‘A rare and wild talent’ An image that stays with me long into October’s biting night is Erland Cooper holding aloft an old-fashioned recording machine, with the hypnotic call of curlews blasting forth into the sparsely filled hall of the Barbican. Utter transportation occurred, shipping us out to the windswept islands of Orkney, Cooper’s home. The talented composer, pianist and ...

‘Dinky and delightful’ Surreptitiously perched on the corner of Blackstock Road is the little French gem, Maison Patron. Dinky and delightful, this slice of Paris in north London bustles after its long closure during the coronavirus lockdown, ready to charm once more. Diners brave a chilly summer evening on a couple of outside tables, but thankfully myself and my plus-one ...

‘Little pub with a big heart’ Nestled away in leafy De Beauvoir Town is a gem quietly twinkling. Having only started serving brunch a month ago, the folks at The Scolt Head pub certainly know their way around this trendy little meal. A charming pizza-shaped garden greets us out front, but the spitting rain of the dying summer drives us ...

‘A little slice of heaven’ Do you like pizza, hip new bars made from shipping containers, and charming staff? If the answer to any of these is ‘No’, Hackney Road’s brand spanking new pizza joint is not for you! Having opened just a week ago, Nebula Pizza is pretty much what it say’s on the tin – without the interstellar ...

‘Joyous venue with staff and style to match’ Rare is it that an unclean adjective is used to describe food. As Christina Aguilera puts it in her hit song ‘Dirty’, making mud pies as a child and the shame-filled takeaway after a heavy night out, some of the best things in life are just that… filthy. Inside the Three Compasses ...

‘Buzzing addition to East London – even if the food is slightly underwhelming’ The new offshoot of Borough Market favourite Padella had just opened in Shoreditch when the Covid curtain descended. But since 4 July, this buoyant little pasta joint has been flinging its doors wide open to the hot summer nights. Beautiful people flock like black-clad moths to this ...

‘Flying close to the wind’ Candle House collective, and Evan Neiden (the creator) are clawing (see what I did there?) at the frontiers of the artform we call theatre, with mixed results. With the future of theatre looking rocky at best and doomed at worst, they, like various bright-minded folks, have used the technological wizardry at their fingertips to push ...

‘Inventive grub that doesn’t hurt the planet’ With trepidation in our hearts and mask strapped across our faces, we journey through the slowly re-filling city to Homerton – my partner, myself and our pup (she was maskless). Being the first restaurant we have been to since it-that-must-not-be-named spoilt everything months ago, I wasn’t sure if vegan pizza was the thing ...

‘Heavy but rewarding’ Terence Rattigan’s 1952 play allows for expert actors to embody complex and unhappy humans. In the blue wash, misery and love dance a highland jig in a small London flat, and we the audience are enraptured. Tom Schutt’s set is as if some artistically minded giant has cleaved a building block in two, exposing its insides to ...

‘Utterly believable, important work’ Lorraine Hansberry’s final work, Les Blancs, invades our living rooms, driving out the sound of my washing machine and whinging puppy. It is a work that demands to be seen. Written in 1970 and finished off by Hansberry’s husband, this epic drama hasn’t had its time in the sun when it comes to accolades. Hansberry’s writing is both ...