THE REVIEW

THE CILLIAN MURPHY EDITION

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Kozue, Park Hyatt

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My knowledge of Japanese cuisine was only a smidgen above zero when I touched down in Tokyo. Despite the popularity of machine-rolled sushi flogged in supermarkets and the flurry of ramen houses that have popped up in recent years, the mass market (me included) is only familiar with a narrow cross section of Japanese cuisine in the UK. With this in mind, I tried to widen my horizons and see what the heck else I could trough during my time there. On my first night in the capital I washed barbecued beef, onions and bean sprouts down with Asahi. That was at a street stall with a squatter toilet a…

Travel

The Grace, Mykonos

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‘Grace’ derives from the Greek word charis or chairo, meaning to rejoice.  As far back as Homer, it meant sweetness or attractiveness, yet in time, it also came to signify goodwill and loving kindness. Having spent a few cherished days at the beautiful Grace in Mykonos, part of the Grace Collection, this chic boutique hotel, lived up to all of these things. Discreetly located a short drive from Mykonos Town and perched idyllically overlooking the unspoilt Agios Stefanos beach, the pristine hotel offers the most beautiful retreat with breath-taking sea views and a humbling starry sky at night. The hotel makes a single promise: to deliver a simple, elegant grace….

Food & Drink

Quattro Passi

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I remember watching the restaurant scene in the opening of American Psycho in my late teens thinking, ‘I wonder if the Upper East Side is actually like that?’ ‘Are the plates really the size of a platter?’ ‘Is the food symmetrical?’ ‘Do the waiters still serve the dishes with silver service perfection and in unison, like well-rehearsed Russian synchronised swimmers?’ When I perused the menu for Quattro Passi, I decided that it would play host to 2015’s fabled editorial meeting between myself and The Review’s Editor-in-Chief. One useless piece of information: rarely do you meet an individual with such a diehard appreciation of only one cinematic genre (horror). Laith Al-Kaisy…

Travel

Hacienda Na Xamena, Ibiza

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Ibiza must’ve been made on the sixth day, when all that God had left was a brutish hangover and some clay. The island is architecturally unremarkable, a brown featureless lump, where people don’t come for the history, or the culture, but for the twenty-first century Mecca of clubs, comedowns and sexually-charged coastlines. At least that’s what I thought. We’d spent the first four days in the heart of clubland, Platja d’en Bossa, at a hotel called Ushuaïa, which if you know Ibiza, is a place where the party never stops. Everything about this part of the island is imported junk from university campuses in less-sybaritic parts of Europe. Namely Manchester,…

Travel

Kai Matsumoto

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Amy McNichol visits Kai Matsumoto in Japan; luxury unlike any she’s ever seen before If you’re heading to Japan, you’ve probably scrawled ‘Tokyo’ and ‘Mount Fuji’ in to your itinerary and circled them excitedly with felt tip pen. You might not have done the same with Matsumoto, a lesser known city in the Nagano Prefecture, surrounded by gob-smackingly beautiful mountains. The mountains that you drive over (and indeed beneath courtesy of some epic scale tunnels) are tummy-turningly high and belly-flippingly bendy at points. I visited in autumn and despite the dazzling sunshine, the leaves on the towering trees were turning that rich red colour you presume is enhanced in the guidebooks….

Travel

Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel

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Mallorca has always had a sweet spot in my heart, with happy memories of my first ever girls’ holiday, at the tender age of 18, to Magaluf – a major milestone, having survived A-Levels and my first independent holiday. Freedom! Needless to say, that particular trip was packed with more sunburn, alcohol, wardrobe angst and nightlife than should be humanly possible, but very happy memories nonetheless. So, as I returned to this magical place, I was excited to discover the other side of the island, both literally and philosophically. We were headed north-west to Port de Soller, an area noted for its outstanding natural beauty, to stay at the recently-opened…

Tech RoundUp

Pelican Cases

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Let’s be honest, whether it’s your body weight in gold bullion, blood diamonds or just the sat phone, security is your main priority. You didn’t toil with that despot in the far-flung jungles of wherever just to walk away empty-handed. You want your prize. Except no substitutes, Pelican is the only way. If it were an employee being sent on a fractious investment deal with a tin pot dictatorship, it would be beaten relentlessly, get the deal signed, turn up at HQ bloodied and battered and ask “Do you need me to do it again?” When we turn up on set for a photo or video shoot, it can arguably…

