It is hard to believe that 5 years have already elapsed since Le Café Anglais first opened, in the Whitley’s building in Bayswater, bringing some welcome Parisian brasserie bravado and cool art deco influences to the metropolitan dining scene. Uncompromising chef-patron and FT food writer Rowley Leigh is a keen oenophile, as well as a […]

A couple of years ago over a long and languorous lunch at Le Café Anglais, with chef-patron (and FT food guru) Rowley Leigh, I was lamenting the fact that while the cuisine of Provence is justifiably celebrated its best wines are regrettably overlooked. Rowley is a man of action who requires little encouragement and before […]

I'm not sure if it was my idea or Rowley's. A bit of both probably. It was certainly hatched over a fine lunch with some good bottles open for inspiration. The concept was pretty simple really - to host a Provençal feast partnering classic dishes with local wines. Obviously, this was to be a summer […]

At the beginning of March I had the pleasure of hosting an evening dedicated to the wines of Domaine Jean-Louis Chave, an estate widely acknowledged as being at forefront of the Rhône valley’s wine making elite. I was at Le Café Anglais on the invitation of the chef-patron, Rowley Leigh, who is passionate about wine […]