The Crackberry Times

Bam Bou

Dominating the south end of Charlotte Street this Georgian House reeks of old London but step inside and you are transported to French Indochina. Caprice Holdings know what they are doing and Bam Bou is no exception. With a touch of mahogany and the whiff of colonialism in the air Bam Bou has a dark corner for every occasion. The tastes are upmarket South-East Asian and despite the preponderance of similar cuisine up and down Charlotte Street, this is top drawer. And from top drawer to top floor, the Red Bar is a great place to round off an evening or to kick off a first date if you can manage all those stairs.
Price: £40pp. 1 Percy St, W1T 1DB. Tel: 020 7323 9130. Web: www.bam-bou.co.uk

Bourne & Hollingsworth

Too cool for a proper website, too small for proper cat-swinging; what does B&H have going for it other than sharing initials with Oasis’ favourite cigarette brand (Noel’s cats were named ‘Benson’ and ‘Hedges’ incidentally)? Achingly chic with a floral backdrop and more than a nod towards subterranean prohibition bars, B&H, though small, is perfectly formed. Drinks are reasonably priced in the £5-7 bracket and on a Tuesday night they even manage to shoehorn in some decent bands for a bit of a spontaneous boogie. If all of that fails to convince you that B&H is worth your patronage remember that anywhere that serves cocktails in porcelain teacups deserves a visit.
28 Rathbone Place, W1T 1JF. Tel: 020 7636 8228. Web: www.bourneandhollingsworth.com

Ben and Jerry’s Sundae Festival

Okay… so here is the creative brief: it’s Summer. You are a warm and cuddly consumer brand. You need a way to bring your own brand of quirky fun to the masses. So what do you do? You arrange a Flugta… no… that will never work. You have a Village Fet… no that won’t work either. How else can Ben and Jerry’s spread the love? Of course! We will have our very own off-the-wall, crazy, kooky rock picnic! We will invite the Charlatans and the Guillemots to perform on the Saturday (the Sundae (geddit!) has already sold out) and provide fairground rides and lashings and lashings of free ice cream. C’mon fatty, do the truffle-shuffle and get yourself down there.
Price: £8.50. 26th/27th July. Clapham Common. Web: www.benjerry.co.uk/sundae

And finally…
… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aus7I7MhaOM

END

 Volt

Alright, this isn’t strictly Oval, but it’s about as close as we could find an interesting restaurant. And interesting really is the right word here. Volt has taken some bold risks and somehow come out trumps. It might be dressed up with neon lights and red velvet fittings, but it doesn’t feel like you’re eating in an expensive strip club. It does serve Italian food in mezze portions (though not exclusively), but you don’t have a subconscious urge to glass the chef for being a pretentious git. Somehow, against all the odds, Volt holds it all together, like a punk rocker miraculously performing a flawless set on the back of a three day bender. Yes, it might be an odd fish, but it’s a very tasty fish none the less.
17 Hobart Place, Victoria, SW1W 0HH. Tel: 020 7235 9696 Web: www.voltlounge.com

South Pacific

South Pacific is Mahiki in best south of the river style. Take away the royals, cocktails in pineapples and respectable DJs and the result is a club that really does feel like you could be in a trashy part of Cancun. This is actually very good fun, regardless of whether or not it’s spring break. The trick is attracting people who need no excuse to party, then providing cheap cocktails and fake palm trees as an excuse anyway. The result is a whole lot of Londoners in fake tans and grass skirts forgetting that they are not nineteen and on their gap years forever. Crazy fun, in that if you want to stand out you’ll need to not only reach, but surpass, the full-animal-costume bar.
340 Kennington Rd, SE11 4LD. Tel: 020 7820 9189

Firmdale Film Clubs

If you like the Electric Cinema then check out the Firmdale’s Film Clubs as they take the classy cinematic experience to a whole new level. Three of their top London hotels: The Charlotte St Hotel, Soho Hotel and Covent Garden Hotel host weekend food and film combos where for a fixed price you get a slap up three course meal and then an intimate viewing of a recent good film in their private screening rooms. Really this is all very civilised and, unless you love the incessant crunch of popcorn and musty tang at your local multiplex, the way forward for film viewing.
Price: £35. Web: www.firmdale.com

