There’s also a gym, steam room and sauna, which makes it perfect for any full or half spa days, as well as hen days, romantic getaways and, of course – with 160 acres of grounds to play with – weddings.

I opt for a bespoke facial in which my beauty therapist designs a treatment based on my skin. The lights are dimmed in the treatments rooms, which smell like paradise and have another soft bed to doze off on, as I do – it’s one of the reasons I can’t say in great detail what happened aside from telling you my skin was dewy and radiant after having been exfoliated, moisturised and pores unclogged. (And giving me possibly my loveliest Instagram selfie to date.)

Indeed, a two-night stay feels like a whistle-stop tour. By the time we leave, passing through the town to visit the gothic abbey for a history hit, we feel like we could have done with an extra night.

That’s because Tewkesbury Park delivers on its aim to relax and indulge its guests. Time seems to move slower there; you feel wrapped up in a comforting cocoon as the rest of the world still hurries. When you emerge it’s surprising to see how much time has passed. But you’ll also emerge reinvigorated, re-energised and ready to take on the world.

Prices start from £125 a night incL. breakfast www.tewkesburypark.co.uk

COCO KHAN takes a trip to Tewkesbury: the Cotswolds’ lesser-sung market town

A SPELL AT TEWKESBURY PARK KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

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SID RAGHAVA gets cosy by Curzon Street in a luxuriously kitted-out stay.

THE WASHINGTON MAYFAIR HOTEL

Location, location, location! Be it a home, office or a luxury hotel in a big city, the importance of the ‘triple L’ can’t be overstated.

The Washington Mayfair Hotel is one of those luxurious hotels that meets that requirement and many more. It’s located on Curzon Street, which is well-known to literary buffs and culture aficionados whether local or visiting from afar. Dennis Wheatley’s suave Duke de Richleau resided there, PG Wodehouse’s Junior Ganymede Club was located there and Oscar Wilde based several characters close to the vaunted street. Located right in the heart of Mayfair, the bustling beat of W1 rings firmly in the ear, with the satisfaction of knowing that Park Lane’s a stone’s throw away and the neighbouring ‘Circuses’ of Piccadilly and Oxford.

The hotel’s Art Deco building has stood since the 1910s, but modern updates have endowed The Washington Mayfair Hotel with a sleekness that would particularly suit the business traveller as much as it amounts to an equally satisfying and comfortable stay for leisure seekers. The 178 rooms and suites offer comfort and classic style in a premium area of London for a reasonable cost. The hotel is a self-sufficient property with a worthy restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and a Mahrani afternoon tea – with a greatvalue set menu, too. There’s a fitness centre to keep you active and a bar/lounge for late-night socialising. More useful offerings include a 24-hour business centre and around-the-clock, dedicated and efficient room service.

5 Curzon Street, Mayfair, London W1J 5HE, +44 (0)20 7499 7000, info@ washington-mayfair.co.uk, www.washington-mayfair.co.uk

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MOVING TO MARS AFTERNOON TEA 1 Kensington Court Kensington, W8 5DL WORDS: JAMES MASSOUD

The Milestone Hotel & Residences – a five-star boutique hotel overlooking Kensington Gardens – have created a Mars-themed afternoon tea to coincide with the launch of the nearby Design Museum’s new Moving to Mars exhibition,

opening 18 October 2019. The tea is served with unique finger sandwiches, such as roast chicken in peanut-studded bread, freshly baked scones, your choice of tea and Mars-themed pastries.

The ‘Red Planet’ is comprised of Valrhona Caramelia chocolate mousse, sprayed with red and dark-orange cocoa butter to make it look more cosmic. An aerated ‘Asteroid’ coffee cake piped with chocolate ganache is one of the most aesthetically pleasing pastries. Its asteroid effect is enhanced with chocolateganache craters.

Two sides of the ‘Moon’ are served: one dark grey, one white, both delectable cream-cheese macarons. A vanillaand-chocolate ‘Space’ cake-pop has a chocolate disc in the centre sprinkled with popping candy. And the dark-chocolate ‘Galaxy’ cupcake has triple-toned icing, edible glitter and stars and a sprinkling of silver leaf. Finally, a coconut and passionfruit mousse ‘Star’ sparkles with flecks of gold leaf.

The tea is £52 a person, available in The Milestone Hotel’s Park Lounge (opposite Kensington Palace & Gardens), from 18 October to 25 November 2019.

190 QUEEN’S GATE South Kensington London SW7 5EX WORDS: LAUREN COFFEY Yes, it’s true: the Rolling Stones once threw a launch party at the glamorously velvetlined Bar 190 at The Gore Hotel – it’s a fully-embraced wild-hair moment in the Gore hotel’s storied past. So, you may as well pop in to start (and end) your night with a rock ‘n’ roll cocktail to start you up and give you some satisfaction (ahem). But, we’re here to talk about the bar’s sister restaurant: 190 Queen’s Gate, where giltedged mirrors and lavishly framed portraits hang on the emerald-hued walls of the bijou wood-panelled dining room.

The restaurant’s French-inspired menu is the creation of affable, Michelin Starholding chef Daniel Galmiche (fun fact: he sports specs which, appropriately enough, have arms that resemble knife handles).

Formerly of Relais et Châteaux stay The Vineyard and Cliveden House, Galmiche has also written two books: French Brasserie Cookbook and Revolutionary French Cooking. His light and colourful dishes are crafted with sustainable, locally sourced products (although Galmiche is not shy about sourcing from outside a particular geographical radius if the goods are superior) and the artfully curated wine list includes old favourites and up-andcoming stars.

We start with Pink Taittinger champagne – our cheeks soon match

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

– and Attilus caviar-topped canapés before claiming our places at the sizeable wooden tables. Starters of prettily plated Norwegian fjord sea-trout are buttery, elegant and rich – the quality of the fish is sushi-grade, if you’re wondering – and the roasted endives, grapes and lime add a bitter citrus-y bite. The colourful plate is paired with a glass of English sparkling wine Ridgeview Blanc de Noirs – a spicy, cherry-noted blend of pinot noir and pinot meunier.

For the main event, Galmiche gives a British classic – roast lamb – a modern, provenance-proud twist. Sourced from a royal-warrant-holding, soil-associationcertified farm in Cornwall, the butter-soft Cornish lamb is grilled and topped with an aesthetically pleasing array of grilled and poached asparagus spears, slow-cooked onions and lamb jus. No need, as Galmiche intones, to complicate it when you put it on a plate. The silence during this course, punctuated only by the clinking of glasses filled with a plummy, Bordeaux-like blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot from South Africa, speaks for itself.

The surprisingly light dessert is part premium French chocolate and part performance piece: molten Valrhona is poured over golden orbs of delicate dark chocolate by amiable waitstaff to reveal

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a hidden treasure of coffee streusel and Tonka-and-vanilla-bean ice-cream. There’s talk of ordering seconds, but we’re swayed into some form of self-control the promise of a soon-to-appear cheese course, and glad for it. Galmiche is clearly long-time pals with the cheese supplier – a definite plus that works in clear favour of fromageloving diners. We gleefully sample salty hard cheeses from Cornwall, creamy blues and a nutty Comté alongside a lightly chilled Argentinian chardonnay from the pioneering Catena vineyard. Full? Yes, yes we are. But deliciously, decadently so.

And, we’re willing to wager, with a frame of mind rosier than that of a rock star at a launch party.

IMAGE: LAUREN COFFEY

IMAGE: JADE NINA SARKHEL

ANDINA 157 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, W11 2RS WORDS: KATE WEIR

Andina means ‘a lady of the Peruvian Andes’, and the particular andina we should thank for the meal we received at the Notting Hill eatery of the same name is Mamita Naty: grandmother of Martin Morales, who founded Ceviche and a subsequent empire of Peruvian-British eateries. Her encomiendas (a care package of native superfoods: quinoa, amaranth, purple maize and maca) form the basis of Morales’ food philosophy and his delectable South American menus. Ceviche was revolutionary in its fresh flavourful fare and popularised raw fish cooked in a lime and chilli mix dubbed ‘tiger’s milk’. Andina is an extension of its small-plates, sharing concept – a nod to Peru’s informal all-day diners called picanterias.

