There are birthday parties, and then there are A list celebrity parties, complete with The Box style live entertainment and lashings of champagne. Music producer and celebrity booker Azim Majid has been a friend since 2015 when we first hosted his birthday at M in Threadneedle Street and have continued to do so most years since.
Best party moments with Azim include Sophie Ellis-Bexter performing Murder on the Dancefloor live at Gaucho Piccadilly and Madonna dropping into M Threadneedle Street to dance with Edris Elba. An Azim party is always long and fun; last week we caught up together at M to drink artisanal, ultra-premium Bandida Mezcal cocktails. The espresso martini (black version) is the perfect start to a ‘high energy’ evening, leaving you reaching for (or gazing at) the stars…
On the subject of stars, Michelin announced its awards last week. Here’s a round up of my 2025 Michelin restaurant visits; those to avoid and those to applaud.
TRINITY
Where is my favourite restaurant? Trinity in Clapham Common, where chef Adam Byatt has created the perfect local and destination restaurant. He serves a daily-created £90 lunch or £140 dinner, four course affair where every dish is a taste sensation, particularly when accompanied by a rarely found Ruinart Blanc Singular edition 19 (£260). I loved the wild sea bass, scallop mousseline and courgette blossom. You can also head Upstairs at Trinity for great value BIB Gourmand level, small plate casual dining, as well as guest chef events.
TRIVET
I first met chef Jonny Lake at a restaurant conference in 2018, where we were both on a panel discussing the future of menus and the power of marketing. He comes from the Fat Duck and shares both Heston’s culinary brilliance and a passion for Tom Davies bespoke eyewear (as do I). It was Tom D who first took me to Trivet, where I was blown away by how friendly the dining room feels alongside the accessible beauty of each plate. Expect best in class ingredients, innovatively served without trying too hard.
Isa Bal is Jonny’s partner in crime and wine, and one of the world’s finest sommeliers. Over 350 wines are on the wine list, with each entry designed to be paired with the a la carte, super-seasonal menu. Their aptly named ‘Best friend of White Burgundy’ dish – a gorgeous plate of grilled monkfish, with confit pumpkin and beurre blanc – worked perfectly on a cold, bright February lunch with a bottle of 2020 Jules Desjourneys Pouilly Loche (£188).
LUCA
My advice when visiting Luca is to either start or finish at the bar, where mixologists are rightly proud of their curated spirit collection and cocktail offering. I visited last week with my friend Alex Watson, who founded Renais Gin with his actress sister Emma. We were delighted to taste an outstanding Renais smoked negroni and martini with distilled strawberries and bitters. I recommend the monkfish crudo to start, followed by the taglierini of mazara prawn sand bergamot.
ANGLER
An outstanding restaurant led by Craig Johnston. He’s an unsung hero and rising star who has reached his acclaimed position after working at the Michelin starred Royal Oak, with Jason Atherton, and as head chef for Marcus Wareing. He then took the ropes and gained his star in the pinnacle offering of the South Place Hotel, owned by D&D London restaurant group. Focused on seafood, the tasting menus are sublime. Dining a la carte, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Windsor Park venison, with jerusalem artichoke and bone marrow, paired with Saint-Estèphe Château Phélan Ségur (£145), perfect while it’s still chilly outside.
MAURO COLAGRECO AT RAFFLES OWO
I’ve been privileged enough to meet Mauro and enjoy his offering at Mirazur, when it was awarded No. 1 in the World’s Best Restaurants. Much more enjoyable was dining with him at Ceto on the top floor of my favourite hotel ever, the Maybourne Riviera. That meal, which captured the Monaco sunset perfectly, offered a sublime menu which will forever sit in my top 10 dinners.
Sadly, it feels that despite being awarded a Michelin star for his offering at the OWO, it is Big MC’s name, but not his soul on display in an almost-always empty dining room, where the ‘land and sea’ five course menu becomes a ten course taster (when you add the bells and whistles). The meal only comes alive for a single course (a crowd pleaser for the Irish) – potato with salted cod and caviar.
The wine list is special, but not for the faint-hearted; Domaine Ferret wines are a gift to the palate and the best value one will find, if you have no choice but to dine here. Honestly, just go upstairs to Kioku by Endo instead, where one can settle into a wonderfully memorable experience.
4 top tasting menus from OpenTable
Nest
Expect highly seasonal menus (currently sea and coastal) at this wonderfully intimate Shoreditch restaurant. It also comes at a great price point at £70pp for a four course tasting menu.
Apricity
Chef Chantelle Nicholson’s low waste sustainable cooking restaurant offers farm-to-table dining in a beautiful, rustic environment. There are options for a 5- or 7-course tasting menu, with plant-based or carnivorous options for every course.
Benares
One of the finest Indian restaurants in the city, Benares offers great value Indian fine dining. Sameer Taneja’s Mayfair restaurant and bar has a tasting menu that offers a combination of street food favourites and indulgent classics.
Core by Clare Smyth
A restaurant that needs no introduction, one of the world’s leading chefs Clare Smyth deserves every one of her three Michelin stars. Choose between Seasons or Classics tasting menus or go à la carte.
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