Hakkasan Anniversary

HOT STONE

Proudly noted as one of only eight restaurants in the UK to serve certified Kobe beef, Hot Stone Fitzrovia is one of the latest restaurants to open in Fitzrovia.

Showcasing elegant modern Japanese cuisine, while also paying homage to traditional and regional cookery, Executive Chef Padam Raj Rai has created an exciting menu featuring refined dishes of sushi, sashimi and signature hot stone cookery.

The unrivalled sushi and sashimi is made fresh to order at the dedicated sushi bar, from signature maki rolls of Japanese Yellow tail with mango salsa; Crunchy Hot Stone Roll with tempura prawns, to signature sashimi cuts of seared butterfish with truffle spicy ponzu; and A5 Japanese wagyu seared tataki and kizami ponzu.

As well as the exquisite A5 Kobe beef, diners can also expect other fine ingredients such as freshly grated wasabi; Sanpuku, the finest nori sourced from Japan's Ariake Sea; Koshihikari sushi rice; homemade tofu; and aged soy sauce.

All dishes are made to order and it is fair to say the star of the show is Hot Stone’s signature Ishiyaki menu.

Guests can try their hands hot-stone cookery with sear to taste premium cuts of Kobe and A5 Wagyu, black tiger prawns and the catch of the day on searing-hot stones crafted out of volcanic rock.

Not only delicious, the innovative experience is great if you fancy dinner with a difference.

What is more, every Monday, Chef Padam serves a 17 course omakase featuring wagyu to just six guests at a time in the Fitzrovia branch. The rest of the restaurant is closed for diners to enjoy an incredibly intimate and exclusive dining experience.

Modern with great food, wine and service to match, Hot Stone is a welcome new addition to Fitzrovia's dining scene.

SIX BY NICO

Six by Nico, brainchild of renowned Scottish-Italian chef Nico Simeone, has opened in Canary Wharf.

With a location in Fiztrovia already, foodies visiting the new Canary Wharf location will be treated to a completely new six course menu every six weeks with the first concept themed around the British chip shop. 'The Chippie' focuses on flavours of the traditional fish and chip shop with innovative twists along the way. Nico’s Italian background combined with his upbringing in Glasgow meant his childhood was centred around good food and at the core of that was his family’s chip shop, owned by his grandparents and passed down through two generations.

Using this as inspiration for the menu, 'The Chippie' begins with an amuse bouche of Filo Cannelloni filled with taramasalata, keta caviar and lemon gel before the first course of chips and cheese with parmesan espuma, curry oil and emulsion and crisp potato terrine is served.

Clever and beautifully presented, the dishes continue with Nico’s unique take on the traditional scampi with Scrabster Monkfish Cheek, dill emulsion, gribiche, peas and beurre blanc quickly followed by a Speyside beef shin steak pie accompanied by burnt onion ketchup, mushroom duxelles and a meaty salsa.

Portions are sensibly sized meaning that not only will you not be too full to enjoy each course, but you also won't come away feeling too full either.

Nico’s Fish Supper is a seafood delight featuring a mix of Shetland cod, pickled mussels, confit fennel and samphire that's complemented by a beer emulsion ahead of the final savoury course of smoked sausage featuring pork, apple, black pudding, salt baked celeriac and choucroute.

To conclude, guests can indulge in the infamous Scottish delight of a deep fried mars bar, accompanied by an Irn Bru sorbet and chocolate soil.

A vegetarian menu is also available with stand-out dishes including a cauliflower beignet with dill emulsion, gribiche, spring peas and beurre blanc and a course of halloumi, confit fennel, samphire, house sauce and beer scraps.

Priced at an incredible £37.00 per person, with wine pairing available for an additional £33.00, the menu is fantastic value for the innovation, quality and presentation of the dishes.

The restaurant is a welcome addition to the Wharf's dining scene boasting increased capacity to welcome new and existing fans to one of the UK’s most celebrated dining experiences. Offering 100 covers inside the stylish dining room, there is also a 20-cover outdoor terrace perfectly positioned with views of the water.

The new Canary Wharf site is the eighth national location for the brand, following in the footsteps of its sister restaurants in Glasgow Finnieston, Glasgow Southside, Edinburgh City Centre, Belfast City Centre, Liverpool City Centre, Manchester City Centre and London Fitzrovia.

Six by Nico Canary Wharf’s six course menu is priced at £37.00 per person with an optional £33.00 wine pairing. Vegetarian alternatives are also available.

20 YEARS OF HAKKASAN

Michelin-starred Hakkasan has launched a special celebratory set menu to mark the iconic restaurant's twentieth anniversary.

Available at all Hakkasan locations globally, including Mayfair and Hanway Place in London, the menu highlights the most popular dishes since the restaurant's inception. Dishes that were introduced on Hanway Place's menu in 2001 are served alongside newer favourites, showcasing the journey of the brand.

Priced at £110.00 per person, the menu starts with Hakkasan's signature Dim Sum trio of Scallop shumai, langoustine har gau, abalone and chicken parcel; before moving on to Steamed hand dived scallops with browned butter black bean sauce and the cleverly presented Oatmeal Dover Sole.

Next up is the delicious Stir-fry black pepper beef with merlot, and the surprisingly light Golden mixed vegetable yam ring with macadamia nuts. Lobster fans will rejoice at the sight of the Supreme stock braised lobster, encased in egg noodle nests and served with lobster wontons.

While those with a sweet tooth will enjoy the delicious Sake, vanilla and plum dessert. For those who can’t resist Hakkasan’s much-loved Pipa duck, it is also available to order as a supplementary option.