The Notting Hill restaurant is a bright airy space with tables arranged around a buzzy open kitchen. First things first, I have to choose from a lengthy list of signature Pisco Sours, available in classic, mini (hmm), ‘Cathedral’ or ‘large’ (now we’re talking), or laced with passionfruit or strawberry. And, there are exotic takes on

LUCKNOW 49 49 Maddox Street, Mayfair, W1S 2PQ WORDS: KATE WEIR If queueing for Dishoom seems a little pedestrian to you, there’s only one place to go for an Indian meal of epic proportions: Maddox street, where Bombay Bustle, Kanishka and Lucknow 49 all serve highend subcontinental fare. It’s the latter (repping for northeastern Indian dining) that we’re seeking out, but keep missing for two reasons: one, we’ve missed the glaring address clue in its name, and two, the Tardis-like restaurant has a vibrant yet cosy look that’s at odds with the heritage antiques, frightfully expensive art and silverservice brasseries in its vicinity.

Diners are cosseted by prettily patterned cushions, bright floral fabric covers the walls and garlands of fake marigolds – the kind used in Hindu rituals – hang from the ceiling.

I don’t personally know founder Dhruv Mittal, but it feels like he’s invited me over for dinner and one of the charming staff might, at any moment, whip out a box of After Eights and Jenga. This cosiness belies the grandeur of Awadhi cuisine’s heritage. After India’s 18thcentury Mughal Empire went into decline, the regnant nawabs moved to Lucknow, bringing their chefs with them. Using the region’s rich spices and applying traditional techniques (notably the ‘dumpukht’ style of slow-cooking, where ingredients are sealed then heated over a low flame), they created

the negroni, Margarita and Martini, too. The classic proves a delightfully chilled foil to the salty toasted corn nuts offered. Andina’s menu runs from sticky-sweet indulgence to zingy veggie-packed picks. Choosing a selection to fill our table requires the delicate art of balancing flavours and textures. We settle on a retinue of chicharron (pork belly) bites, the traditional Peruvian ceviche with seabass, chilli-pressed watermelon salad with quinoa and feta, and Edith’s corn cake.

While we’re not clear who Edith is, aside from someone who’s remarkably generous with her recipes, her sweetcorn and feta cake is a comforting, creamy dish, thickly topped with avocado, salsa criolla and a Huancaina sauce of cheese and chilli. The ceviche is spiky but not fiercely hot, mixed with red onions and sweet-potato slices to make a dish that feels saintly yet exciting. And, I’m impressed by the effective simplicity of the watermelon salad: the chilli adds depth to the flavour, the quinoa texture, the feta a cool creaminess. And the pork-belly bites can frankly do no wrong. When deciding our order, the waiter suggested that ‘we could always order more dishes later’, and my eye does rove to the chancaca-glazed octopus in a lucuma puree, but we are decidedly full, with only room left for another Pisco. With a deliciously different brunch offering and a

budget-friendly express lunch, a repeat visit here is assured.

So, here’s to the andinas who struck up a dialogue with the land’s produce, and to the talented chef who translated this into a truly unique place to stop for a quick snack or heaving table’s worth of a feast. And, to Peruvian’s national drink, the Pisco Sour – we ¡salud! you all.

dishes that make Lucknow a vital dining stop. And now, a must-try in Mayfair…

One cannot order one starter a person in an Indian meal. So, we choose three to share. First up, Gosht Marrah lamb chops – a dish much touted by Lucknow 49’s fans – two delicately spiced, fall-off-thebone wedges of flavourful meat that we pick clean. Galawat Kawab follows: the softest lamb patties, finely minced and flavoured with more than 50 spices (!), which somehow sing harmoniously together.

These were allegedly invented by a onearmed chef for a toothless nawab who had a liking for kebabs. And Aloo Tikka Channa Chaat has chilli-spiked potato patties atop crispy ‘chatpata’ chickpeas in an apricot and grape chutney – a mess of textures and tastes in the best possible way.

The main event is, well, the mains, where slow cooking has a starring role.

Gosht Raan Masala is a quarter leg of lamb that’s been braised, roasted, then served in onion gravy; and Taar Ghosht is a lamb leg cooked in trotter stock and enlivened with 30 spices. The former feels similar to a Sunday roast, with perfectly cooked meat and a rich gravy; however, under the aegis of Indian cuisine, it can’t quite match the Taar Ghosht, whose profuse spices form an umami-rich, near-caramelised sauce that coats each hunk of meat. Again we swoop, feast and leave naught but the bone.

At this point dessert is more an exercise in reportage than something we think we

can achieve, but when two well-dressed plates are whisked over, we bravely raise our spoons. A version of India’s supersweet halwa with purple carrots is visually intriguing and immensely moreish, while a milk cake floating in cardamom-laced condensed milk is a comforting dish that goes down smoothly - a fitting finale and a fitting metaphor for our whole experience.

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MOMO 25 Heddon Street, Mayfair, W1B 4BH WORDS: KATE WEIR With the exception of a low-lit nook in a creaky pub, few places in London can live up to the romance promised by a Moroccan eatery sultry with evening heat and illuminated by pinpricks of light from intricately perforated lanterns, where you’re both perched on velvet-y cushions amid myriad colours. And, it’s a rare eatery that prevails in the balance of sharp-sweet, hotcool and the other contradictions inherent in delicious Moroccan meals.

But, after a lavish revamp to mark its 22nd year (spearheaded by man-behindSketch Mourad Mazouz) London’s premier Berberian eatery Momo comes close to something you might stumble upon when lost in a souk – a sensation its hidden-awayon-Heddon-Street location enhances.

Posteriors are comfortably cushioned, our table is illuminated by a spotlit palm tree and our server pays us the deference a caliph deserves. The freshened-up rooms have handpainted domes and columns, an Art Deco bar, open kitchen, filigreed ogee windows and no skimping on gilding.

They’ve nailed the set-dressing and the fine North African dining. Each new dish reveals the chefs’ skills in crafting the Maghreb’s signature fragrant, sharp and sweet fare. Breads of garlic and spinach and couscous arrive warm with tahini and olive butter. A bottle of rich Moroccan red (Les Celliers de Meknes’ Les Trois Domaines) arrives – I’m used to lashings of Vin Gris, so this aromatic fruity wine makes an intriguing change.

Traditional starters are given Franco flair: foie-gras-soft chicken livers come with pomegranate molasses and sesame; my wood-pigeon pastilla is less a sugar-dusted pasty than a pâtisserie confection topped with a disc of nougatine. Both are exquisite, and I’ve already eyed the harira soup with sweet chebakia biscuits for my next visit. To follow, lamb tagine with prunes and pears is dark, sweet and sticky, murky with spice, with meat that rends from the bone – just as it should be. My partner’s seabass is cooked just-so, served with artichoke and black-olive tapenade.

To finish, I have the signature rum baba that has been recommended by everyone from our on-the-ball waiter to the coatcheck girl to the manager. It’s dreamy, with sponge bathed in well-proofed liquor, generously laden with cream and immersed in syrupy fruit. My partner’s lemon-andbasil-oil tart is artistically competent (many Instagram photos are taken) if a touch too sharp – the sole misstep in a meal that’s taken us on quite the journey.

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LAHPET 58 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch, E1 6JW WORDS: KATE WEIR

LIV-ING IN BELGRAVIA 18–22 Holbein Place, Belgravia, SW1W 8NL

It’s a rare treat that inspires us to journey far from the Royal Borough, but the promise of fine Burmese food proved just the ticket for a journey east, to hip ‘hood Shoreditch. Lahpet itself has had a similarly lengthy journey to this point: it started as a streetfood stall in Spitalfields Market (which remains there to this day), pop-up eatery in Hackney and now a bricks-and-mortar space in a prime spot close to Brick Lane and Shoreditch High Street Station.

