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An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Critic rating
Reader rating
Description: Still often hailed as "the best Italian in London", this Belgravia stalwart has become "a bit glitzier" (and less "crowded") since its enlargement a couple of years ago; it can still seem "remarkably unpretentious, given the sophistication of the food".
Food: 
Service:
Ambience: 
Phone: 020 7235 5800
Website: http://www.zafferanorestaurant.com
Open: Mon to Sat 12.00-14.30&19.00-23.00; Sun 12.00-15.00&19.00-23.00
Dress code: Smart casual
Good for: Romantic meals, Business, Good food, Ambience.
Payment options: All major cards accepted
Receptionist Olga Salodini has worked front of house at Zafferano for five years and describes the relationship between staff and customers as one big family
Money. It makes the world go round but can't buy you love, depending on which song you happen to be listening to at the time. Which must mean there are a lot of dizzy and wistful people living in Knightsbridge. I'd forgotten just how pampered and wealthy this part of London was - mainly because I haven't been here by day for a long time.
By night, the cloak of darkness confers a certain meritocracy on cities. If a venue is good, then it doesn't matter if it's in Hackney or Hampstead.
By day, it's different. The brightness of early spring is merciless: under its cruel spotlight it's easy to assess the value of what we're wearing; what we're worth.
Knightsbridge is very much that kind of place. This is the land of stuccoed embassies, big-name designer shops and little dogs. Cars with tinted windows, burly-looking minders in shades, and sleek, fur-swathed women with wind-tunnel faces.
I was lunching at Zafferano, a restaurant that is now famous on two counts: it has a Michelin star and was recently in the news for innocently flogging an allegedly fake bottle of Pétrus to a customer. The wine in question cost £18,000. Gulp. Can any drink ever be worth £250 a mouthful? Answers on a postcard, please.
The flower-filled room at Zafferano is deceptively large and there are three distinctly different areas. The front part has a slightly retro, business-lunch composition - all men, with not a woman in sight. I was shown into the softer, more bistro-like area at the back, with its huge mirror and slatted views on to the street.
Here there's a more eclectic assortment of customer. Three French women pushing their food around. An elegant group of South Americans who seemed to be celebrating something. A rock star with a gushing aide. And a table with four blonde English women of a certain age who were like the very best type of stem ginger - perfectly preserved.
I was meeting a friend from Texas who's a member of ABH - America's fastest-growing political party (Anyone But Hillary) - and she was instantly charmed by the flowers ('just gorgeous') and the bread ('divine'). And it was. Sage bread baked on the premises every morning.
We discussed the election. Their election, that is. That's all anyone ever discusses: what will we talk about once November has gone? We decided that the new intake of world leaders has the potential to be very exciting and that the current incumbents over here were past their sell-by date. A bit like the Pétrus.
My Yankee Doodle guest had the girlie starter of endive salad with pear and gorgonzola dressing. It was fresh, crisp and so pretty she could hardly bear to eat it, but 'My, am I glad that I did!' she drawled.
My sliced cured beef with rocket and goat's cheese was a simple masterpiece of perfect ingredients - and the cheese was finely grated before being drizzled with oil. I get so bored with goat's cheese always being dished up in unappetising slabs.
Pink, pan-fried venison with radicchio, polenta and wild mushrooms was so good that I wanted more. My guest chose roasted halibut with potato crust, caramelised endive and red onion. She thought the onion was delicious and the fish 'OK', though a bit bland. It was her only criticism.
We shared a chocolate mousse - a neat, sweet trio of white, milk and dark mousses - topped with the most intensely fruity raspberry sorbet you will ever have tasted. With coffee they bring you a doll-size cone topped with mango and raspberry sorbet that makes you feel as if you're at a party.
When the bill arrived I thought there had been a mistake - it was staggeringly low for such amazing food and seamless service.
Mind you, we didn't order wine (well, would you, after all the hype?) because it was lunchtime and I had a meeting later that afternoon. But I still had that expansive, festive mood that an excellent lunch always brings, and decided to stroll along to chocolate-boxy Motcomb Street to see my friend Stewart Parvin.
I said goodbye to the Texan outside Zafferano, whose solid, wooden exterior is softened with potted bay trees. There isn't a lot of natural greenery around here. The only leaf you'll see in Knightsbridge is gold.
But if I were to give you one piece of advice, it would be to book a table at Zafferano immediately. Easily one of the top five restaurants in London. And worth every penny.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
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