The Evening Standard: Hannah Crosbie’s pick of London’s best basement bars

A cocktail at SOMA

I don’t know about you, but my idea of a good day out doesn’t involve warm beer. It certainly doesn’t involve said beer being spilled down my back, by a group engaged in one of the loudest conversations ever perceived by the human ear. And yet, as soon as the weather begins to resemble anything other than a Lowry painting, this becomes the way of it. Off to the pub garden we all trundle.

By virtue of being easily irritable, I’ve resolved to limit my intake of beer garden days. Doctors do not recommend more than one a week (probably). I don’t recommend them at all (definitely). Instead, I’d much rather nurse a well-made drink in a temperature regulated, subterranean bar, where everyone is seated, and no one is pretending to be nice in order to steal a cigarette filter.

Our favourite bars still need our support during summer, when everyone is, ostensibly, at a chain pub. Don’t worry. Spoons will be there when you get back. But your favourite bar may not; don’t risk it. Here’s where to head.

Read the full article written for Evening Standard here.

The Independent: Sizzling kitchen drama The Bear is spicing up the dating game for chefs

A photograph from Marco Pierre White’s ‘White Heat’

We truly live in a post-Bear society. The show smashed onto the small screen just over a year ago; screaming, swearing and on fire. It followed the successes of similarly pube-straighteningly tense kitchen dramas such as Boiling Point, with scripts and situations so realistic I know ex-chefs who refuse to watch more than one episode, for fear of it reopening long-healed wounds.

Everyone else can’t get enough of it. The vertigo-inducing high octane, the strained relationships, the tomato sauce-stained jeopardy. There’s no doubt it makes for romantic watching, but with little to no scenes of intimacy, it’s been rather curious to see just how many people are now thirsting after chefs. Until quite recently, this was an occupation associated with antisocial hours and substance abuse issues, if seriously considered by a potential romantic partner at all. I’m endlessly fascinated with how pop culture can shape and skew perceptions of the industry I love, so I spoke to several chefs about exactly how The Bear has impacted their dating lives.

Read the full article written for The Independent here.

The Evening Standard: what the wines in Succession reveal about the Roys

A scene from HBO’s Succession

If you have enough power and wealth to get pretty much whatever wine you want, what do you buy?

From $80,000 wine to “Malbec morons”, cheap Prosecco to biodynamic Spätburgunder, wine punctuates every meeting, incites every infidelity, and underpins every interaction of HBO’s Succession. The Roys barely eat on camera — the calamari cockring notwithstanding — but wine is splashed absolutely everywhere. Throughout, it’s used to portray both the opulent and ugly sides of the Roys’ wealth.

To the family, consuming fine wine is an ordinary, day-to-day thing; so usual that they don’t notice it, like having a fully-stocked fridge of La Croix or a fleet of Cadillac Escalades. Where for the average drinker, the celebratory opening of a special bottle is designated for life’s important moments, the Roys drink fine wine so often, any sense of celebration is abstracted into something meaningless. Every meeting, deal and misguided presidential candidacy is peppered with bubbles. Everything is a celebration, which means nothing is. Then again, for people like the Roys, no matter how hard life gets for the rest of us, there will always be something to celebrate.

Read the full article written for Evening Standard here.

Soho House: become the wine snob you want to be

Wine at Soho House

Regardless of how you label it – natural, raw or naked – wine in its purest unfiltered form has never been more popular. These days, you’ll find crate loads of artfully decorated bottles in supermarkets and merchants everywhere, or on the curated wine lists of the world’s best drinking and dining establishments. Some, such as the Dandy Café in London, or Racines in New York, serve the natural variety exclusively.

For some traditionalists, however, it’s a passing trend: a hipster-fuelled foodie fad that was destined for the sink from the start. For others, it’s a cleaner, more sustainable alternative that’s worth raising a glass to. To settle the debate, we called natural wine connoisseur Hannah Crosbie and Soho House sommelier and traditionalist, Vincent Gasnier, to put words to their reasoning for loving either classic or natural.

Read the full article written for Soho House here.

The Independent: Côtes du Rhône: widely drunk, broadly underestimated

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Famed for its unicorn wines (with price tags to match), the Rhône Valley is a sainted region for serious oenophiles with a penchant for old-school wines. But for those with shallower pockets, it’s also an under-the-radar spot to seek real value from a new generation of winemakers, says Hannah Crosbie.

I’m gazing northwards on Avenue Dr Paul Durand in Tain L’Hermitage, wondering at what point in history Rhône winemakers chose to ignore the laws of gravity. I spent my formative years in the East Midlands, a Royston Vasey-adjacent place where there wasn’t much in the way of natural beauty to rest the eye on. You can imagine, then, the awe I am dumbstruck with on my first visit to the Rhône Valley. “The earth is vertical here,” I think.

I’ve arrived at the end of an incredibly dry March, and pruning season is well underway. Hunched-over students creep across the sheer, arid slopes like spiders. Behind closed doors, anxious winemakers pray for rain.

Read the full article written for The Independent here.