Author: Jawdah Hannad Basara

It’s possible that your most recent takeout order wasn’t even from a restaurant. Somewhere on an industrial estate, perhaps in a converted shipping container with no windows and a security guard stationed at the door, your dinner was prepared in a facility you would never be able to see or visit. These are dimly lit kitchens that are subtly turning into the delivery economy’s engine room in Britain. It’s difficult to ignore the numbers. In the UK, there are currently an estimated 750 dark kitchens that only prepare food for apps like Eat, Uber Eats, and Deliveroo. While FoodStars, which…

When you ask a Londoner where you can find the best Sunday roast, you’ll likely get a pause, a slight narrowing of the eyes, and a name you’ve never heard of. That reluctance is instructive. In Britain, the roast is not really a dish served in restaurants; rather, it is a household custom that occasionally leaves the house, and residents protect their favorites in the same manner that they do parking spots. That quiet possessiveness is currently focused on the Golden Tooth on Green Lanes, close to Newington Green. Chef Matthew Scott and sommelier Charlie Carr opened the restaurant, which…

The atmosphere changed sometime between the third hot honey pizza and the fourth eatery that required everyone to place their orders using a QR code. The diners grew weary. Not of dining out—restaurants are still packed, and reservations are still competitive—but of being served trends rather than dinner. As 2026 approaches, it is impossible to ignore the backlash, which is coming from the same people who have been supporting these fads for the past ten years. Grab some hot honey. The term “swicy” was created along the way, and it deserves its own quiet burial. The chilli-sweet drizzle began as…

A stranger is setting a picnic table with wildflowers, sipping Bloody Marys, and waiting for six strangers to knock on her door somewhere in East London tonight. They will pay about £12 apiece, eat salmon-based eggs Benedict, and depart with a sense of accomplishment. More than the cuisine, this emotion explains why underground supper clubs have proliferated throughout Europe like a persistent rumor. The concept is outdated. For many years, Cuba has operated paladares out of family homes, and Latin America’s puertas cerradas, or closed-door restaurants, have a reputation for having higher standards than many licensed businesses. Europe’s desire for…

Emotional tiredness has an odd ability to blend in with the surroundings. Seldom does it arrive with a spectacular collapse. More often than not, it sneaks in under the cover of forgetfulness, a short fuse, or a Netflix queue that you browse for twenty minutes without selecting anything. Although burnout was officially acknowledged by the World Health Organization in 2019, the majority of people who are exhausted still characterize themselves as fine but exhausted. Literally, the first sign is the most boring. The edges of emotions fade. The good news falls flat. Bad news hardly makes an impression. People describe…

The body has already made its decision, but the mind hasn’t caught up just before an anxiety attack fully manifests. The chest constricts. Thoughts begin to race. The majority of people do the exact wrong thing when they experience that initial surge: they panic about panicking and add more fuel to the fire. For that exact moment, the 90-second rule is in effect. Jill Bolte Taylor, a renowned neuroanatomist who examined her own stroke from the inside out and subsequently wrote about what she discovered, is the source of the concept. Her observation was surprisingly straightforward: the chemical cascade that…

It sounded almost insignificant. One day a week, from Saturday evening to Monday morning, the phone is kept in a drawer. No dramatic announcement to followers, no erased accounts, no grand retreat in the mountains. A Sunday, a drawer, and a phone. The first one was truly disagreeable. Before lunch, I felt that strange flicker that researchers refer to as phantom notification syndrome—the buzz that never occurred—and reached for my pocket dozens of times. By mid-afternoon, boredom had set in, making me feel uncomfortable and heavy. I recall standing in the kitchen in 1995, wondering what people really did on…

Finding out that your doctor may now suggest sitting in silence as a treatment for one of the most crippling mental health issues in the contemporary world is somewhat unsettling. And yet, things are becoming more and more like that. Doctors who used to automatically reach for the prescription pad are starting to think about an alternative treatment that doesn’t involve going to the pharmacy, paying a co-pay for a bottle of medication, or waiting to see if the side effects are manageable. The method is called mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, or MBCT. It is a structured clinical program that incorporates…

In 2026, a certain type of Instagram post has sadly become commonplace. An image of a dining room that is typically warmly lit and empty. One quiet line about growing expenses follows a caption thanking the staff and regulars. The comments are incredulous. People write that the place was constantly busy. Only a month ago, we were there. The odd thing is that. This year, a large number of independent eateries that were closing were not clearly failing. Every room was occupied. The cuisine was decent, occasionally outstanding. What broke them occurred off the plate, in spreadsheets, utility bills, and…

I’ll begin with the theater. The fish at Sushi Kanesaka is truly exceptional, and twenty courses arrive at a nine-seat hinoki counter in almost complete silence. However, you can purchase scarcity as well as skill for £420 per person, and it seems like the hush is doing part of the work. The Ritz’s seven-course Epicurean Journey, complete with tableside ceremony, chandeliers, and a prestigious wine pairing that costs £750 on its own, is gloriously retro. It’s a lovely evening. The £235 meal isn’t that great. Even though its founder moved back to Japan years ago, The Araki, which was once…