Isaac Parham

Reading & Leeds is a festival that keeps things simple. No immersive theatre or political powwows here; just big acts on big stages with enough fast food and booze to keep everyone well lubricated.

Fiery, brash, inventive... We bring you London's most theatrical tipples. Purists, look away now.

A Nobel Prize winner, Oxford University professor and prolific author, this eminent ‘gastrophysicist’ is redefining our understanding of flavour and how it is shaped by every element of the dining experience.

Our chefs apply a modern sense of adventure and refinement to regional Indian flavours, with dishes designed for social dining. Enjoy one; enjoy many — as you wish

Frances Bull looks after sales and marketing at one of the most ascendant names in tabletop: Studio William. The Stratford-upon-Avon company create and supply cutting-edge cutlery to Michelin-starred restaurants, five-star hotels, and even 10 Downing Street.

Bog-standard Indian tonic water from the corner shop no longer cuts it, as there are now a raft of unusual tonics and sodas made to be mixed with Britain’s drink du jour.

Every new member of the service team at Margot, Covent Garden’s covetable Italian restaurant, is given a handbook. Except, to describe it as a book doesn’t quite do it justice; this is a tome, a 150-page document outlining exactly what bosses Paulo de Tarso and Nicolas Jaouën expect of their staff.

It can be a difficult thing to live up to the exploits of an older, highly successful sibling. So spare a thought for 108 Copenhagen, which opened last summer on the Danish city's icy Nyhavn waterfront, just around the corner from its world-famous sister restaurant.

This hipster-friendly haunt brings craft beer, Negronis and steak to the city centre, and they dish up some great bar snacks, too. Look out for their trademark runny-yolk Scotch eggs, which are delicious if a little messy for their bearded clientele.

Don’t be fooled by the terse dish descriptions (Oyster, Potato, Crème Fraîche, Gooseberry) or laid-back setting, this is a kitchen capable of startling intricacy - led by twenty-something Head Chef Christian Gadient, who formerly won a Michelin star at nearby Marchal.

Paulo, from Brazil via New York, is the million-mile-an-hour man; enthusiastic, big-thinking and opinionated. Frenchman Nicolas is more softly-spoken; measured and thoughtful in his responses. Their characters seem to tesselate perfectly

You don’t find many pubs like Burton Bridge Inn anymore. Not in England; not anywhere. When I duck in, on a windswept autumn evening, it feels like I’ve stumbled into a scene from a bygone age: a pub full of flinty sorts sipping cloudy bitters and chestnut-colored ales.