The Skyfall
“Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina…
Author Noah May
The Ritz Restaurant
“You are sitting in Lady Thatcher’s seat madam: tonight you are the Iron Lady. And there, across from you, that’s the table Princess Margaret always booked.” It could only happen at The Ritz…
The Table Cafe
“As soon as you step through the doors, it’s obvious that there is an architect or two hanging in the wings. The restaurant is light and airy, with a clean, simple aesthetic and industrial edge.”
Four Seasons Beverly Hills
Broken down, beer-bloated, beatnik writer Charles Bukowski described LA as being ‘like a crucifix in a death hand’. “I can see it here from my balcony at the Beverly Wilshire, high above Rodeo Drive; I can see the land he speaks of…”
Mothers’ Ruin
“Night-blue juniper soaking into your very soul. Volatile fluids catching flight and coursing through your blood, soaring. Gin soothes and invigorates in equal measure, I am not with those who claim depressive qualities.”
Four Seasons Santa Barbara
“Driving down Route 1, the coastal road that links San Francisco with Los Angeles in one beautiful, meandering whip of tar, is something I will never forget. Do it. If you ever get the chance, rent a Chevvy and drive… “
The Reform Social and Grill
“Jonesy and I make our way through the reception area of The Mandeville and slip into the low-lit cocktail bar. Fresh from the book, I immediately feel like Ripley. My recent reading is having a palpable effect on my state of mind, my sanity.”
Four Seasons San Francisco
We begin on the Powell–Mason Cable Car, hurtling down the vertiginous Powell toward central San Francisco. In the distance, the Bay Bridge shimmers in the mid-afternoon light…
Antico
“Recently, I happened to mention Bermondsey Street as a gastronomic hotspot to an old family friend – he scowled and looked at me like I was speaking in tongues.”
Sake No Hana
When Sake No Hana first opened several years ago, I thought it was the headquarters of some murky secret society; it looked so mysterious from the outside. The external walls were almost entirely black and disconcertingly opaque…
The Balcon
“Old masters line the walls, providing a touch of clubby propriety, but the general tone is of a darker elegance than that. I decide this will be my new haunt when looking for late night refreshment in St. James’s.”
Jamón, Jamón
“The harsh light of a June morning comes crashing through the shutters as she wrenches them open to expose me to daylight. 7am. “It’s my birthday,” I grunt, tired, reddened eyes squinting at this cruel torturer.”