Liam Collens

The Devonshire has been praised so enthusiastically, and for so long, that criticism feels almost impolite. After dinner in the Grill Room, I found myself thinking less about the food and more about what happens when consensus becomes accepted truth.

The Devonshire, London restaurant review. “It’s Fine.” The Devonshire has been praised so enthusiastic, and for so long, that criticism feels almost impolite. After dinner in the Grill Room, I found myself thinking less about the food and more about what happens when consensus becomes accepted truth.

I am always curious about the stories behind antiques; a phrase that essentially means things that once belonged to other people. Second hand, but we call them antiques because that sounds nicer. More prestigious than “pre-loved” or “new to you”.

I am a cynic at heart.

But wouldn’t it be nice to get a little card that (honestly) shares the provenance and back story that comes with a desk, a vase, the collection of leather bound books?

📍 Asti Antique Market occurs on the fourth Sunday of every month.

I’ve consumed my actual body weight in agnolotti over the last few days, but these ones may have been the best.

Amused Bouche 06 is now out.

This edition includes church bells at 5am, renovation updates from Piemonte, cookbook celebrations, supermarket chef collaborations, new restaurant openings, my increasingly middle-aged habits my ongoing campaign to eat my bodyweight in agnolotti.

🔗

Amused Bouche 06 Bite-sized if not biting commentary. In this issue: Italian renovations, cookbook celebrations, restaurant openings, supermarket collaborations and my increasingly middle-aged hobbies.

Suppli and pistachio gelato are elite choices 👌🏽

Day 2 in Italy - Turin is one of those cities where elegance and scruffiness coexist in near-perfect proportion. Remove either and it would be less interesting.

Three years away from London is long enough for an entire food scene to reinvent itself.

So before booking tables, I asked Londoners a simple question:

Where would you send someone you actually care about?

❌ Not the places with the loudest PR.
❌ Not the newest opening.
❌ Not the restaurant everyone pretends to love.

The places tied to birthdays, first dates, Friday rituals, family lunches, post-pub detours and neighbourhood loyalties.

More than 100 recommendations later, a pattern emerged.

Some names appeared again and again. Others were fiercely defended by a single person who would probably start a small war if they closed.

The result is The London 100: a community-built guide to the restaurants Londoners genuinely show up for.

📍101 recommendations
📍Every corner of London
📍From St. John and Noble Rot to tiny neighbourhood favourites you may never have heard of

Link in bio.

And now the important question: which restaurant should have made the list?

[London restaurants. London food guide. Best restaurants in London. London dining recommendations. Where to eat in London. Community recommendations. London food scene.]

Day 1 in Italy. We had several hours to kill before checking into our Airbnb, so we wandered around Novara.

It’s one of those places I’m glad I’ve seen and have no particular urgency to see again. That isn’t a criticism. Not every town needs to become a lifelong obsession.

We are off to Italy today to check in on the house renovations, touch some grass and drink some wine. Maybe I’ll even get to read this book which I’ve been carrying around for a year. A boy can dream.

The last time I visited London, the city felt tired of life itself.

This time it felt loud, optimistic and glorious. Somewhere on a slow spring walk through Inner Temple, London grabbed me.

I’d forgotten quite how much I missed it.

London, Three Years On: A Return by Fork and Footstep A whistle-stop tour of London by mouth, three years on, that rekindled a distant affection for a city I once called home for the better part of a decade.