Although, that description doesn’t do justice to its elegant interiors: light wood panelling and softly hued metals, Burmese spices and pickles on display, bamboo-framed floor-to-ceiling windows and a choice between the clubby booths or watching the mixologists shake their thing at the serpentine bar.

It has brains to equal those looks, specifically those of Burmese chef Zaw Mahesh and co-owner Dan Anton, who have carved out a niche for this – well, niche, in London – cuisine. The city may be awash in pan-Asian eateries, but Burmese cuisine has flown low on the gastronomic radar. So, this menu is a thrill of untried tastes with ramen-esque noodle bowls, complex curries and colourful salads, flavours veering between vivid lemongrass, ginger and coconut (a nod to Myanmar’s Thai neighbour), to comforting Indian-inflected bites with flaky breads, lentils and peas, with a dash of Sichuan spice thrown in for good measure.

We order a raft of small plates to start. The yellow-pea paratha, perked up with ginger, chilli and mint, was warming with a flatbread as buttery as a croissant, Balachaung dumplings differentiate themselves from dim-sum with a mochi-style pliancy and a delicately pungent filling of dried shrimp, garlic and chilli. The Kachin beef was a stand-out for its flavourful mix of Shalap leaves, cockscomb mint, Sichuan pepper and cilantro, and its meat’s tenderness – a tricky feat for chilled beef. The chef sends over the signature Lahpet Thohk (a pickled-tea-leaf salad with dried shrimp and garlic oil); astringency is played off with its earthy base notes and satisfying crunch.

For mains, my pork and mustard green curry is blessed with a delicately composed sauce, thick and caramel-y with peanuts and a kick of star anise. The meat easily yields to my fork. Shan noodles arrive in a huge steaming dish emitting smoke fragrant with soy and paprika with a porky tang. There’s a generous helping of meat, noodles and veggies, and it’s all very satisfying, but if you should prefer to try Burma’s national dish, try the Mohinga catfish and lemongrass chowder. The slim menu of desserts offer a sweet finish to those with room. My cassava cake, piqued with sharp rhubarb and jaggery crunch is tasty if dense; the kiwi sorbet my partner had was a lighter alternative, freshly made and naturally sweet. Lahpet is a vibrant dining spot with friendly staff, a diverse cocktail list and a slam-dunk new locale, but it’s also an education in a lesser-known Asian cuisine, and – impressively for a city that’s seen it all – something still refreshingly new.

LIV Restaurant Belgravia delivers a fresh approach to all-day dining. Now open in Belgravia – one of London’s most stylish neighbourhoods – LIV is Damien Monley’s first foray into the British market, after his success with several high-profile food and drink businesses in Australia, including the influential all-day Flat White Cafe in Sydney’s upmarket Woollahra. Following that lead, and helmed by Damien (whose honest, generous, healthy style of cooking is all about making the most of quality local ingredients), LIV promises a relaxed approach in both ambience and cuisine.

The interiors of LIV are fitted out in crisp white and neutral hues, with plenty of fresh flowers, linen and wicker, and a contemporary art collection featuring artists such as Henry Moore and Alexander Calder.

On the plate, seasonally changing menus will showcase much-loved classics alongside LIV twists, where great British produce is used in dishes that harmonise global flavours, whether a light breakfast of slow-cooked chai-spiced oats with amaranth, bananas, pecans, seeds, yoghurt and palm sugar, or a heartier king-prawn omelette with basil, Asian slaw, sweet soy, ginger shallot and Sriracha. Not forgetting Damien’s legendary ricotta hotcakes with cinnamon butter, berries, seeds and organic maple. Keeping things loose means that lunch could be a classic brunch-style rainbow bowl with avocado, edamame, beetroot, feta and sprouts; a crispy pork sandwich; a Thai coconut-poached chicken salad; or even a meltingly tender 17-hour Wagyu brisket. Kids can also graze off their own menu, with accessible options including a mini grassfed cheeseburger and pasta pomodoro.

Complementing the food is a global wine list handpicked to enhance the flavours in every dish. Speciality coffees, meanwhile, will include a single-roast from a 100-year-old Neapolitan supplier, delivered weekly and overseen by LIV’s inhouse Italian coffee expert, and regular guest roasts from artisan brands such as Alchemy and Origin – so locals have somewhere to stop in for a professionally pulled latte each day. For those with more time to relax, all-day cocktails continue the Italian theme, with a negroni sbagliato, Aperol Spritz, or a simple mimosa.

LIV is open for breakfast and lunch: 8am–5pm, Tuesday– Friday. From 9am–5pm Saturday, and 9am–4pm Sunday with dinner service expected to be launching in November.

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BEST OF THE BRUNCH Give breakfast a miss and fuel up at the best new rise-and-shine brunches…

CHAKRA 33C Holland Street, Kensington, W8 4LX WORDS: JAMES MASSOUD Kensington’s Chakra restaurant can be found along the borough’s picturesque Holland Street. It’s one of the city’s best-kept Indian dining secrets, beloved by Kensington & Chelsea locals.

Excitingly for them, Chakra’s owner Arjun Varma has recently released both a whole new à la carte menu and he’s launching a bottomless brunch.

So what sets Chakra’s bottomless brunch apart? ‘The beauty is that you can choose any three dishes from our the à la carte, so rather than being a one-off brunch, you can come back time and time again and have a completely different experience, with different flavours and textures,’ says Arjun.

You can try the likes of keema naan stuffed with tasty goat meat or soft-shell crab served with Sichuan-pepper chutney.

‘Stand-outs include our avocado ke gole (avocado dumplings with pickled-beetroot purée and kewpie mustard), Punjabi fish fingers (crispy tilapia with yoghurt and Indian lemon) and the Tandoorgrilled Kashmiri chicken tikka.’ reveals Arjun. The menu has had a complete overhaul and now flows from street food to Desi classics (curries and the like), and from Chota plates (small bites) to Indian grill. So you can pop in and just have a few nibbles with a drink, or indulge in the full works.

Arjun is beaming at the response to the introduction of the bottomless brunch, saying: ‘In the short time our bottomless brunch has been available we’ve already seen people coming back! In particular they have been praising the flexibility of the menu – a lot of bottomless brunches have set menus with classic choices. The nature of our cooking is so different to the high street and offers an upmarket experience with modern North Indian cooking.’ The Chakra bottomless brunch is available from Tuesday through Sunday, between 12 noon and 3pm. Unlimited Prosecco and three items from the menu are £25 (certain dishes incur a £3 surcharge).

On an overcast Sunday we swap the hustle and bustle of Regent Street for Bombay Bustle, a stylish yet relaxed Indian eatery in Mayfair. As diners downstairs enjoy the cricket on a big screen, general manager Ashwan talks us through the fine selection of vegan, vegetarian, meat, and fish options. ‘This place is all about sharing’, he tells us. That suits me as it means I’ll get to try twice as many dishes from this enticing menu – just as long as my partner has forgiven me for tunnelling into her half of a dessert we recently shared.

The first of our drinks arrive. During the course of our brunch we’ll get to sample all six colourful mimosa concoctions. We particularly appreciate the Andhra Chilli-Spiced Mango, and also the Kerala Curry Leaves and Ginger, which are both refreshing, yet robust enough to hold their own amid the array of flavoursome food coming our way.

Things get off to a great start. Spiced scrambled egg with generous slices of truffle served on naan bread is superb; and a shrimp and vegetable stew served in a bowl-shaped dosa pancake, lined with a fried egg, scores highly for both presentation and taste. For the adventurous, dosas are available stuffed with with bheja (brain) pepper masala, but we’ve plumped for aloo masala, which are crispy with a comforting, spicy warmth. A dal of black lentils with garlic and butter has been cooked overnight

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

IMAGE: SATU SALONPAA

SAMOSAS, DOSAS & MIMOSAS: BOMBAY BUSTLE’S NEW BRUNCH 29 Maddox Street, Mayfair, W1S 2PA WORDS: NEIL KEENAN

to produce a deep, earthy flavour that is also wonderfully creamy.

