Around Town: Springtime in London

After such a long winter in London this year, Spring seems such much more magical than usual.

....Here's some photos straight from our iPhones...capturing the blossom & leaves starting to appear around London

Club Review: La Boutique, Salamanca, Madrid, Spain

It's Curbappeal:
- cool decor (eg back lit wall of bar decorated with display of high heel shoes)
- small but not cramped

Crowd: late 20s, stylish Spanish but not pretentious

Music: mediocre; general mass market pop

Top tip: arrive about 3am to miss the queues that appear c3.30am - when everyone suddenly seems to turn up

Time of visit: Friday night/Saturday morning, April 2013

... Some photos straight from our iPhones...

Restaurant review: Ten Con Ten, Madrid, Spain

It's Curbappeal:
- mixture of styles; brightly lit rural feel/decor to the bustling bar & casual dining area at the front of the restaurant. Towards the back of the restaurant the lighting becomes dimly lit & the decor has an old school chic/more luxurious formal feel
- massively comfy/sink into velvety chairs (back of the restaurant)
- efficient service
- exclusive feel (its one of the hardest restaurants to get into Madrid right now)


The crowd: older elegant crowd for the earlier tables (c8.30/9pm) evolved into a younger hipster crowd as the evening wore on

Food & drink rating: disappointing. The black cod was below average (nowhere near melt in the mouth) & we actually left quite a bit. 'Apple pie' (tart tartin essentially) delicious & huge

The bill: ok

Top tip: make sure you get a booking for the '2nd sitting' to get a younger more vibrant atmosphere

Recommended: probably


Date of visit: Saturday night, April 2013

... Some photos straight from our iPhones...

Bar review: Hotel Urban, Madrid, Spain

We stayed at Hotel Urban a couple of years ago (loved it) & thought we'd hang out on their lovely roof terrace on this visit to Madrid... Unfortunately the roof terrace wasn't open yet (April) & it is only available to hotel guests. We popped into the bar downstairs for a drink - we loved this bar when we stayed at Urban....

Cafe review: Ramses (Life & Food) - outdoor terrace, Madrid, Spain

NB. 4yrs ago we ate dinner inside at Ramses & had drinks at the cocktail bar. Back then it was 'the place to be seen' & we found the staff a little arrogant. Fast forward to Spring 2013 & Ramses still seems to be a popular spot with the 'in-crowd' but the staff seemed to have lost the pretentious attitude.


It's Curbappeal:
- decent sized terrace with funky chairs set on the pavement outside this cool restaurant
- it setting on a busy road junction might not sound inviting but its set far enough back that you barely notice the noise. Plus with a DJ playing some cool tunes, you feel you could almost be in Ibiza
- great spot for people watching

The crowd: elegant & monied

Food & drink rating: we had the mozzarella & tomato salad (with rocket). It was a pretty small portion & had quite a salty green pesto dressing. The apple martini was so bad we had to return it. Nice fruit smoothie & decent espresso.

The bill: ok

Anything we didn't like: food just ok (maybe we choose badly) & apple martini awful

Top tip: come for a weekend brunch, people watch & enjoy the chilled house tunes being mixed by the DJ

Recommended: for sure but don't try the apple martini


Date of visit: Saturday 13th April 2013

... Some photos straight from our iPhones...

Hotel Show-around: Villa Magna, Madrid, Spain

We were contemplating staying at Villa Magna & so called in to take a look. It had a very different feel to Santo Mauro, as this hotel is much larger & obviously an old hotel (see the photos of its exterior) thats had a massive refurbishment. It's right on the doorstep of the shops & a stones throw away hip club 'La Boutique'. Apparently it's one of the coolest hotels to stay in right now.

Time of visit: April 2013

....some photos straight from our iPhones...

Restaurant review: HKK, City, London, UK

We thought we'd try out recently opened HKK - by the same folk as uber-cool Hakkasan. HKK is in a rather odd location, between the City (financial district of London) & Shoreditch. You could easily walk past it, but just look for the smartest building on the road, with floor to ceiling windows


It's Curbappeal:
- delicious & beautifully presented food
- light & airy (in sharp contrast to Hakkasan)
- beautiful private dining room
- minimalist decor


The crowd: when we had lunch it was largely city folk in suits - perhaps it's different on a night

Food & drink rating: fantastic Asian food & delicious cocktails

The bill: just over £60/head for 3courses & couple of cocktails. On the pricey side & that probably explains the City crowd as opposed to the Shoreditch crowd in here, but excellent quality of food so worth it

Anything we didn't like: we expected it to be bit more like Hakkasan - v disappointed not to see black cod on the menu but the food was equally delicious here.

Recommended: most definitely


Date of visit: Friday lunchtime, April 2013

... Some photos straight from our iPhones...