Food & Drink

The closure of restaurants to in-dining customers for much of the past year has been hugely disappointing.

The craft beer revolution of the last decade has exploded the number of breweries in the UK, and of course the capital is the epicentre. There were fewer than 10 breweries in London in 2006 and now there are more than a hundred.

The Hand in Hand, a glorious alehouse on the edge of Wimbledon Common. For me, this is one of the best “village” pubs in London.

Garden gatherings are back on the agenda, and better weather means only one sort of meal – a barbecue.

I once had a spell of drinking in a pub called The Plume of Feathers, quite near to where I grew up. It was an okay pub but it was mainly noteworthy for bumping into people I hadn’t seen since school.

Easter is almost in sight and the re-instatement of the ‘Rule of Six’ from no more than two households for outdoors entertaining is nearly within our reach.

With restaurant doors closed for at least another couple of months, a Croydon businessman has come up with a way for diners to get the full restaurant experience without leaving their cars.

In a few weeks’ time the ‘rule of six’ will be back in place and entertaining in home gardens will once again be allowed. What could be better than catching up with family and friends, gin & tonic in hand? All that’s needed now is for the weather to get its act together – a little sunshine would be most welcome.

I have two abiding memories of a pub called The Crown in Eltham. In one, I am a kid, and my dad has just nipped inside for a drink while we were out shopping, or possibly shopping was the side-event to the pub.

“Traditional” boozers are mentioned most often in discussions about the survival and flourishing of pubs. It seems a bigger shame, somehow, when an established venue closes for good. Woolwich is a graveyard of pubs , with a few ghostly remains

Restaurant openings take a long time to plan so I dare say that Heritage expected to be fully operational by the time it opened a few weeks ago. What has actually transpired is a collection and delivery service because we’re in lockdown once again, with no in-dining allowed until mid-May.