A crispy potato pattie served with peas, tamarind chutney and honey yogurt has a sublime balance of sweetness and spice.

To be honest, in our excitement at the delights on offer we’ve probably ordered too much – a couple of dishes each would have sufficed. Fortunately, we save just enough room for a trio of sorbets, including a particularly fine orange-and-basil combo – another triumph of unexpected flavours, and the perfect end to our meal.

With smiles and handshakes all round we head back down Regent Street, refuelled and refreshed by our culinary adventure.

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MOTCOMBS 26 Motcomb Street, Belgravia, London SW1X 8JU WORDS: KATE WEIR Motcombs brasserie and bar (named after the extremely wellheeled street it lives on) has been a Belgravia institution since the Eighties. With its wicker chairs and tables spilling out onto the pavement, cheery staff and unpretentious interior trappings – elbow-jostling banquettes, white tablecloths, a smattering of serious paintings, football on somewhere in the background – there’s an informal air to proceedings, even if many diners are clad in Savile Row’s finest with some flashy trimmings.

But, it seems this is what passes for a casual Tuesday in one of London’s most moneyed ‘hoods. I’m warmly welcomed despite my just-legged-it-from-work wear. Each staff member smiles hello as we pass, menus and water are brought post-haste. Motcombs brings to mind a ‘Cheers’ for Sloane Rangers without an overjovial US attitude – after all, the locals really do love the place and one can imagine the staff only becoming more personable on return visits. With its menu of foolproof classics, laidback fanciness and if-it-ain’t-broke retro air, it’s a homey constant in a district of increasingly scalable means.

My smoked-salmon starter is a generous helping of flavourful deep-pink slabs simply served with bread, butter and lemon for dressing; my partner’s delicate crab comes à la shell, piqued with chilli. Mains of lobster-and-prawn spaghetti with datterini tomatoes, fresh herbs and lemon, and a sirloin steak with watercress and Béarnaise sauce are menu stalwarts done well, with high-quality ingredients and a heavy hand on the shellfish. Our sweets of baked Alaska and tiramisu could be from Motcombs original playbook.

Reassurance rather than reinvention seems to be the aim here and the unfussy fare is all the better for it.

But, Motcombs isn’t averse to new tricks – from Thursday to Saturday, owners Ross and Jax Anderson have established a supper club, where elegant French dishes (duck-liver terrine with sauternes jelly, Tournedos Rossini, truffle gnocchi…) are accompanied by live jazz and DJ-spun tracks in the restaurant’s downstairs, which has been revamped in South African-inspired style. A list of Twenties-throwback cocktails has been compiled, too. All the more reason to follow the Sloanies’ – exquisitely tailored – suit and make this your local, wherever you live in London.

TEMPER 2 Angel Court, EC2R 7HJ WORDS: SARAH RODRIGUES Given that we’re just a few minutes’ walk from Bank, it’s not difficult to understand why the tables and booths around the edges of Temper City are filled with suited sorts who probably have a bottomless budget. Well, no, it’s not difficult to understand, but there’s still something about it that makes us, seated around Temper’s central fire pit, shake our heads in something like pity.

Money is all very well, and maybe it can buy theatre but it’s no match for the theatre we’re spying from these ringside seats: a spectacle of heavily tattooed arms, beards that mean business and huge slabs of meat, slung about with ferocious intent. Fire rises up greedily as it connects with sensually dripping fat; it lasciviously licks at the raw protein and creates aromas that make your mouth crackle with saliva. Here, you can completely empathise with Prometheus.

We start with a plate of tacos, variously loaded with smoked goat, pork al pastor and zingy sauces; these are accompanied by the morsels of flesh that the chefs hand us, with abrupt gestures and cocked eyebrows, over the counter as they brandish glinting knives and slice through sinew. Another reason not to sit at the restaurant tables: this feels wickedly clandestine, not to mention the fact that every mouthful has us in an ecstasy of anticipation for our mains.

Signature cocktails go down exceptionally well, but we’re cautious not to dilute the enormity of the Temper experience with alcohol, so we take it easy: no mean feat, when everything about being here speaks of wild abandon and excess. We want to drink ourselves silly and eat ourselves stuffed. On cheekily pointing out that some pork bones being stripped by the chef have skerricks of meat remaining on them – Temper takes a whole animal approach – the bones are immediately passed over to us to slurp gleefully on; safe to say, they’re bare and dry within a minute.

We really don’t need anything sweet after our Porterhouse steaks with beef-fat potatoes and burnt-end Thai larb, but the staff will have none of it. The Deep-Dish Brigadeiro Cookie, served with Fior di Latte ice-cream, is just the final high note of the decadent experience that is Temper. Even the lighter sorbet comes with a heady infusion of mezcal and gin. Virtue abandoned and appetites tested, Temper truly sets the night alight.

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KUTIR 29 Maddox Street, Mayfair, W1S 2PA WORDS: SID RAGHAVA

This summer, cricket took centre stage when England became Champions at the World Cup for the first time in the tournament’s history, after a final that was arguably – or rather, inarguably – the greatest one-day match ever played. A crowning glory that included a tied match and score in the deciding super-over. It’s not entirely strange that cricket is only played as a serious sport in just two handfuls of countries, all part of the Commonwealth, which share a certain amount of recent history and have common cultural threads that bind them. The gentleman’s sport takes discipline and patience to get to grips with, something which comes with continued dedication from a very young age and a system that encourages growth. This is true with any sport, but particularly so in cricket.

Incidentally, another shared passion of the Commonwealth is curry. Whether you have roti in Port of Spain or bunny chow in Durban, a vindaloo in Goa or a chicken-tikka masala in Glasgow: the enthusiasm for a curry runs deep within our unified identity.

Thus, Kricket restaurant – a joint venture from founders Will Bowlby and Rik Campbell – is testament to that shared culture and passion for a good curry. From its start as a 20-seater in a 20-feeter (shipping container) in Brixton, Will and Rik expanded to a hundred-cover restaurant in Soho and have now shifted their focus westwards towards White City.

The new menu has the same vim and vigour of the original concept – taking authentic Indian flavours from varied locales, such as Mumbai, Hyderabad and Goa, and using high-quality British produce to craft a champion breed of curry. Bold new dishes share kitchen space with heavyweight favourites in a smorgasbord that includes venison and aged-beef-fat kebab, Tandoori wood pigeon, samphire pakoras, bhel puri and Keralan fried chicken – the latter being a personal favourite.

And then there are the drinks – because for every Tendulkar, you have your Flintoff – and the bar at Kricket delivers cocktail flavours of the Indian kind in an amazingly friendly environment.

Dark Matter is a mixture of spiced rum with mango, green chilli and pink peppercorn. If that doesn’t inspire you to put your gloves on for a cheeky game of bat and ball then try Colonel Mustard which mixes vodka with mustard seed, lemon and agave.

Cricket is a passion that ignites the senses; once hooked, the devotee will keep coming back for that unique experience their whole lives long. Ditto for curry and, now, Kricket.

Kutir is a wonderful concept, quite indicative of the monumental shift in the quality of Indian food available in the capital. ‘A small cottage in the middle of nowhere’, as it literally translates from its Sanskrit name, is the sincere premise behind the restaurant’s simple philosophy – a rejuvenating experience for the hungry traveller. It is at the same location of what was most definitely the forebear of sophisticated Indian cuisine – Vineet Bhatia’s legendary Rasoi – appropriately so because Rohit Ghai is no less than a legend in the making himself, having masterminded Jamavar and Gymkhana to the top of the scales in the subcontinental, highend-fare stakes. The ‘middle of nowhere’ within its name almost always refers to jungles and wooded green spots, hence the menu’s emphasis on game and rustic meat dishes. It’s a tradition that has existed in India since its early Vedic civilisation through to its Royal kitchens to heritage homes in India’s vast and expansive wildlife resorts. Despite being a largely vegetarian and vegan country, many Indians adore meat and Kutir displays that love and passion on its chef’s metaphoric sleeve.

