Food and Drink

Tony Kitous – a labour of love

The Sybarite sat down with Tony to find out more about the man behind the restaurant brand Comptoir Libanais and his passion for simple and delicious food.. Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Oxford street, beyond the backstreet eateries and high-end boutiques of Mayfair, I arrived at restaurant lounge, Levant. Welcomed by a candlelit staircase and the exotic aromas of incense, I happened upon a beautifully engraved doorway. Leaving London behind, I was transported across continents by the luxurious settings and authentic sights and smells, to a Middle Eastern lounge and the venue for our interview.

The Best Sunday Lunch in London

From golden crisp potatoes and seasonal greens, to the staple Yorkshire pudding with lashings of gravy. The English tradition of a Sunday roast has been embraced and reinvented by many London chefs. However, there is nothing like a fuss-free, perfectly executed roast, so here are some of The Sybarite’s favourite Sunday restaurant destinations.

Celebrate Easter With A Modern Baker Simnel Cake

So what better way to celebrate, than with a cup of English tea and slice of this beautiful Simnel cake by Modern Baker? This Easter bake is a rich fruit cake which includes lumps of marzipan stirred into the mixture that melts and combines with all the other flavours during cooking. It is then decorated with more marzipan, typically in a spring floral design.

Zesty Recipes From Lemon Compendium - Rose Scented Lemon...

Lemon Compendium - Q&A With Author Yasemen Kaner-White

Vibrant, red-lipped and glowing… I’m starting to think there might actually be something to this lemony lifestyle. Yasemen’s English-Cypriot heritage and passion for travel have driven her love of experimenting with cuisines from all around the world. A woman after my own heart, Yasemen relishes expanding her understanding of various cultures, paradigms – and especially her tastebuds! There is evidence of this insatiable hunger for unique stories behind each health tip, lifestyle hack and delicious recipe in her new book Lemon Compendium.

Melissa’s Life-Changing Carrot and Olive Oil Cake

"Sorry for the melodramatic title of this cake but to be honest it was life-changing for me, so please just go with it. It’s the complex play of the spices that really brings this cake to life. Cloves, cardamom and cinnamon combine to heighten the flavours and aromas to an almost intoxicating level. With 500g of grated carrot in this cake, there’s no getting away from its presence, though it’s surprising how the cake doesn’t really taste of it. Its purpose is to bind in the flour – in this case spelt, that is higher in protein and fibre than wheat. The fruity olive oil unifies all the other flavours. This recipe is so forgiving. Even overcooked, it’s still moist and delicious!" - Melissa Sharp

Listen to Your Gut – Modern Baker, A New Way to Bake

In a society where health and wellbeing are coming to the forefront of day-to-day living, we are looking for healthier alternatives to boost the nutritional quality of what we’re putting into our bodies. The Modern Baker is a pioneering baked good brand, working out of Oxford to bring us nutritional cakes, biscuits and bread made with natural ingredients and sourdough starters.

Celebrate Chinese New Year at The Dead Dolls House,...

Ultraviolet Part I – Where Theatrics Play on Food

The concept conceived by Chef Paul Pairet is an ode to the human sensory experience where food of course spearheads this moving play. It takes diners to a different level and way of eating haute cuisine in an almost sinister yet desperately mysterious atmosphere.

London’s Best Restaurants for Celebrating Chinese New Year

Whilst the most customary way to celebrate Chinese New Year is with a traditional tea ceremony, The Sybarite has meticulously prepared a guide to some of London’s finest Chinese restaurants offering style, substance and plenty of delicious cocktails.

Review of The Upper House – the definitive luxury living hotel in...

For one, though its location is smack in the centre of the city, sitting amongst Shangri-La, The Conrad and Marriot Hotels, its discretion as a five-star luxury living abode is its allurement. Just as you enter its lobby, one isn’t really there until they’ve gone up the stair-way of The Upper House. Call it Feng Shui, but The Upper House wants its guests to feel as if they’ve been transported to a home away from home where luxury living is waiting to greet you at the very top.  Rather than the typical check-in of entering through the hotel’s doors towards the concierge desk, The Upper House takes it to another notch. As in, one needn’t go through the check-in process. All one need do is head straight to their rooms whilst its staff takes care of everything else.

The best hotels and restaurants of 2017: the places you...

We are bringing to you a series of posts rounding up the whirlwind that has been 2017. Whether it is beauty products, restaurants, hotels or film & TV, we bring you our favourites from the past 12 months. The best hotels that we have chosen to share with you are a wide variety, from a stunning picturesque property with sprawling gardens, to a treehouse in Sweden. We have got our 3 favourites that we think you will love, for their sheer luxury and unique features.