With Christmas and New Year’s Eve behind us and nothing but cold and damp months ahead for awhile, we’re starting to get a bit depressed. Money is tight after a festive season blow-out and we’re desperately saving for our new spring wardrobe. But if you’re a bit better at planning your spending than we are, you might have a few extra quid to spend on a posh dinner out. Unsurprisingly, there are loads of places in the capital where you can blow your cash, but there are a few more interesting options to spend you money than just ordering dozens of bottles of expensive wine…

When Mayfairers are in the mood for Chinese food on a Friday night, there’s no way you’ll catch them at a takeaway. They all flock to Kai …

The only thing we Londoners love more than going out is going out and having everything fall into place. Unfortunately, reservations get cancelled, friends don’t show, and – horror of horrors – meals can run on too long, leaving you scrambling to be on time for your next destination. If you’re going to the theatre it’s traditional (for luvvies and tourists alike) to have a bite before the show, but pre-theatre meals can feel overly rushed unless they’re really close to the theatre.

Opera fans will be singing for joy at the Royal Opera House’s Amphitheatre …

There’s a big trend at the moment for going old school – vintage is in, retro’s never left and every London restaurant and its mother are moving towards simple cuisine from local producers, just like in the good ole days. But whatever happened to looking forward to the future? Here at View London, we’re big fans of jet packs, tin foil-esque clothing, meals in pill form – well, maybe not that last one. And every Londoner who’s ever seen the Jetsons knows that flying cars are the solution to the capital’s transport problems – no traffic, and no having to deal with the tube either! Bonus.

But now there’s a new future for the capital’s restaurant scene, stuffed full of state of the art technology, and we’re very impressed. In fact, at this very minute …

Scrambled eggs? No problem. Beans on toast? Got it covered. Sushi? No sweat.

Wait, what?

Here at ViewLondon we’re big fans of sushi, but the thought of making it has always scared us a bit. Who would have thought that some slices of fish and a few grains of rice would leave grown men and women cowering? But, New Year and all (for a few more days, anyway) so we’re throwing caution to the wind and immersing ourselves in sushi making courses.

If you fancy a bespoke sushi making experience, Sushi School runs basic and pro courses out of a home kitchen in Golders Green, whereas London sushi stalwarts YO! Sushi …

On Christmas you get a turkey, no problems there, for Easter there’s the Pagan symbolism of eggs to contend with – but what exactly does Shrove Tuesday have to do with bloody pancakes, of all foods?

Simple. Shrove Tuesday is actually the day before Lent, the period of fasting before Easter. Traditionally Londoners would clean out their cupboards on the day to prepare for the fast, and with all the leftover flour, eggs and milk, they made pancakes. Wouldn’t you load up on carbs if you were about to fast?
 
Pancake Day races, on the other hand, have been going on for more than 500 years, supposedly stemming from an incident when a woman dropped everything whilst making pancakes and legged to church when she heard the bells.

This …