The aforementioned heritage homes and wildlife reserves are quite directly the inspiration points for Kutir. Ghai’s previous experience as a Michelin-starred chef comes to the fore in steering this rather interesting idea to a well executed business. The starters are full of non-meat heavyweights, including aloo tikki (a crispy potato pattie, flavoured with honey yoghurt and served with traditional tamarind and mint chutneys) and broccoli khasta (a filowrapped pastry served with cauliflower pickle). There is also the allure of the Gujarati dhokla: a fermented and feathery light cake made from chickpea flour. Other exemplary vegetarian entrees include jackfruit kofta and truffle khichadi.

The meaty offerings are best experienced through the Expedition menu. The tasting extravaganza includes prawn masala, tandoored salmon and lamb chops and the ever popular chicken tikka masala. They’re all simple, straightforward and wellknown dishes in principle, but the finishing is par excellence and those bold, meaty flavours shine bright. There’s also the quail naan and guinea fowl biryani – a must for every patron at Kutir. Wines and drinks are of discerning quality, too.

All in all, Rohit Ghai delivers brilliantly – as expected – and residents in the Royal Borough have another certified heavyweight in its pantheon of quality offerings. Kutir resides just off King’s Road, parallel to Draycott Avenue, on the corner of Bray Place and Lincoln Street – secluded enough to be ‘Kutir’ for bustling Chelsea.

IMAGE: CHARLIE MCKAY

KRICKET 101 Wood Lane, White City, W12 7FR WORDS: SID RAGHAVA

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DIN TAI FUNG 5 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 8PT WORDS: HARRIET BEDDER I have long-awaited the opening of Din Tai Fung in Covent Garden for the main reason that I am very good friends with an Aussie.

And, apparently all Aussies are crazy for the DTF dumpling.

As soon as she heard through the grapevine that über-successful eatery was opening in Covent Garden, it was all she could talk about: the thousands of dumplings handmade every day, the wildly varying flavours (something unique to DTF), the lengthy menu. And – above all – the fact that it made her nostalgic for her hometown on the west coast of Australia. DTF was also named one of the top 10 restaurants in the world by The New York Times in 1993; and, in 2009, the restaurant’s first Hong Kong branch was awarded a Michelin star by the 2010 edition of the Hong Kong and Macau Michelin Guide. There are now over 160 restaurants in 14 countries.

A few weeks later, we head over to the restaurant to join the unavoidable queue, which can snake halfway down Henrietta Street, often past Covent Garden institutions Frenchie and Flat Iron. Once inside, as we’re led to our table, we’re a touch underwhelmed by our surroundings. Apart from some gorgeous potted plants framing the main balcony (the restaurant has two levels), the eatery is more Zizzi than Zédel. But, much of the clientele appears to be of Asian descent, which I take as a portent of an incredible meal. On the way to the table we see five chefs in the glass-walled kitchen, rapidly preparing perfect, neatly pinched dumplings – suddenly, neither of us care about the atmosphere or interior design. We just can’t wait to see the menu.

BOMBAY BUSTLE 29 Maddox Street, Mayfair, London W1S 2PA WORDS: SID RAGHAVA Bombay: A city that’s inspired billions within India and has consistently caught the imagination of people around the world.

It has been described as ‘Maximum City’, a ‘miracle of ordered chaos’ and a ‘dream factory of untethered possibilities’. The familiar hustle and bustle of Mumbai (its rebranded moniker) is legendary and staggering beyond belief. To make that point, one need only look at its suburban railway network which operates over 2,300 services every single day, averaging at around 100 trains an hour – thus making it the busiest commuter-train system in the world, with

However, once we lay eyes on it, we realise that there is almost too much on offer. So – to get stuck into the dumplings faster – we ask the waiter for his top recommendations. That way we avoid panicking and ordering more ‘commercial’ dishes rather than those true signature stars. In the end we get the best of both worlds – and an immense feast – prawn and pork shaomai; crab and pork and truffled pork xiaolongbao, vegan jiao, chilli prawnand-pork wontons, spicy crab and pork bun and nai bai.

Our favourites included the vegan jiao which was surprisingly full of flavour, despite the lack of meat. They packed a punch, with a – not too feel-the-burn – kick of chilli that complemented the vegetable filling. For me, the pork and vegetable wontons with black vinegar and chilli oil took the number-one spot for me, the seasonings were delicately balanced, making these dangerously moreish. The truffle pork xiaolongbao were tasty, but didn’t live up to their hype – the truffle somewhat overpowered the dish.

And, the near winners were the chilli crab and pork buns and the prawn and pork shaoimai.

We finish with red-bean xiaolongbao (filled with a sweet adzuki-bean paste) with chocolate lava and steamed custard buns. They were almost savoury: the custard buns had a lightly salted, vibrant yellow filling made from duck-egg yolks. They were delicious but extremely rich – definitely a dish to share.

From its humble roots as a Taiwanese-alley snackbar, to a worldwide sensation, we can’t help but applaud the once local eatery. It’s ongoing success could be because they strive to ensure consistency in the food’s quality and believe that ‘ingredients should be natural, noodles should be handmade, and the stuffing should be real’ – certainly a winning formula to these happy customers.

7.5 million people using it daily. Images of overflowing trains with passengers on top are famous and most of those stock photos emerge from the busy tracks of Bombay. So while this mode of transport isn’t a luxurious offing, the partners running Bombay Bustle – chef Surender Mohan and founder Samyukta Nair – used it as a template, taking the railway concept to higher, more refined levels. The idea centre’s around dishing out rustic, home-cooked food, usually craved by most professionals in the commercial capital of India and savoured on train networks and platform diners. The decor at Bombay Bustle certainly evokes the romance of eating in a posh train carriage. The seating and light fixtures both resemble the designs of The Maharajahs’ Express, Palace on Wheels or The Deccan Odyssey: the trinity that represent the pinnacle of luxury train travel in the Subcontinent and indeed the world. So, with chef Mohan steaming ahead, the scene is set here for an evening of delicious and authentic Indian cuisine.

The menu is replete with tongue-tingling small plates and traditional favourites. The Koliwada squid is delicately flavoured with chilli, garlic and carom seeds; papri chaat samosas, are a firm street-food favourite; Bohri lamb is a mild curry that famously hails from the eponymous caste of Muslims that form an integral part of Bombay’s trading community. Achari lamb chops are just-so succulent and Malabar chicken wings bring the heat, but elegantly so. Dum nalli Biryani is a moreish delight, a classic version of the famous rice dish with lamb shanks, while the rah rah kheema pao dazzles in its unctuous glory. Classic cocktails of the Mumbai persuasion – aptly named Palace on Wheels and Pearl of Bombay – impress too. There is an effortless ease to the ambience which is subtly upmarket and reassuringly relaxed; and staff zip about, like they’re working a busy lunchtime in Bombay – but in the middle of Mayfair. So, Bombay Bustle lives up to its name and should definitely be the next stop for any enthusiast of modern Indian cuisine. (And, we were lucky enough to try Bombay Bustle’s new brunch – read on page 54.)

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SHOPPING EDIT

What we’re spending our money on this Summer...