Food & Drink

Oblix

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There’s an equal measure of pros and cons to not living in London. For instance, I’m always last to know about a new launch in the city: con. I can travel at leisure through Bristol without having to delouse: pro. What it does mean, though, is that our London-based editorial team get the pick of the litter when it comes to new London eateries. Before I could even pick up the phone, our voracious editor and his digital girlfriend had already explored and reviewed every restaurant that The Shard has crammed into its lofty 72 floors. Arguably, this doesn’t happen often. There are indeed enough comestibles in London for us…

Automotive

Abarth 595 Turismo

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You’ve got to be a little bit careful with the term ‘hot hatch’. For me it evokes images of mouth-breathing oiks drinking energy drink and doing handbrake turns in supermarket carparks. Luckily (and I never thought I would say this) The Italians are here!!! They have taken the slightly questionable teenage pregnancy image of the hot hatch and given it a makeover. Think Lavazza not Relentless. Lose the tracksuit bottoms and trainers and replace them with some ankle-biting linen chinos with buff loafers and sockless bronzed ankles. Burn the hoodies and sling a cashmere jumper over your shoulders. It’s Ray-Ban time so grow up, walk slower and smoke more. Bella…

Automotive

Defender of the faith

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I didn’t grow up on a farm, I grew up in Wiltshire which is far from agriculturally challenged but I was not raised surrounded by farm machinery and livestock. So why is it that the vehicle I long for is considered by many to be either a weekend warrior for the green-lane masses or an aggro vehicle with obligatory Ifor Williams sheep dog in tow? Well the answer is, it isn’t really. Many a motoring writer will tell you that the Loyal Defender has long been considered as a work horse for the countryside set but over the last  few decades it’s appeal has crossed over into the mainstream. With…

Food & Drink

Celeste, SW1

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I haven’t been eating out much lately. I’ve been hiding, avoiding terrorism on public transport, and preparing for global economic meltdown and the third world war. You think I’m pulling your bratwurst, but I’ve never penned a more unsmiling opening paragraph to a food review. Except that one about the maître d’, the chambermaid, and the hair in my soup. Actually, that’s not the reason I haven’t been eating out – but it’s more believable than the truth. You see, I took my brother to Pollen Street Social for his birthday, and it fundamentally changed me. It’s frayed the fabric of my being. It’s left me ashamed, victimised, confused, unsure…

Travel

The Arctic Circle

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No children, no partner, no work. But you still have to call and check in, of course, to confirm proof of life, your partner tells you with a certain sardonic tone. You obviously have to read emails too, just in case your office forecasts the apocalypse and you aren’t there to say ‘I knew it, I saw it coming’. The modern holiday has become a Living TV documentary, where you board a low-cost flight and head somewhere ‘warm’ to try and get business-grade drunk. There are only a few differences between business drunk and normal drunk: business drunk means it’s still acceptable to drive. Of course, even if you aren’t…

Tech RoundUp

Disaster Recovery

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When I was taught the finer points of disaster recovery, I was in my twenties and was certainly not expecting to learn that the majority of data loss is caused by planned downtime, not floods and fire. However, this does not mean that you should ignore such natural disasters. The digital age means that more and more people are backing up their data to a storage device and putting in a draw for safe keeping. This of course is moderately acceptable if your just backing up your mothers recipes and risqué photos. However when it’s your company accounts and emails you really ought to have something a little more developed in place….

Travel

Asia in the Mediterranean

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As someone who is passionate about travel and experiencing all the wonders and riches of the world’s eclectic cultures, cuisines, people and landscapes I am rather embarrassed to say, as yet, I have not visited as much of Asia as I wish to. However, my daily life is enriched with many of the cultural influences that have reached our shores from the incredible food, their historical attitudes to natural health and wellbeing ( I practice yoga, tai chi, meditation and use Asia influences practices like acupuncture for health) , to their Feng Shui design influence and the strong religious philosophies which resonate powerfully with me ( I am sure I…

Cars

Aston Martin V12 Roadster

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It all started as I was entering 3:15am into my alarm. Strangely, I was not worrying about the time but whether I would be able to get any sleep at all. The anticipation of test driving the new Aston Martin V12 Roadster, and of all places, in Monaco, made sleep a bit of a non-starter. It reminded me of the feeling I used to get on Christmas Eve as a nipper. Having secured a few hours’ sleep, it was off to the airport. It felt odd flying solo for a change; usually I have the Rugby boys in tow. It made a difference to know that I could sleep on…

THE REVIEW

THE ALICIA AGNESON EDITION

TRAVEL

The Ghan Train

The Ghan

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I’m certainly no Francis Bourgeois, but there’s something so romantic and intriguing about crossing lands unknown in the comfort of a sleeper train. Being given the opportunity to see vast landscapes that many won’t ever get to witness, solely due to its sheer remoteness, is a rare delight.

