​Neighbourhood bistro Salt & Honey has been on the restaurant scene since August 2015. Sister to Fulham’s Manuka Kitchen, Salt & Honey resides in north London on Sussex place, just north of Hyde Park between Lancaster Gate and Paddington. The location itself isn’t one that I’d readily associate with fine dining, rather gated classical-style mansions and wealthy, exclusive individuals. Here is a place where life goes on behind closed doors, not out in the open community, leaving much to be said about any real sense of a neighbourhood at all.

That doesn’t stop Salt & Honey creating their own neighbourhood vibe. With a homely feel, the intimate bistro is brimming with charm and warmth. Owned by chef Tyler Martin and connoisseur of wine, Joseph Antippa, Salt & Honey is true to its name, with flavour key to the dining experience. As the friendly waiter explained, the Antipodean-inspired menu created by New Zealander Martin himself, uses local produce, along with meat sourced from Scotland’s Buccleuch estate and Earl Stoneham Farm in Ipswich. Here is a place where taste is the key ingredient - from selecting the finest produce to seasoning with sea salt and manuka honey throughout, the devil really is in the detail.

Less of a pop-up and more of a stay-put, The Little Yellow Door is celebrating its six-month lease extension this Spring. Renowned for infamous house parties, retro gaming nights, supper clubs and Thursday takeovers, the fictional flat share, which began in 2014, is keeping its roots firmly in the heart of Notting Hill. 
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With new American ‘housemate’ Hank, the bar-cum-living-room-dining-room will continue to open its door four days a week for the foreseeable future, from Wednesday through to Saturday. I headed down there last Wednesday to celebrate the lease renewal and see what all the fuss was about.

The Little Yellow Door (TLYD) kicks off each week with Supper Club on Wednesdays. Last weeks celebratory special consisted of a four course meal enjoyed with fellow guests - strangers and friends - and washed down by a range of cocktails.

Sketch has been on my radar for a while. Its reputation precedes it, and for the right reasons. The Mayfair hot spot is renowned for its one of a kind Afternoon Teas, iconic gallery dining space and quirky toilet pods. A visit revealed what all the fuss was about. ​

The candy pink glam interiors, designed with input from Turner-Prize winning artist Martin Creed, have a
​‘Great Gatsby’-esque feel. Unsurprisingly it was dominated by ladies that lunch. The room felt quite surreal, with pink velvet arm chairs, a stripy floor and 239 quirky sketches by another Turner Prize winner, David Shrigley, lining the walls. 

Shrigley has really put his stamp on the space, and overall experience; even the crockery features his satirical phrases and childlike doodles, reinforcing the venue’s very name at every opportunity.

Architectural Foodsmiths Bompas and Parr have been up to their old tricks again, this time bringing a walk-in cloud of breathable cocktails to Borough Market, close to the duo’s studio. Renowned for their culinary wizardry and experiential gastronomy, Bompas and Par have wowed internationally with their off the wall creations including their jelly landmarks, Tutti Fruiti lake at Kew Gardens and Chromatopsia, where they died the River Lea emerald green during the Open East Festival in 2013.

Their current experiment is the latest immersive experience to emerge on London’s ever dynamic calendar, and having graced the capital under the same name in 2009 it’s not new. Described as ‘an installation that explodes drinks to the scale of architecture’, it features a vapour cloud composed of spirits and mixer at a ration of 1:3. When visitors enter the saturated air, alcohol enters the bloodstream in non-conventional ways, through the lungs and eyeballs.

Tucked behind landmark location Cre8 Lifestyle Center, the 2012 regeneration project based in the Old Baths, stands an all too familiar RV. If the orange stripes weren’t distinctive enough, the letters ABQ written across its vents nod to Albuquerque, the very spot in New Mexico that saw Walter White and Jesse Pinkman cook up the purest Crystal Meth in the critically-acclaimed series, Breaking Bad.

The team behind this Breaking Bad-inspired cocktail cook-up is Locappy, the same folks responsible for the new neighbourhood app, and Annie the Owl.  Founder Seb Lyall is dead set on providing unique experiences, ‘something a bit more special’, and with ABQ he certainly delivers.

This week London officially became the urban beach capital. Three beaches opened in time for the return of the sun on Saturday: Beach Park East (Olympic Park), Camden Beach (Roundhouse) and the Urban Beach (Royal Docks). These add to an already extensive list of sandy summer retreats, including beaches in Chiswick Park, Brent Cross and the National Trust’s Westway beach to name but a few.

A more alternative - albeit more exclusive - beach experience can be found at Gordon Ramsay’s Beach Hut. Situated in the courtyard at the rear of his famous Camden gastropub, York & Albany, the hut is available for private bookings and comes complete with sand, starfish, shells, nets and deckchairs to set the scene, along with speakers to play your own tunes. The main event, however, was the selection of classic British seaside-themed cocktails and miniature nibbles.

If you’ve read my previous posts it’ll be no surprise to you that I’m a sucker for a speakeasy. For a Saturday night get together with my boyfriend, sister and brother-in-law Evans & Peel was on the agenda. 

There’s no booking a table at this detective agency inspired bar - an appointment is what you’ll need, along with details of your case.

Naturally my case involved a dog and in light of current UK news, a hint of politics. 

​With the promise that 'discreet detectives use their bespoke skills to work out how to give clients that special and unique service’, we headed to Earls Court not knowing what to expect, some of us suitably in character, clad in trench coats...