Bolin Webb Luxury Razors (all come with a two-year guarantee) | prices vary, purchase at Harrods, Selfridges and The Conran Shop, or online at www.bolinwebb.com

Colloidal Earth’s Colloidal Silver (£32 for 500ml, anti-inflammatory, muscle repairing, immunesystem boosting and beneficial for health overall) and Complete Colloidal Mineral Complex (£30 for 500ml, with anti-microbial effects; energy, immunity-boosting and antibacterial properties and combats eczema) www.colloidalearth.com

Hedgepig Zesty Elderflower Gin Liqueur (ABV 29.8%) www.pinkstergin.com £32 for 50cl, £16 for 20cl

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Ekster® voice-activated leather smart wallet compatible with Alexa and Google Home, can be traced worldwide and is charged using solar power From US $59 (around £48) | www.ekster.com

Kokoro Gin £30 for 70cl, www.kokorogin.com

Playbrush interactive smart toothbrush from £24.99 | www.playbrush.com

Vitamin Injections London Vitamin C 20% Super Serum (£49 a shot) or Vitamin E Everything Moisturiser (£34 a shot) www.vitamininjections.co.uk

Hairstory™ New Wash hair cleanser £44 for 236ml | www.hairstory.com

Spotlight teeth-whitening strips and kit for men Both £35 | www.spotlightwhitening.com

Evo Heatwave Hair, Whip it Good styling mousse £21 for 200ml, www.evohair.com Gorgias London skin and hair care with fragrant oils From £14.95, www.gorgiaslondon.com D’Alchemy Big & Small Pamper Essentials Duo £75 | www.dalchemyskincare.com Galago Joe Men’s and Kids’ tailored swim shorts From £85 for men’s styles £35 for kids’ styles | www.galagojoe.com Vodafone Palm lightweight smartphone £350 Pay as you Go (when bought with a £10 Big-Value Bundle), www. vodafone.co.uk

Twisk Shoes Hustler brushed-grey boots £350 | www.twiskshoes.com

Three Spirit plant-based non-alcoholic spirit £25 for 50cl, www.threespiritdrinks.com

Nuna Mixx Nuna the premium baby brand and favoured choice for A-list celebs has had a huge hit with its new Threaded Collection that encompasses a range of hand-selected high-quality fabrics. The soft, breathable merino wool with its temperatureregulating features provides the ultimate balance of comfort and insulation, while its exquisite trimmings and meticulous details give the Threaded Collection a timeless, tailored look. The new Nuna Mixx (formerly the Mixx2) is the natural successor to its popular namesake predecessor. The 2019 model ups the ante with a range of useful extras for the pram enthusiast, including incrementally better seat positioning, a mesh seat, removable seat-liner, leather handle-bar, finer tweed fabric blend, chrome detailing on wheels and general gimmicky goodness. It’s a hit. £450 for a MIXX, £150 for a MIXX carrycot www.nunababy.com

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THE

Beauty EDIT.

EASTER EGG HUNT READY: OUR SPRING BEAUTY GUIDE...

.

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ADVERTORIAL

INTRODUCING: DR FIONA MCCARTHY CHELSEA’S BEST KEPT SECRET FOR SUBTLE SKIN TRANSFORMATION When it comes to investing in your skin – we all want that beautiful, glowing result and there seems to be no shortage of ‘miracle creams’ and snazzy-sounding treatments out there to tempt you. But where to begin? Who should you trust with your most precious asset – your face?

Introducing Dr Fiona McCarthy – Chelsea’s newest expert skincare resident. A consultant oncologist with nearly two decades of medical experience, Dr Fiona offers an expert pair of hands when it comes to facial aesthetics. As a busy mother of two herself, Dr Fiona understands all too well how self-care can often fall to the bottom of the list and has dedicated her aesthetic career to helping women restore and reclaim their health, beauty and inner vibrancy through the highest quality, proven treatments and products. Now practicing from the Chelsea Private clinic, Dr Fiona offers a unique approach to beauty, wellness and ageing – using bespoke, holistic treatments to restore and rejuvenate her patients from the inside out.

BE RESTORED, BE REVIVED, BE YOU Dr Fiona is renowned for her subtle yet transformative results and has a passion for a holistic and preventative approach to ageing.

She offers only the highest quality award-winning aesthetic treatments, including wrinkle-relaxing injections, dermal-filler, PDO threads, chemical peels, medical microneedling, Profhilo skin rejuvenation and cosmeceutical skincare. Women’s wellness is central to Dr Fiona’s ethos, so she is particularly proud to offer ThermiVa - the industry-leading feminine rejuvenation treatment - having trained with top consultant gynaecologist Prof. Jim Dornan to help women restore their confidence following childbirth. Caring and kindness are central to Dr Fiona’s approach and she firmly believes in going the extra mile for her patients. Whether this is just coming in for a bit of advice and talk

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

through to concerns or proceeding with a treatment – patients can rely on her expert support.

RESET YOUR SKIN FOR SPRING So what would Dr Fiona recommend to get skin ready for Spring-Summer 2019? Many people find their skin is stuck in a dull, depleted state following the long winter months, with harsh weather and central heating playing havoc with skin’s delicate balance. Now newly launching at the Chelsea Private Clinic, Dr Fiona’s Spring Skin Reset treatment offers the ultimate kickstart remedy to revive those worn winter complexions.

This two-step regime begins with a bespoke facial peel to lift away those months of neglect - using either glycolic, mandelic or lactic acid formulations depending on the individual skin needs - whether oily / acne-prone, or sensitive, rosacea types. This is followed by Profhilo - injecting super-hydrating fluid hyaluronic acid into five key points around each side of the face to deliver the ultimate skin glow. Finally, to keep your beautiful spring skin in pristine condition, all patients receive a complimentary cleanser and SPF to use from home.

Dr Fiona says: “This tailored treatment combination is so good for resetting the skin and kickstarting the natural collagen renewal process. After just two weeks the skin feels fresher, the pores are tighter and you get that wonderful healthy glow that gets people asking what your skincare secret is... After six weeks your own collagen starts really kicking in and it’s an even better effect that lasts around 4-6 months - my patients love it!”

The Spring Skin Reset treatment – from £799 For more information and to book your bespoke skin consultation with Dr Fiona, please contact: drfionamccarthy@gmail.com / 0207 565 0333 The Chelsea Private Clinic, The Courtyard, 250 Kings Road, London, SW3 5UE

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“MY STYLE IS ABOUT SUBTLE ENHANCEMENTS & HELPING PATIENTS LOOK LIKE THE BEST VERSION OF THEMSELVES – HEALTHY, RESTED & REJUVENATED – NOT SUSPICIOUSLY WRINKLE-FREE OR OVER-DONE.” PAGE 37

AUTUMN BEAUTY EDIT What’s keeping our hair shiny and frizz-free as the weather changes? Which products are helping our skin to stay smooth and hydrated? Beauty editor LISA CURTISS finds this season’s best buys.

SKINCARE SPECIALS NATURA SIBERICA: CAVIAR GOLD NIGHT FACE CREAMCONCENTRATE YOUTH INJECTION This unique and deliciously scented cream goes right to the heart of ageing-skin issues, helping to restore the skin’s natural beauty. Its active components include gold, black-caviar extract, wild herbs, hyaluronic acid and Vitamin F. Soothing and easily absorbed, this is an indulgent part of a daily skincare ritual. £37.99 – buy it at www.naturasiberica.co.uk PERRICONE MD: INTENSIVE OVERNIGHT MOISTURISER A super-moisturising overnight treatment that uses timereleased nutrition to improve skin elasticity throughout the night.

