Douglas Blyde

2 weeks ago | thedrinksbusiness.com | Douglas Blyde

Douglas Blyde visits the Greek-leaning Krokodilos, finding “a level of refinement and intent still largely absent” from other Hellenic restaurants in London. Krokodilos – the latest outing from George Bukhov-Weinstein and Ilya Demichev, the minds behind Wild Tavern, Wild Corner, Belvedere, Fantomas, and Pinna – is, per Grace Dent, “a sleek, moderately fancy celebration of all things from Athens to the coast of Crete,” albeit with fewer fishermen and far pricier fittings.

3 weeks ago | civilianglobal.com | Douglas Blyde

“Friends owns it,” said Yannos Hadjiioannou, with the nonchalance of someone who knows the provenance of every feta in the Peloponnese. “Well located. And the design’s been ahead of its time for years.” He is co-founder of Maltby & Greek, which imports Greece’s most elegant wines and artisanal ephemera to Britain – a modern-day Dionysus in denim. The original carcass was the Olympic Palace, a post-war slab, once home to men in suits and heft glasses, and women in stiff hairNew Hotel.

3 weeks ago | luxuriate.life | Douglas Blyde

There are hotel bars, and there are bars which happen to be in hotels. The former are institutions - deeply upholstered, knowingly lit, confidently themselves. Places where drinks are not just served but staged, by teams which behave as though part of the same hive - precise, instinctive, quietly in sync. Avra Bar, at the prow of the Four Seasons Astir Palace, belongs to this rare breed. A salon of spirits, sometimes cheeky stories, and increasingly, vinyl.

4 weeks ago | standard.co.uk | Douglas Blyde

Going Out | Food + Drink‘After our first vintage, my Italian viticulture professor came over with tears in his eyes’The Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Sign up for our expert view on everything that’s worth eating, drinking and queuing for in LondonI would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

1 month ago | arbuturian.com | Douglas Blyde

There is something deliciously reassuring in the knowledge that, while the world burns through trends like kindling, a few restaurants remain gloriously, defiantly themselves. No QR codes. No disco cauliflowers. No chefs wielding tweezers like scalpels, arms inked with semiotic intent. Just courteous service, elegant food – and, yes, if required, a gentle, unironic chorus of Happy Birthday.