James Butler

1 week ago | theargus.co.uk | James Butler

Checking a restaurant menu beforehand doesn’t help – the only thing that seems to work is the pressure of a server wielding notepad and pen looming over me. Except even that I seem to be developing an immunity to. Recently, while out for lunch with friends in London, I chased down the waitress to change my order before she got to the kitchen. Which is why the concept of Majahma is so appealing to me.

3 weeks ago | theargus.co.uk | James Butler

So goes the beginning of the song that catapulted Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid to fame at the Brighton Dome all those years ago. It also sums up my reaction, to put it mildly, when I saw a man cutting a similar figure to one quarter of pop’s greatest group walking my way. Although his hair was now grey, and he was wearing a more demure look compared to the glittery flared jumpsuit of his heyday, it was clear that I was in the presence of music royalty.

1 month ago | theargus.co.uk | James Butler

5 1/1 Normally you’re encouraged not to play with your food. But at The Gothic Crab in Brighton, it’s not just encouraged – it’s inevitable. Rising like a kraken from the depths, it occupies a spot on Madeira Place in Kemp Town, a stone’s throw from the sea. Owned by seafood merchant Phil Dono, his partner Anna Pollard and their friend Benitto Tarantino, who runs Morelli Zorelli in Hove, the eatery already has a good pedigree. The USP?

2 months ago | theargus.co.uk | James Butler

9 1/1 Nando's and stand up aren't exactly two things you'd think would naturally go together. Thanks to an unrelenting PR and social media machine, we've become acquainted with the idea of chicken and garlic bread, coleslaw and mash, and other strange combinations. But Nando's and comedy? Last night (April 22) the London Road store was turned into the Nando's Extra Hot Comedy Club, and my colleague and I were invited down for some of wings and a giggle.

2 months ago | theargus.co.uk | James Butler

24 1/1 As I sipped a boozy peach iced tea at the Andaz hotel’s Rakes bar, it was hard to believe that centuries ago on this spot, unfortunate souls were “treated” at the original Bedlam hospital. The décor, for one: no fingernail-gouged brick walls or cell bars to be seen, instead hot pink walls with mirrors whimsically stuck on mirrors and vaulted ceilings with marble columns. The site is filled with a lot of history.