Formulated with Acyl-Glutathione to reduce the look of wrinkles and a Vitamin F blend to aid suppleness, this treatment is ideal for those seeking to firm, tighten and restore facial contours. £129 – buy it at www.perriconemd.com SKIN ALCHEMISTS: SESENNE FACIAL ELIXIR This is a highly effective, 100 per cent natural facial oil made of organic and wild-harvested, pure essential and cold-pressed oils. Skin Alchemist’s St Lucian heritage is evident in the elixir’s 24 therapeutic, botanical, skin-loving elements from the Caribbean – a blend passed down through generations, historically proven to naturally heal, renew and transform your skin. Precious oils of rose otto and jasmine give the elixir a wonderful fragrance and enhance its illuminating and nourishing qualities. Rosehip oil, cacay oil and Coenzyme Q10 also help to hydrate and plump. £85 – buy it at www.skinalchemists.com

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

REVAIR: THE WORLD’S FIRST REVERSE-AIR HAIRDRYER This innovative design uses reverse-air-suction technology to dry even the curliest hair straight in a fraction of the time a usual blow-dry would take. It features seven settings of reverse-air speed and three heat levels, and you don’t even need to use a brush with it. This also uses less heat and 50 per cent less energy than conventional dryers, too. £359 – buy it at www.myrevair.co.uk MONAT: ADVANCED HYDRATING SHAMPOO This shampoo’s sulphate-free formula hydrates as it cleanses – the first step in improved manageability, bounce, body and magnificent shine. Capixyl™ supports natural hair growth for the ultimate in pro-ageing haircare, and Rejuveniqe S™ and PatcH20™ intensely moisturise parched, dehydrated hair. £35 – buy it at www.monatglobal.com MONAT: ADVANCED HYDRATING CONDITIONER This feather-light conditioner delivers heavyweight hydration.

Murumuru-seed butter and Babassu-kernel oil – alongside hairgrowth treatment Capixyl™ and hyaluronic acid – give results in soft, manageable, bouncy hair. £43 – buy it at www.monatglobal.com CHRISTOPHE ROBIN HYDRATING MELTING MASK WITH ALOE VERA Treat your hair to this hydration shot. Composed of 98 per cent natural-origin ingredients, this mask will penetrate the hair-fibre to provide hydrate then seal it at its core. Key ingredients include aloe vera and flaxseed oil. £27 – buy it at Harrods (www.harrods.com), Space NK (www. spacenk.com) and Fortnum & Mason (www.fortnumandmason. com) GHD GLIDE: PROFESSIONAL HOT BRUSH The firm favourite of salons and styling addicts world-wide, this professional hot brush can straighten, kink and wave any texture hair with minimum damage and absolute ease. £125 – buy it at www.ghdhair.com

HEAVENLY HAIR PRODUCTS PAGE 55

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OUR PICK OF AUTUMN PERFUMES The finest wrist-spritzes this season

1. ROOS & ROOS: PALE BLUE EYES Warming scents of tonka bean, cashmere and sandalwood temper rich rose, iris and blackcurrant buds in this delicious and distinctive new fragrance. www.roosandroos.fr | 100ml EDP for £170 2. CARTIER: LES HEURES VOYAGEUSES This scent features the most legendary eastern ingredient: oud wood, masterfully coupled with contrasting scents of rose, resin, musk, ginger and mint, to create a rare and heady new fragrance. www.cartier.co.uk | 75ml EDP for £317 3. BOUCHERON: PATCHOULI D’ANGKOR Created with the Temples of Angkor as its inspiration, this decadent new perfume stars top notes of jasmine and pear, tempered with patchouli, black pepper, guaiac wood and white musk. https://uk.boucheron.com | 125ml EDP for £175 4. CARTIER: CARAT SPARKING Inspired by Cartier’s iconic jewellery, this perfume’s new limitededition bottle is designed to emulate diamonds’ light and radiance and the way they reflect and shine on the skin. Notes of violet, hyacinth, ylang-ylang and honeysuckle are freshened with vibrant daffodil and tulip. www.cartier.co.uk | 50ml EDP for £75

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5. TOCCA: MAYA Wild iris, sweet-violet leaf, sharp blackcurrant and bitter orange are beautifully blended with feminine rose and heady jasmine to create this distinctive and memorable fragrance. www.tocca.com | 100ml EDP for £98

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1. CARTIER: LA PANTHÈRE ICONIQUE La Panthère fragrance embodies feline wiles in its intoxicating floral scent. This allegory of Cartier femininity features bold gardenia and rich musk in a gorgeous limited-edition bottle. www.cartier.co.uk | 75ml EDP for £114

2.

2. ERMANNO SCERVINO: ERMANNO SCERVINO EDP An iconic eponymous fragrance inspired by the maker’s Italian heritage, it embodies elegance, luxury and femininity. Top notes of neroli and green mandarin couple with a heart of heady tuberose, jasmine and vanilla. www.ermannoscervino.com | 100ml EDP for £93 3. KENZO: KENZO WORLD POWER Sharp, tangy cypress and sea salt are softened with tonka bean absolute in this distinctive new fragrance, designed to showcase the multiple facets of femininity, empowerment and how blending opposing scents can sometimes be beautiful. www.kenzoparfums.com | 50ml EDP, £65 4. JIMMY CHOO: URBAN HERO Created as an ode to the mysterious and confident Jimmy Choo man – who has an underlying hint of mischief, sophistication and sensitivity, with a rebellious touch. Top notes of fresh lemon caviar, vetiver and rosewood are softened with amber and leather accord. www.jimmychoo.com | 100ml SRP, £70

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

‘BE READY TO CONFRONT YOURSELF. FIONA, WISE,

WARM AND OCCASIONALLY

IRREVERENT, HAS AN UNCANNY WAY OF REDUCING YOU TO A SKEIN OF SILK, WHICH SHE

GENTLY UNRAVELS TO ITS FULL, UNTANGLED AND

SHIMMERING LENGTH.’

HEALING HAVEN SARAH RODRIGUES discovers a powerfully transformative retreat in the heart of London On exiting Notting Hill Tube Station, you’re in the thick of it: London at its ‘gram-hunting, sightseeking, fashion-stalking best. Even a few hundred metres down the road, at Holland Park, where it’s leafier and less touristy, it’s still hectic. So it’s a testament to the tranquility of Fiona Arrigo’s A Place to Heal that when mounting the slightly wonky stairs, all the chaos fades away. The neutrally hued space has a mass of greenery, inviting cushions and intriguing figurines – it feels as comforting as a bear hug. Here, you’re held in a bosom that’s been curated out of eBay and market finds, so your aesthetically-led yet eco-conscious mind is not jarred from its place of ‘ready-to-rest.’

And, oh boy, are we ready to rest. Tired of London, tired of life? No, just tired. An unprecedented number of city dwellers claim to be plagued by burn-out, with women tipping the exhaustion scales slightly more than men.

Exhaustion’s adjuncts – overwhelm, anxiety, nervousness, depression, loneliness – are even more telling.

Small wonder, then, that the popularity of retreats, packaging wellness and mindfulness with side orders of sunshine and chia, has seen an astonishing surge. From yoga to colonics, juicing to forest bathing, increasing numbers of people are seeking solace from turmoil, whether internal or external. However, despite the proliferation of escape-style options, there’s still this tiny fly in the ointment: many of us can’t find the time to tune in, turn on and drop out with our better, more relaxed and enlightened selves. If we could, we may not be in such a stressed-out mess.

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Step in, Fiona Arrigo: a qualified Biodynamic Psychologist, life teacher, mentor and founder of the award-winning Arrigo Programme, who has created this haven with a programme of events, lectures, workshops and empowering personal consultations that’s centrally located, yet feels a world away. The location, coupled with the fact that not everyone can find time for one-to-one therapy sessions, is also the thinking behind the Urban Retreat programmes: these non-residential respites incorporate treatments like meditation, private consultation and breathwork, and can be taken over the course of one weekend or 28 days.

And, as cocooning as the space is, there’s a handy at-home service, for those who are London based and may wish to ‘retreat’ somewhere familiar.

Be ready to confront yourself. Fiona, wise, warm and occasionally irreverent, has an uncanny way of reducing you to a skein of silk, which she gently unravels to its full, untangled and shimmering length. It’s silk in the most fabulous and glorious of colours, mind you, and you will absolutely feel this to be true by the time your session is over, even if you need to lie down in a dim room for a while to take it all in. Fortunately, this space to decompress is factored into my session, with a tranquilityboosting crystal bed, a much needed antidote after the therapeutic breathwork (incredible that something we do instinctively can be done so powerfully) that followed my one-to-one with Fiona.