And finally…
… We always knew the Germans were a little bit odd www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfIY24BErBE

La Poule au Pot

La Poule au Pot is a saucy little number where you might entertain your secretary in the hope that she became your mistress. The darkness of the rustic interior is barely punctuated by candles, leaving plenty of scope for under-table naughtiness, whilst staff all have pleasingly authentic French accents. The food is similarly blue bloodedly Gallic - think unctuous onion soup, hearty bourguignon and crème caramel to die for. Forget you’re in deepest darkest London and whisk your amour to this top romantic interlude.
Price: £40-50pp. 231 Ebury St, SW1W 8UT. Tel: 020 7730 7763

Macdonald Bar

The Scottish rarely do posh (frying confectionary is not a mark of haute cuisine), but despite that, it’s actually an area where they have considerable strength. Testament to this is the Macdonald bar: haunt of the brash Scottish Lairds, perfect to retire to after a hard day shooting haggis out on the moors, or so they’d have you believe. It’s a rich tartan affair where single malt whiskeys take pride of place, complemented by phenomenal range of cigars. Live jazz adds a novel twist to the gentleman’s club feel, as does the classic cocktail selection, though the rich red décor and animal heads stop the theme from straying too far. So it might be a bit pricey, but this is Belgravia laddy, what were you ecshpecting?
15 Eccleston st, SW1W 9LX. Tel: 020 7730 6922. Web: www.boisdale.co.uk

Taste London

Effectively, this is the mother of all picnics. More than 40 of the capital’s top restaurants come along to Regent’s Park and serve up signature dishes in sample sizes. It’s a fantastic opportunity to try out many of the top restaurants that you probably won’t get to go to unless they come up in the roulette of corporate dining out, as well as eat through half a Zagat guide without spoiling your summer beach body. Needless to say, there’s also a range of other features, such as the “Taste Kitchen” and “Taste Theatre” (the mind boggles) spattered with enough celebrity appearances to appease even the most avid Hello reader.
From £21. 19th – 22nd June. Regent’s Park. Web: www.channel4.com/life/microsites/T/taste2008

And finally…
… a goldie oldie inspired by the utter Frenchness of this week’s restaurant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V7zbWNznbs

Ottolenghi

But for its near flawless execution, Ottolenghi might be a mediocre medley of modern restauranteering. It has a minimalist white interior. It has a contemporary Euro-Med menu. It even has an innovative hybrid retail format… but the proof is in the pudding, and Ottolenghi has what is quite frankly an indecent selection of cakes and pastries at its bakery counter. If plain white is a touch arrogant, it’s all the more so when the staff are decked out in black for the full monochrome experience. You need to be pretty confident in your kitchen to decide you don’t need décor to generate some atmosphere, but Ottolenghi is justifiably white, serving superb food in abundance. The genre might not be new and clever, but the use of unusual flavour and texture combinations along with top ingredients make for food with a refined, expert feel that certainly is.
Price: £40pp. 287 Upper St, N1 2TZ. Tel: 020 7288 1454. Web: www.ottolenghi.co.uk

Anam

This is a recommendation for an Irish cocktail bar: it is much, much better than it sounds. For starters there aren’t the plastic leprechauns that the description might suggest. In fact it’s bordering on classy, with the cocktail menu neatly divided into Heaven and Hell (no one wants a purgatory-colada, even if they’re Catholic). The inside may be small, but there’s just enough room for a bit of a boogie when the very respectable DJ talent gets involved. All this packaged up with comfy sofas and a welcoming crimson interior that swallows you up from the street outside. All in all a great, friendly alternative to the bars of Upper Street and a great place for a night out with mates.
3 Chapel Market, N1 9EZ. Tel: 020 7278 1001. Web: www.anambar.com

Open Air Films at The Scoop

Some bright spark at City Hall has had the grand idea of letting us all enjoy films outside. Now given how short the typical British summer is, and how much we all like films (was there ever a safer topic for dates?), this is a scheme of Blackadder-like genius. Not only that, but the films that they are putting on are an ambitious spread of genres that span eight decades of cinematography: everything from The Usual Suspects to silent Buster Keaton flicks, Withnail & I to The Sound of Music. It’s also all free. What better way to feel good about being outside whilst actually vegging out? (The telectroscope might be right next door, but trying to convince Americans to do the funky chicken only using sign language is surprisingly active).
Price: Free. 9:15pm Weds/Thurs/Fri throughout June. Next to City Hall, London Bridge, SE1 2AA. Tel: 020 7416 5439. Web: www.morelondon.com/events_details.asp?ID=28

