Art & Food: Edvard Munch at The Courtauld & Lunch at Joe Allen

August 30, 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

An email from The Courtauld alerted me that the Edvard Munch exhibition I wanted to see was ending at the weekend. I knew very little of Munch apart from his famous and iconic painting The Scream, which has so often been used as a symbol of the anxiety of the human condition. After reading the […]

Art & Food: Tapas at Brindisa and V&A talk

June 24, 2022.Reading time 15 minutes.

Before covid, I used to go to art history talks often and have been to some wonderful talks at the National Gallery, Tate, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Academy of Arts and the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) over the years, and heard some great speakers, like Simon Schama and Alastair Sooke; artists like Antony Gormley, […]

Art & Food: Whistler and Jose Pizarro at the Royal Academy of Arts

March 10, 2022.Reading time 11 minutes.

It’s been a while since I’ve had one of my Art & Food excursions into London. I’ve been to the Victoria & Albert Museum a couple of times, and recently to The Courtauld Gallery to see Van Gogh’s Portraits with my friend Annette, who was over from Italy for a long weekend. After seeing the […]

Manicomio Cafe, Chelsea

November 13, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

I booked to go to the Tutankhamun exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery today. I missed the last one in 1972! And it’s said this is the final chance to see the treasures outside Egypt as a new museum is being built to house them permanently there. Of course, for Travel Gourmet, a day out always […]

Restaurant Review: Bar Douro

February 21, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

It was my friend, Annette, who suggested eating at Bar Douro; a recommendation from her daughter, Rosie. We were going to the Pierre Bonnard exhibition (absolutely wonderful!) at Tate Modern and planned to eat an early supper afterwards. Bar Douro was just a short 10-minute walk away from the gallery. Bar Douro is tucked inside […]

Art & Food

December 1, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

Two of my favourite things to do in London is to go to the theatre – which I do once or twice a month – and to go to an art gallery. Sometimes the gallery is to see an exhibition; sometimes to attend a talk, lecture or even a short course on art history. Then, […]

Restaurant Review: Côte Brasserie, Royal Festival Hall

April 13, 2018.Reading time 8 minutes.

My friend Annette was in London for a few days; back from Italy where she now lives. It was great to meet up and she suggested visiting the Hayward Gallery, which has recently undergone a major makeover. Built in the 1960s, the Hayward is a fine example of Brutalist architecture, which was popular at the […]

Restaurant Review: Mele e Pere

March 8, 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

The Italian restaurant Mele e Pere in Brewer Street, Soho, has been on my list of places to try out for a little while. When I read an enticing review of a restaurant in London, I’ve taken to making a note of it on my iPhone. Tonight was an ideal time to try Mele e […]

Cafe W, Waterstones, Piccadilly

January 16, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

Waterstones in London’s Piccadilly is one of my favourite bookshops. It is also the largest bookshop in Europe spread over six enormous floors in an Art Deco building dating from the 1930s. The building is Grade 1 listed due to its innovative design and from 1936-1999 was the home of Simpson’s store, the largest menswear […]

The Black Penny, Covent Garden & A Day of Caravaggio

December 3, 2017.Reading time 10 minutes.

It’s been quite an arty week: Modigliani on Tuesday, a second visit to Cezanne at the National Portrait Gallery with my friend Annette on Friday, and today a whole day’s course on the exciting and fabulous late 16th-early 17th century artist, Michelangelo Merisi, otherwise known as Caravaggio. I think I may have become a fan […]