Attending the London Restaurant Awards last year, Evening Standard restaurant critic Fay Maschler decided it could be done better (no offence, Giles Coren). The London Restaurant Festival is the result, an altogether more celebratory and all-encompassing food affair launching at Quaglino's and encompassing a huge variety of events at venues across the capital. Highlights include a food film festival, Eat Film, with restaurants to match the feature films; a Vietnamese street food festival; restauranteurs pitching their ideas at industry big wigs; and a University Challenge where London's top chefs take on their New York rivals. Alternatively, you can climb aboard a Routemaster bus for a Gourmet Odyssey starting with a glass of G.H.Mumm champagne at The Met Bar and trying out three of London's well known restaurants with a food expert as your guide. The festival, organised with help from the people who run London Fashion Week, promises to be much more fun than an industry-only awards night. The launch event, for a start, is co-hosted by Vanity Fair, adding a touch of glamour to the whole thing - something London's restaurants are very good at. It's about time we had a festival of the same calibre as the stylish eateries in the city.
4 minutes walk from London Restaurant Festival 2009
Something of an unconventional choice for the Royal Academy of Arts, this major exhibition takes you on a 'journey' through the works of Anish Kapoor ...More
4 minutes walk from London Restaurant Festival 2009
The Royal Academy heralds the new year with a blockbuster exhibition on the works of Vincent van Gogh - the first major solo exhibition dedicated ...More
1 minutes walk from London Restaurant Festival 2009
Situated on prestigious Jermyn Street, in the heart of Piccadilly, the 4 star deluxe Cavendish Hotel is perfectly located for London's theatres, shops and arts. It ... More
Portraits, commissioned and otherwise, are a tradition as old as art itself, with representations made of great men and women for posterity from the time ... More
1 minutes walk from London Restaurant Festival 2009
Established in 1776, Christie’s holds sales ranging from Old Masters to the contemporary arts. In 1990 it broke all records with the sale Van Gogh’s ... More
1 minutes walk from London Restaurant Festival 2009
This pop-up Phaidon book store in Piccadilly, opposite the Royal Academy of Arts, opened on Saturday 29th August and is due to remain until Christmas ... More
1 minutes walk from London Restaurant Festival 2009
With its mahogany panelling and green leather banquettes Green's of Duke Street in St. James has the feel of a gentlemen's club. It's owners also ... More
2 minutes walk from London Restaurant Festival 2009
The standard is consistently high throughout the PV chain and this marble-infused venue on Piccadilly is no exception. There are Valeries all over London these ... More
10 minutes walk from London Restaurant Festival 2009
Thai food is the cuisine of the moment - green curries, red curries, satays, are everywhere. To the uninitiated,it's very difficult to recreate at home. ... More
14 minutes walk from London Restaurant Festival 2009
Cordwainers, specialists in leather, accessories and footwear, have now merged with the London College of Fashion. Among the very best specialist textile and fashion courses ...More
1 minutes walk from London Restaurant Festival 2009
Catalyst personal trainers are among the best in London. Get fit without doing yourself an injury, lose weight with a specially devised programme or build ... More
3 minutes walk from London Restaurant Festival 2009
A favourite with young royals - Princes Harry and William, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie have been spotted here... all at the same time. And where ... More
Attending the 