With menus currently overseen by Group Executive Chef Andrew Yeo, Hakkasan has become renowned for its modern take on authentic Cantonese cuisine which places a focus on using the finest, meticulously sourced ingredients. The special set menu is a great way to sample the delights on offer at Hakkasan and guests can also cheers the anniversary with the return of the classic Hakkatini cocktail, served in a vintage style tall martini glass with a flower garnish.

Hakkasan’s 20th Anniversary menu is available at Hakkasan Hanway Place and Hakkasan Mayfair, as well as at Hakkasans across the globe, priced at £110 per person. Reservations can be made via the website.

CHAMPAGNE

From the finest sparkling wine to advanced eco-practices, the must-visit green destination this autumn.

With the weight of quarantine being lifted for travellers returning from France, Francoise Peretti, Director of Champagne Bureau UK shares how the Champagne region has resolutely transformed itself into a green travel destination over the last 20 years.

With a wide diversity of producers and styles, many new cultural and experiential offerings to enjoy (including the brand new Pressoria and Museum of Champagne Wine and Regional Archaeology), a thriving foodie scene and stunning accommodations, Champagne is perfect for a luxury getaway - and it is also the eco-friendly choice. Accessible from the UK via train and car, Champagne has been paving the way for sustainable practices in winemaking for over two decades.

Back in the early 2000s, Champagne was the first wine region in the world to conduct a carbon footprint assessment and the region’s ambitious climate plan aims to cut carbon emissions by 75% by 2050 and use zero herbicides by 2025. Two decades later, the emissions generated by each bottle of Champagne have been cut by 20 per cent, usage of all phytosanitary products and nitrogen fertilisers halved, and 100 per cent of winery effluent by products currently treated and reused.

In 2021, travellers and consumers are increasingly making choices with environmental impact at front of mind. The champenois has collectively opted to put greener activities at the core of their industry and Champagne has been paving the way for sustainable winemaking practices for over two decades. From the ambitious objective to upcycle more than 100,000 tonnes of wood to developing a lighter Champagne bottle, through reconsidering century-old rules to tackle modern issues, I wanted to highlight three of the 120 measures taken that have made Champagne one of, if not the, most prestigious green destination of choice.

Along with individual efforts, from which 41 percent of the region’s vineyards have received an environmental certification, and of which 28 percent are certified as sustainable viticulture in Champagne, the region set up an industrial ecology programme working around an almost cyclical clock. Out of the 120,000 tonnes of vine wood produced every year, no less than 80 percent is ground into the soils to enrich it with humus and be used as a natural fertiliser, while the remaining 20 percent is burned. This equates to a potential saving of 0.5 tonnes of oil per hectare.

The glassblowers also rose to their own challenge, by striking a balance between reducing the bottle weight as much as possible all while preserving its mechanical characteristics. The result was a new Champagne bottle, 65 grams lighter, introduced in 2010. This seven percent reduction of the bottle weight directly cuts annual emission linked to packaging and transportation by 8000 CO2 tons - the equivalent of a fleet of 4000 vehicles.

Finally, the latest measure, and undoubtedly the most ambitious one, was announced a month ago when the rule on the minimum space between each vine was abandoned. Defined as 150 centimetres between each row, the century-old rule was based on the fact that less space would encourage each vine to individually compete amongst their peers to gain access to the soil nutrients and waters, thus promoting a smaller production of grapes, but with a higher quality. For that same reason, the vines would be trimmed and would not exceed 130 centimetres in height. As a way to fight soil impoverishment, the century-old rule was updated. Now setting an increased minimum space of 200 centimetres for newly planted vines, it also enables growers to let their vines flourish up to 200 centimetres height. With the harvest just around the corner, it has never been more exciting for wine lovers to travel to Champagne and witness these changes for themselves. This year, a record-breaking 81 percent of travellers intend to stay at least once in a green accommodation. The region offers many green options such as the Cottages Antoinette, above the village of Chigny-lesRoses, an ensemble of three 100 percent wooden made houses with high environmental quality standards and four-star rated holiday service, built in the heart of the vineyards, offering a panoramic view of the city of Reims. Not to miss this autumn is Planet Explora’s electric scooter exploration game, leaving from ChavotCourcourt on your own three-wheeled scooter, where one can discover the hidden gems and cultural heritage of the nearby villages, or the more traditional twowheel electric bike rides in the picturesque village of Hautvillers.

LA BODEGA NEGRA

Tucked away on 9 Old Compton Street in the heart of Soho, La Bodega Negra serves up fantastic Mexican food and even better cocktails.

Not to be confused with its sister location round the corner, the restaurant offers a full dinner menu and hand crafted mezcal and tequila cocktails in a Hacienda style cellar dining room.

Start with some herbed guacamole, heritage pico de gallo and totopos; before moving on to the Sea bass ceviche, with amarillo, leche de tigre and totopos.

Next up try the Fish tacos with avocado salsa, jalapeño crema and pico de gallo; and the Truffle and black mole quesadilla. The Rib eye steak served with chimichurri, grilled sweet corn and miso mayo is not to be missed.

As expected there are a range of tequila cocktails to be enjoyed alongside your meal. The House Margarita is a blend of Batanga blanco, triple sec and fresh lime juice served on the rocks with salt. The Hibiscus Margarita is a nice twist on the House version. Elsewhere you can also sample some mezcal with the Oaxaca Old Fashioned - Alipus San Juan, agave syrup, orange bitters and grapefruit peel. The Renata - Tanqueray, limoncello, fresh strawberry, egg white, and fresh lemon juice; is a great tipple for this time of year.

The cellar style dining room creates a great atmosphere. Match that with simple yet tasty sharing style dishes and incredible cocktails and you are sure to have a winning night out.