And finally…
… Other great films out this summer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBNVJG15tGs

Goldfish

Hampstead can be a bit of a culinary wasteland, and certainly not somewhere you’d expect to find an experimental Asian seafood restaurant painted electric blue. At least, not a good one. It is despite this dubious background then that Goldfish succeeds in not only serving up tasty modern Chinese food, but food that is tasty when measured by any yardstick. Dishes like wasabi prawns, Dover sole with chilli and black bean sauce and sea bass with ginger and spring onions are the ying to the interior’s yang of oriental artefacts and feng shui water features. Great for dates, and even better for when your parents are picking up the tab.
Price: £50pp. 82 Hampstead High Street, NW3 1RE. Tel: 020 7794 6666

Holly Bush

Ah, a real pub. With ale, a wooden bar and board games. Serving pies, steaks, bread and butter pudding - the food of champions, all… it’s magic, a pub built as they should be. This place has character, low ceilings, sepia lighting, somewhere you can drop in for a cheeky pint and end up in ‘til closing time. No emphasis on faux Italian food, or noveau continental lagers, just a boozer, as British as the Empire. Marvellous.
22 Holly Mount, NW3 6SG Tel: 020 7435 2892. Web: www.hollybushpub.com

For Your Eyes Only

Ian Fleming must have had a great imagination. To come up with the girls, the gadgets, the improbable plots and even more improbable villains of nearly 20 films would be an achievement even without creating a character quite as iconic as James Bond. So what makes this new exhibition at the Imperial War Museum so intriguing is that it’s more than just a showcase of 007 memorabilia, it’s somewhere you can investigate how much of Bond’s world was drawn from Fleming’s mind, and how much from his own war time experience in the 40s, and the ensuing Cold War. Do pay attention 007.
Price: £8. ‘Til March 2009. Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, SE1 6HZ. Tel: 020 7416 5439. Web: www.iwm.org.uk

Dates for the Diary:

7th June, Varsity Polo: www.jackwills.com/Community/Polo/Tickets.aspx
‘Til 31st August, Glyndebourne: www.glyndebourne.com

And finally…
… No spiders were harmed in the making of this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHzdsFiBbFc

Assaggi

For the last word in Italian cuisine this side of the Alps, visit Assaggi. Clean, bright colours, high ceilings, plain floorboards and formal place settings all point towards a restaurant that confidently serves quality food, whilst remaining disarmingly laid back. The short menu complements the small restaurant and simple décor, featuring traditional Italian dishes revolving around authentic ingredients. A grown up venue for serious food, it’s not surprising that this is on the pricier side of things, but with celebrities and Italians alike firm fans, no one seems to be complaining.
Price: £50pp. 1st Floor, 39 Chepstow Place, Notting Hill Gate, W2 4TS. Tel: 020 7792 5501.

Crazy Homies

A kitsch Mexican place trading practicality for atmosphere. Garish colours and decorative skeletons combine with small tables to give the place a vampish, vibrant feel that suits the heaving nature of the place. With Margaritas at £6 a go, this is at the cheaper end of London drinking, which perhaps explains its popularity. Not recommended for a date, you can be left waiting and are likely to find yourself squeezed into the first available nook or cranny. If however, you’re looking for a relaxed place to get drunk with friends and have a good time, then this might just be perfect. Sister joint Lucky Seven, serving some of the best burgers in London is next door.
125 Westbourne Park Rd, Notting Hill Gate, W2 5QL. Tel: 020 7727 6771. Web: www.crazyhomieslondon.co.uk

Psycho Buildings

The Hayward goes in for some big, ballsy art exhibitions, and this is one of them. If you liked Antony Gormley, then this could be a good follow up – as the name suggests, it’s another heavyweight exhibition using the big spaces the Hayward affords to explore physical space and psychological states. Art on this scale well deserves its moniker of “installations”, and the 10 works include a room frozen mid explosion, a village of dollhouses and a skyline boating pond.
Price: £10. Daily 10am-6pm, Friday til 10pm til August 25th. Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Waterloo, SE1 8XZ. Tel: 0871 663 2519. Web: www.haywardgallery.org.uk

