Volumes has quickly become a popular destination, known for its superb coffee and a lunch menu that keeps customers coming back. The atmosphere is vibrant, and the food offerings are diverse, catering to various tastes.
Walking through the narrow bylanes of Mylapore neighbourhood at dusk is like watching a sepia-tinted postcard of Madras coming to life and gently reasserting itself over the Chennai of today. The 7th-century Kapaleeshwarar Temple, the fulcrum of commerce and culture, draws the devout into its timeless force field, and on nearby Pitchu Pillai Lane, a small crowd gathers around the Raghul Kuzhi Paniyaram street stall to buy kuzhi paniyarams: spongy orbs of pan-fried batter speckled with mustard seeds.
Endo Kazutoshi was on the train to Paris when he heard about the fire that had destroyed his restaurant, Endo at the Rotunda, located on the eighth floor of the Helios building. The fire had started on a terrace and quickly spread, affecting the dining room and kitchen, built mostly from 200-year-old hinoki wood.
Last month, I found myself sitting in what looked like the world's most boring strip mall restaurant. Beige walls, no signage except for a tiny brass plaque, and a parking lot filled with understated luxury cars. I'd been invited by a source who'd built three successful companies before turning forty. As we ate perfectly prepared Dover sole at 7 PM on a Tuesday, surrounded by other quietly powerful diners, something clicked. This wasn't about exclusivity or showing off. This was about something else entirely.
For only six tables each night, one of the restaurant's chefs wheels up to the table armed with a smoker of charred heritage-breed chicken, still steaming hot. You'll get to choose the woodchips and-best of all-the butter for the namesake specialty. Current options include an earthy and floral fenugreek, a smoked chili that definitely kicks back in the spice department and a pickled tomato.
When Ceylon India Inn opened near Times Square in the early 1900s, the city's first South Asian restaurant quickly became a hub for New York's burgeoning community of desi (a term used to describe people of South Asian descent) dock workers, and students. More than a century later, there are more than 400 such restaurants across the five boroughs, enticing a far more diverse array of diners.
We absolutely loved when it opened last year in King's Cross, so there has been much rejoicing over news that a new branch of the south Indian mini-chain will be opening in Soho. The biggest branch to date, Tamila will pop up on Poland Street in February. It marks the third outing for the restaurant, which also has a location in Clapham. Tamila comes from the same team as desi gastropubs The Tamil Prince and The Tamil Crown, which are both in Islington.
Launching on March 1, Akoko's West African inspired menu will be headed up by the Akoko burger, £16, which will see an aged British beef patty seasoned with a special spice blend as well as tamarind jam, sosu kaani scotch bonnet chilli sauce, yassa-spiced onions and melted goat's cheese. The Akoko burger will come in Heard's signature roast potato bun and be served with dibi dipping sauce inspired by Senegalese barbecue.
A host of one star restaurants have also closed since the last awards, including the two-Michelin-starred in South Ken. The one star La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons Hotel London at Tower Bridge and the two-Michelin-starred Lyle's in Shoreditch, Dosa at the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair (which was open less than a year), and The Five Fields in Chelsea have also shut down, with Club Gascon in Smithfield set to stop operating next month .