EXCLUSIVE: The Ned to launch members’ club in the countryside amid aggressive growth plans that echo Soho House July 24, 2025 City icon The Ned is set to open a “rural” estate in the UK as part of an aggressive expansion plan, with a first outpost in mainland Europe also in the pipeline. Group managing director Gareth Banner told CityAM the company has three additional “very serious offers with either real estate owners or potential [...]
The Ned boss Gareth Banner interview: This brand is just getting started July 24, 2025 “Ten years ago, people would have laughed at the idea of doing something like this…” Gareth Banner is talking about CityAM’s new Toast the City Awards celebrating all the things that make the Square Mile great, for which he has signed on as a judge. And Banner knows a thing or two about the [...]
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: The best summer restaurants in London July 17, 2025 It has been a busy fortnight for the Bluebird brand I oversee as CEO of the Evolv Collection. In our Liverpool Street South Place Hotel, we launched the Bluebird Club, while at Silverstone we entertained drivers, celebrities and musicians with our trackside Bluebird Backstage lounge. And over in Chelsea, we have been the unofficial Wimbledon [...]
The best places to drink Portuguese wine in London right now July 15, 2025 Portuguese wine has flown relatively under the radar when compared to its neighbours France, Italy and Spain. “I’m bewildered when I visit a restaurant and there’s nothing from Portugal,” says Max Graham, founder of Bar Douro. “It offers such diversity – from mountains to the Atlantic coast and volcanic islands, there are over 250 native [...]
Coq d’Argent review: Is this the best rooftop restaurant in the City? July 15, 2025 CityAM’s inaugural Toast the City Awards has set off to discover the things that make the Square Mile great, from the coffee shop you always stop at to the gym class you never skip. Among the categories is the Best Restaurant, which will celebrate the top place to eat in Canada. This [...]
The best sandwich in the City, from Porterford to Dilieto July 12, 2025 There is no better testament to how seriously the Square Mile takes its lunch than the queues snaking out of sandwich shop doors. Workers happily wait, shuffle and press to get their fix of bread and spread, meal deals be damned. Here is a list of CityAM’s favourite sandwiches in the City, from wraps [...]
Forget Dry January – now it’s time for Dry July July 7, 2025 Not content with one month of sobriety in the form of Dry January, I have been made aware Dry July is now a thing too. At least this time of year makes a little more sense to me. January is a bitter, joyless month where the comforts of a glass of good red wine by [...]
Toast the City: Is Bob Bob Ricard’s pie the best dish in London? July 4, 2025 CityAM’s inaugural Toast the City Awards has set off to discover the things that make the Square Mile great, from the coffee shop you always stop at to the gym class you never skip. Among the categories is the Best Meal, which will celebrate the single dish that stands out as the finest the [...]
Le Cordon Bleu Reveals Semi-Finalists for £90,000 Scholarship July 1, 2025 Le Cordon Bleu London has officially unveiled the 32 semi-finalists for its 2025 Scholarship Award. This year’s competition marks the institution’s 130th anniversary and comes with an “unprecedented prize package” worth over £90,000. The majority of this year’s finalists for the prestigious award are London locals, but the final also features aspiring chefs from Northern [...]
‘Always say yes to a bag of testicles’: A defence of offal June 26, 2025 Like a character straight out of a Carry On film, the Turkish butcher leaned forward, looked my partner in the eye, and, with a heavy accent and an evil glint, said simply: “Testicles. Testicles.” Then, by way of explanation: “Sheep’s balls.” Though things had taken a surreal and vaguely vulgar turn, his strange sales pitch [...]