Dates for the Diary:

7th June, Varsity Polo: www.jackwills.com/Community/Polo/Tickets.aspx
Til 31st August, Glyndebourne: www.glyndebourne.com

And finally…
… football skills you don’t need, but really really want: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gcFhP7q9wQ

END

Maggie Jones

Maggie Jones is a homely favourite hidden away off Kensington Church St. The farmhouse interior is subdivided by high backed benches, leaving many tables enclosed in their own space for an intimate feel complemented by agreeable service. Food is a rich, meaty selection of English classics and comfort fare with an extensive board of daily specials. Wonderfully gulpable house wine is served in magnums from which you are charged for only what you drink, making for the perfect atmosphere for relaxed, boozy dinners where you can forget the city outside.
Price: £40pp. 6 Old Court Pl, High St Kensington, W8 4PL. Tel: 020 7937 6462.

Piano

Given the name, you won’t be surprised by the grand piano in a commanding position opposite the bar, whilst patrons perch at the narrow row of tables down either side of the room in between. Conjuring up images of The Rat Pack in a golden ‘50s glow, this is sophisticated fun in classy surroundings. There’s live music every night, and the performers are invariably characters that generate a lively atmosphere without entirely drowning out all attempts at conversation. Naturally setting up or finishing off a date, girls just can’t seem to get enough of this place.
106 Kensington High St, W8 4SG. Tel: 020 7938 4664. Web: www.pianokensington.com

Supper and the City

Like a social medley, this is a dinner/drinks/dancing affair complete with new mates thrown in. For the next one Favela Chic provides the perfect venue for Brazilian fodder and crazy entertainment, and to get you going there are obligatory caipirinhas. The crowd are all bright young things and with seating moves between each course things are pretty friendly; you’ll soon notice the unspoken, but openly known vibe: everyone’s single. Ideal for when your mates are chained to their desk again, or house parties always seem to leave you hooking up with an ex… mention crackberry to Bea and she’ll let you come along as a taster without stumping up for the membership fee.
20’s and early 30’s Dinner Party, 30th May 2008 at Favela Chic. Member Price: £60 - includes capirinha, 3 courses, wine and service. Tel: 020 75247730. Email: Bea@supperandthecity.com. Web: www.supperandthecity.com for other events and membership details

Dates for the diary

21st – 24th May: Summer Eights, Oxford

And finally…

… something a little more tasteful than monkeys working in bars: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/0d40788bd7

END

Gastro

A neighbourhood delight as French as unconditional surrender. Across the channel, these sorts of places are ubiquitous – murky interior, rickety tables, and assorted Gallic tack combining for a moody, yet relaxed character. It’s no surprise to see soup de poissons, tartiflette and moules marinieres on the menu, all effortlessly tasty and accompanied by a robust wine list. Whether you’re looking for a romantic venue for a special date, or a place you can catch up with a few friends, Gastro always seems to fit the bill.
Price: £40pp. 67 Venn Street, Clapham Common, SW4 0BD. Tel: 020 7627 0222.

Lost Society

As the name might suggest, Lost Society captures an atmosphere of forgotten decadence, where chaise longues, chandeliers and wood beams mix to create a most intriguing bar. Setting it apart from more central locations is a garden that is a delight in the summer months, and of course, a healthy eccentricity in everything they do, with events including electro Sunday Best and 80s Fondue Thursdays. Cocktails are served by flat-capped bartenders in an enchanting range from novel to classic that’s all too easy to lose yourself in. A victim of its own success, on weekends you’d be advised to arrive early (pre 9pm).
697 Wandsworth Road, Clapham Common, SW8 3JF. Tel: 020 7652 6526. Web: www.lostsociety.co.uk

Brockwell Lido

Now that the sun has got its hat on, you can be sure that everyone will be making the most of it. Brixton’s Beach is definitely a venue of choice, given its open air pool, modern gym and healthy variety of classes, all following a £3m renovation that was completed on the grade II listed buildings last year. As it’s council owned, prices are far more reasonable than you would get at a commercial gym, and you can also pay and play if you’re more interested in being seen round the pool than training in it.
Perfect for an active day of lounging one weekend.
Brockwell Park, Brixton, SE24 0PA. Tel: 020 7274 3088. Web: www.brockwell-lido.com

