Food & drink news
From free home-made mince pies with tea or a glass mulled wine at Swissôtel to slap-up teas and a glorious selection of home-made cakes at the deliciously-named Treacle,
Should you be exiting Temple Tube on Thursday morning, leave time to swing up Temple Place to the chi-chi Swissôtel The Howard. Between 8am and 10am, they will be distributing free home-made mince pies with tea or a glass of non-alcoholic (boo) mulled wine. They've even recruited Santa to dish out the goods to a background of Christmas carols. Mince pies for breakfast? Make mine heavy on the brandy butter.
Swissôtel The Howard, Temple Place WC2. Tel: 020 7836 3555. Tube: Temple
Anyone who sighs nostalgically at Blyton-esque descriptions of slap-up teas should head for the deliciously-named Treacle. This consciously retro little number deliberately eschews the big coffee chain ethos (in fact, they say, the 'c' word is banned), concentrating instead on builders' tea and a glorious selection of home-made cakes - lemon raspberry layer cake, Treaclebocker Glory and nostalgic cupcakes in chocolate, vanilla and lemon. East End groovester customers, however, are very far from fusty.
Treacle, 160 Columbia Road E2. Tel: 020 7729 5657. Tube: Old Street/Bethnal Green
There is a tragic gap in Charlotte Street at the moment with the closure of Pied à Terre. The double Michelin-starred restaurant was hit by a fire recently and the damage was so extensive that they have had to completely shut down. Head chef and co-owner Shane Osborne is determined this will be a temporary setback and that the restaurant will reopen after major refurbishment next year. In the meantime, Osborne's clever and contemporary cooking will be a sad loss to the capital.
