Food and drink news
Cool, urbane, with lots of dishes of contemporary Spanish food: Fino was a welcome addition to London's ossified Iberian restaurant scene. Now the brothers Hart have upped the ante in their cocktail bar with their Fino Foam Cocktails (liquid at the bottom and nitrous oxide-charged foam on top). Examples include the French Martini (a vodka and Chambord base with pineapple foam) and Gorgeous George's Bramble (gin, lemon juice and gomme with blackberry foam).
- Fino, 33 Charlotte Street W1. Tel: 020 7813 8010. Tube: Goodge Street
There's a summer celebration of the food of Lucknow at Veeraswamy. This northern province's cooking is renowned for its intricacy and delicacy: lentils and kebabs are heavily featured, as are puloas, kormas and qaliyas (thin, gravy-like curries).
On the special menu, which runs concurrently with the a la carte, expect dishes like dal saat rattan (seven kinds of lentil with red chilli, tamarind and mustard seeds), dum ki puth (lamb rump with crushed screwpine flower essence) and shahi tukhra, a rich bread pudding. Prices from £3 to £17.
- Veeraswamy, Mezzanine Floor, 99 Regent Street W1. Tel: 020 7734 1401. Tube: Oxford Circus