Dates for the diary
21st – 24th May: Summer Eights, Oxford

And finally…
… monkey that works in a bar (seriously). In Japan, obviously: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBOJH0-U-K0

END

St John

Enter St John and you’ll be struck with the white washed walls and high ceilings that give the place a relaxed, clean feel. The food on the other hand, is a little more adventurous, with menu highlights along the lines of bone marrow, trotters and offal. Whilst there are dishes for the more timid, if you’re not going to get involved in the daily changed offering of animal innards, you might feel a little left out. For the full Lord of the Flies experience, bring some friends and feast on the whole roast suckling pig.
Price: £50-60pp. 26 St John Street, Farringdon, EC1M 4AY. Tel: 020 7251 0848. Web: www.stjohnrestaurant.co.uk

The Icon Room

Viva Las Vegas: The Casino at the Empire is one of the largest in London, with all the bright lights and showmanship that you’d expect from the Strip in Nevada, but with views over the West End, rather than miles of sand. Venture inside and you’ll find the jewel in the crown – The Icon Room – a gorgeous bar with a cocktail list to match. Plush fabrics, candles and enormous mirrors give the room an elegant baroque-themed feel and the bar attracts a diverse crowd from all walks of life.
5-6 Leicester Street, Leicester Square, WC2H 7NA. Tel: 0203 014 1000. Web: www.thecasinolsq.com

Red Bull Flugtag

Red Bull is organising a jolly get together for some magnificent men and their flying machines. The idea is to see how far they can make it from the 6m launch pad before they hit the drink. And whilst that would be a ruddy good laugh in itself, the judges will also be awarding points for pre launch panache and creative engineering. Beer, BBQ and other essential refreshments are all available from inside the enclosure, but you need to book tickets now if you want to go along. Visit the website for these and also to check out who will be trying their luck.
Price: Free. Time: 1pm 7th June. Place: Hyde Park. Web: www.redbullflugtag.co.uk

Dates for the diary

And finally…
… just the tip of the lego subculture: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv5iEK-IEzw

END

Club Bar & Dining

This is one of those dependable modern brasserie types that it helps to have up your sleeve for low key work events and no nonsense birthday dinners. An open kitchen situated just behind the bar gives off that chef’s table feel, complementing the tasteful brick/wood/leather décor and adding to the bustling atmosphere. Downstairs there’s a bar lit up in neon and sporting some rather fine purple wallpaper for a bit of fun, which on Tuesdays hosts live music acts (recently including the Argonauts and Dubstar). Rumoured to be a celeb haunt, fortunately the prices don’t show it.
Price: £40-50pp. 21-22 Warwick Street, Piccadilly Circus, W1B 5NE. Tel: 020 7734 1002. Web: www.theclubbaranddining.co.uk

The Library

If sometimes you yearn to do something properly, and that something is drinking, then go to the Lanesborough and seek out the Library bar. This is the best of old school hotel bar drinking – impeccable service, dignified surroundings, and classic drinks. Even if you disagree with the politics of colonialism, you’ll have to admit that it has got style. Equally suited to plotting coups and seducing beauties.
Lanesborough Hotel, Hyde Park Corner, SW1X 7TA. Tel: 020 7259 5599. Web: www.lanesborough.com

Secret Garden Party

This four day festival likes to do things a little differently. Started in 2004 with just 1,000 participants, the numbers have now been capped at 6,500. The ethos remains as strong as ever – not for profit, corporate free and participation centric. It’s not surprising that the Head Gardeners have drawn much of their inspiration from Burning Man in Nevada, twisting the genre into a distinctly English garden party on a grand and decadent scale. This year the theme is Revolutions, but for a full list of the activities, music, food and drink involved, you really need to check out the website. Tickets have just gone on sale.
Price: £125pp. Time: 24th-27th July. Somewhere in East Anglia. Web: www.secretgardenparty.com

Dates for the diary

3rd – 5th May Bank Holiday

And finally…
… if you like this, there are plenty more: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwNQf08Kxsw&feature=related

END