Monterey Car Week: What to expect in 2024

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A few key events are akin to film festivals and fashion weeks in the automotive world. The British have the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival. The French have Retromobile and the Chantilly Concours of Elegance. The Swedes have the newly launched Auroura Concours, Italy brings us the legendary Concorso D’Eleganza Villa D’Este and Fuori Concorso, and then there’s North America… 

Boutique Retreats, Sojourn

Wilderness perfected, by Boutique Retreats

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Travel is a fine and freeing thing. The unshackling of the metaphorical chains, the daily grind of work, and life’s endless expectations. Oh, and the choice! Sunshine, or snow? Lakes, forests, dunes or mountains? Total relaxation, escapism, exhilaration or luxuriation?

ViseVersa, The Hyatt Regency Lisbon

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It would be easy to say that the past decade or so has been kind to Lisbon – it’s subtly undergone the kind of glow-up certain other smaller European capitals keep putting on the backburner… and it’s been driven organically by tourism raised high on the shoulders of social media’s more gastronomy-oriented corners. 

Langdale Chase Hotel

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Steeped in amazing untold stories, the house was designed by J.L Ball, JT Lee and Pattinson of Manchester and built as a private house in the late 19th century for Edna Howarth

THE ALPINE EDITION

BEAUTY

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville

The Greatest Outdoors

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Set between Les Menuires and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, my recent foray to the mountains offered plentiful serene moments of reflection and emotional expansion, with ample time to enjoy the last of the white stuff as the ‘23-’24 ski season came to a close.

Bentley Beyond, The Collection. For the journey.

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Driving a car you love is so much more than the ‘a’ to ‘b’. It’s the feel of the steering wheel moving from under your palm, the resistance of the accelerator beneath your sole or the slick movement of the gearbox. Sometimes it’s the thrill you get when the mechanic tells you that against all odds, your pernickety classic car flew through its MOT. It’s the bond you feel and the memories you create together over the miles.

Where the Hot Springs Flow: Diving into The Well, Oslo

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It is perhaps one of the great tragedies of my life that I don’t spend every weekend in a beautifully crafted replica of a Kyoto bathhouse, surrounded on all sides by thirty or more totally naked Norwegians, each glistening with perspiration and a curated array of essential oils. However, my trip to the spectacular Oslo wellness resort The Well ensured – within an hour of arrival, in fact – that my existence would no longer be completely lacking this experience. 

THE REVIEW

THE BEN WILLIAMS EDITION

FILM

Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae - Roger Chan - The Review Magazine

Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae LP780-4

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I slip my slightly clammy hand gingerly into the slot, ease some pressure and pull gently skyward. That scissor-door entry is nothing less than muted pornography. So effortless in its execution, it’s part of the recipe that makes the Aventador just that little bit more special.

Casio PX-S7000 Stephen Sims

Aesthetic Harmonics – The Casio PX-S7000

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Quality, innovation and – by god, in this case – style. Casio’s reputation precedes it when it comes to its product development and, crucially, its product refinement. Their first electronic keyboard, The Casiotone CT-201, was birthed by Toshio Kashio and his team in January 1980.

Ferrari F8 Spider

Ferrari F8 Spider

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Fresh from four days in Scotland driving the simply astonishing Ferrari F8 Spider, there are times in one’s life where you have to sit back, take some time, and genuinely let an experience wash over you. You need to take it in. Revel in it. The smells, the sights, the sheer visceral nature of it.

Alpina - Startimer Pilot Chronograph

Alpina – Startimer Pilot Chronograph

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Like many Swiss watchmaking dynasties, Alpina can trace its founding back to the turn of the nineteenth century – 1883 to be precise – by Gottlieb Hauser, a watchmaker in Winterthur, who also established the Swiss Watchmakers Corporation (Union Horlogère Suisse).

Stacia Suttles

Stacia Suttles

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It wasn’t until Stacia Suttles turned 19 and stepped into a boxing ring for the first time, that the amateur fighter realised she was exceptionally gifted in the combat sport.

Twisted 21

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I scanned the horizon of the Finnish race circuit but Charlie was possibly doing a few laps in the 500hp V8 110. “Let me see if I can find him Tony”. “Cool man”. This was the first of a handful of semi awkward exchanges I would have with Tony Hawk that week as we crossed from Finland into Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Austria and Monaco.