Even so, cancel your evening plans: it’s more than worth it.

A one-day weekend retreat is priced at £860 and a 28-day non-residential retreat is priced at £1,895. www.thearrigoprogramme.com PAGE 60

MOTORING

JACK BARCLAY AND HUNTSMAN LIMITED EDITION BENTLEY BENTAYGAS

The flagship Jack Barclay showroom, Bentley’s oldest retailer, has partnered with renowned Savile Row tailor Huntsman to create two limited-edition Bentaygas.

Each of the Huntsman Bentley Bentaygas has been commissioned with Bentley’s bespoke Mulliner division, with buyers able to choose between ‘The Sportsman’ or ‘The Businessman’. Both feature a distinctive Peck 62 tweed throughout the interior, which has been exclusively created in celebration of Huntsman’s centenary year and is inspired by an original Gregory Peck coat from the Huntsman archives. The inner door panel and each front seat map-pocket is overlaid with a carbon-fibre veneer.

Buyers of both will also notice the bespoke Mulliner wooden

chessboard in the rear seat rest, complete with a drawer trimmed in Huntsman fabric that houses the chess pieces.

The chessboard nicely mirrors the Jack Barclay showroom’s chequerboard floor, which has been in place since Jack Barclay moved to the site in 1953. Huntsman and Jack Barclay logos are embroidered into each of the seat rests.

‘The Sportsman’ has been styled with relaxed countryside pursuits in mind, with Imperial Blue leather and Liquid Amber veneer inserts, paired with a vibrant Candy Red exterior.

Meanwhile, ‘The Businessman’ has a much more urban feel, with a deep black Anthracite Satin finish to its lower half, and a contrasting Anthracite Gloss finish to the top half. The interior is crowned with dark Beluga hide and carbon-fibre veneer inserts.

MOTORING

CITY CAR SPECIAL Our motoring editor LISA CURTISS has picked the latest and greatest motoring models available – each perfect for city life. This selection includes some perennially popular classics, plus revolutionary electric eco-marvels.

SEAT MII ELECTRIC The start of an electric future for SEAT, this – the brand’s smallest model – is perfectly poised to provide a super-stylish and ecoconscious city-driving choice. Like all SEATs, the Mii Electric comes with a great array of tech features and, as standard, parking sensors and traffic-sign recognition, making it particularly handy for urban use, plus it has cruise control and sports seats.

It will also be the first model to be offered with SEAT CONNECT, a system which cleverly enables owners to control their car’s lights, lock its doors and put the air-conditioning on from their smartphones.

AUDI A1 CITYCARVER A true city-slicker, the Audi A1 is now available to order with a new Citycarver specification based on the popular Sportback model. A raft of special exterior-design features, together with increased ground-clearance, give it a more rugged off-roadstyle look and purposeful stance to complement its city-friendly dimensions and demeanour. Tech-rich, it’s blessed with cuttingedge infotainment features and extensive digital connectivity and is available with swift, frugal and capable petrol engines.

NEW MINI ELECTRIC This first fully-electric model from Mini has recently been unveiled.

Production at the Oxford plant will begin later this year, with deliveries starting in March next year. Fully loaded with beautifully designed features, the model boasts performance stats close to the hot-hatch Mini Cooper S, and also has great eco credentials.

This is set to be a super popular city-dweller car choice.

NEW NISSAN LEAF E+ This new range-topping Nissan Leaf e+ sits at the top of the Leaf range, featuring advanced Nissan Intelligent Mobility technology to deliver 217PS of performance and up to 239 miles of zeroemissions driving on a single charge, thanks to a new supercompact and lightweight advanced battery pack.

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MOTORING

ALL-NEW RENAULT CLIO No line-up of city and compact cars could be complete without including Renault’s indomitable Clio. Completely redesigned inside and out, the all-new Clio is lighter, more luxurious, spacious and refined than ever, plus it introduces cutting-edge driving assistance and infotainment systems to the supermini class. Safety-wise it has already been awarded a five-star Euro NCAP rating and – handily for urban driving – all models get autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, roadsign recognition and six airbags.

ALL-NEW PEUGEOT 208 AND E-208 Another favourite, with a global legion of fans, is Peugeot’s perennially popular 208. Recently fully updated, all variants are stylish, great to drive, loaded with advanced tech and the lineup includes a choice of four advanced petrol engines, plus one highly efficient diesel. There’s also now an e-208 model – an all-electric version perfect for city living, with a 211-mile range from a full charge.

NEW VAUXHALL CORSA Available from January, the new generation Corsa is lighter, more aerodynamic and efficient than ever before. It has undergone a complete overhaul, with every engine type emitting less CO2 than even the most efficient versions before. All powertrain options also offer reduced fuel consumption, flexibility and refinement, while keeping the same lively performance and fun driving experience that’s made the Corsa so popular for so long.

CITROËN C1 A firm urban-driving favourite, the C1’s combination of stylewith-purpose and impressive safety and entertainment tech features as standard has made it a best-seller world-wide. Its quirky-cute looks, appealing range of colours and specs and economical insurance options make it a super-popular first-car choice, too.

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MOTORING

VOLKSWAGEN UP! Consistently notching up ‘best city car’ awards, VW’s titchy ‘Up!’ continues to win praise for its great visibility, high level of kit, style, drivability and safety. It’s remarkably spacious, too, and it can seat four, has a 251-litre boot, plus boasts a very good reputation for reliability.

ALL-NEW MAZDA3 A city car for those who want decent driver engagement, the Mazda3 not only looks great but delivers a human-centric experience to driver and passengers alike. The model is also the first to feature Mazda’s revolutionary new Skyactiv-X with the world’s first production petrol engine, featuring compression ignition which combines the advantages of petrol and diesel power plants, increasing fuel economy and torque, while reducing emissions.

RANGE ROVER VELAR

of models throughout the range. By monitoring wheel movement 500 times a second, and body movements 100 times a second, the system continuously varies the damping forces at all four corners of the vehicle. This ensures that suspension stiffness is optimised for driving conditions, improving ride comfort and handling – there’s even a specific calibration for off-road driving.

The Velar is a textbook example of a modern, elegant, versatile and capable SUV perfect for urban and rural life.

Glamourous, elegant and modern, the Range Rover Velar has been notching up award after award since its launch and it’s clear to see why. From copious kerb appeal – it was judged to be the most beautifully designed vehicle at the 2018 World Car Awards – to its multifaceted capability, the Velar has set the bar high in demonstrating exactly how a great SUV should be.

A masterclass in sleek lines and minimum fuss, the distinctive design of the Range Rover Velar features perfectly optimised proportions and a stunning silhouette. Its super-slim Matrix Laser-LED headlights, flush-deployable door handles and sleek Touch Pro Duo infotainment are all hallmarks of Range Rover’s reductionist design philosophy. Viewed in the metal it looks purposeful, sporting and expensive.

Neatly filling the space between the – also excellent – Range Rover Evoque and Range Rover Sport, the Velar delivers all the practicality, connectivity and capability expected from the Range Rover family. Brimming with the latest technology, and with sustainable materials throughout, it really is a car of our time.

On and off the road, it’s a deeply engaging drive, thanks to its acclaimed powertrain, and performance and handling technology, plus a sophisticated four-corner suspension system.

Engines range from the clean and responsive 180PS 2.0-litre Ingenium diesel to the potent 380PS supercharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine.

With safety considered paramount, there are a host of driver-assistant systems, including Adaptive Cruise Control with Steering Assist, and Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go. The Velar’s radar-based High-Speed Emergency Braking enables enhanced forward-collision detection.

The system works between 6–99 mph and is able to detect an imminent collision, alerting the driver and applying the brakes if the driver fails to respond. And, now fitted as standard, all owners will benefit from a Rear Camera, Front and Rear Parking Aids, Driver Condition Monitor, Emergency Braking and Lane Keep Assist.

Adaptive Dynamics is now optionally available on a number

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KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

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