William Sitwell
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Articles by William Sitwell
I don’t know whether Richard Curtis is an ‘arrogant pig’, but his films are a crime against Britain
There was a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s, living in London’s Notting Hill, when I felt personally assaulted by Hugh Grant. I lived on Westbourne Park Road, just five doors up from a property featured in Four Weddings and a Funeral. And morning and evening, entering and exiting the underground station at Notting Hill Gate, large posters of the actor would stare down at me. It was Grant in his apologetic, stuttering, quivering, obfuscating, simpering and bashful pomp.
Sitwell’s Restaurant: Why the bank suspected me of money laundering
William Sitwell Sat, October 24, 2026 at 1:00 AM EDT 4 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add Yahoo on Google William is feeling the pinch after eight months running The White Heart - Jim Wileman I thought I'd experienced all the weirdness the hospitality business could throw at me, now that I'm into my eighth month of running The White Hart in Wiveliscombe, West Somerset.
Forget tinned Spam, I’ll be prepping in style
William Sitwell Fri, October 23, 2026 at 9:00 AM EDT 4 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add Yahoo on Google 'Don't panic, Armageddon doesn't have to be all bad' - Jim Wileman Hunker down y'all. The Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has spoken and, as he puts it, "it is right we ask the country to be ready" for natural disasters, cyber-attacks and state-sponsored terrorism, adding everybody should "do their bit". First and foremost, that means stockpiling.
Forget tinned spam, I’ll be prepping in style
Hunker down y’all. The Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has spoken and, as he puts it, “it is right we ask the country to be ready” for natural disasters, cyber-attacks and state-sponsored terrorism, adding everybody should “do their bit”. First and foremost, that means stockpiling. But don’t panic, Armageddon doesn’t have to be all bad. The important thing is to place your last food and drink orders (with Fortnum & Mason, obviously) in a timely fashion.
Sitwell’s Restaurant: A visit from an old teacher nearly brought me to tears
Wednesday night this week and, horribly delayed after the GWR train from London hit a cat, cow or cabbage, I dashed to the White Hart, my pub and restaurant in Wiveliscombe, West Somerset. Wednesday night this week and, horribly delayed after the GWR train from London hit a cat, cow or cabbage, I dashed to the White Hart, my pub and restaurant in Wiveliscombe, West Somerset.
Sitwell’s Restaurant: A visit from an old teacher nearly brought me to tears
These Crispy Ginger-Orange Chicken Thighs Are a Flavor-Packed Dinner You’ll Want to Make on Repeat Searing the chicken before roasting at high heat ensures super-crispy skin. Combine that with mandarin oranges and you’ve got a healthy …
Sitwell’s Restaurant: A visit from an old teacher nearly brought me to tears
William Sitwell Sat, October 17, 2026 at 1:00 AM EDT 4 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add Yahoo on Google Sitwell, pictured during his Eton days, was paid an unexpected visit by his former geography teacher, Paul Cleves, while working at his restaurant-pub Wednesday night this week and, horribly delayed after the GWR train from London hit a cat, cow or cabbage, I dashed to the White Hart, my pub and restaurant in Wiveliscombe, West Somerset.
Sorry, Zuckerberg. I can’t respect people who don’t like Guinness
William Sitwell Fri, October 16, 2026 at 5:46 AM EDT 3 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add Yahoo on Google I've long thought that Mark Zuckerberg was a wimp. Now, a video of the Facebook founder has surfaced that proves it. He can't stomach Guinness. To not have the constitution for stout is to miss out on the pour of lionhearts, of flavour, depth and a glorious, steady approach to the heavenly plain of befuddlement.
Meghan’s Malala tea party plunges new depths of vanity
It was the trousers that did it. They broke me, shattered the metaphorical tablet upon which was carved: “I shalt not mention them.” It was the trousers that did it. They broke me, shattered the metaphorical tablet upon which was carved: “I shalt not mention them.” Since they returned to our shores at the end of August I have tried to avoid images, news coverage and comment on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Sitwell’s Restaurant: George Clooney, take it from me – don’t open a restaurant
I get it, George. You’ve moved to a rural paradise and put down roots. You like cooking. Why not use your well-known name to open a restaurant? It has been reported this week that the actor George Clooney is planning to launch an establishment in the French Provençal town of Cotignac, near his home in Brignoles. As someone who has done something similar (albeit in the rather cooler climes of West Somerset), I understand the impetus.
I love sharing a bed with my dog – his snoring is quieter than my wife’s
William Sitwell Fri, October 9, 2026 at 10:00 AM EDT 4 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add Yahoo on Google William Sitwell enjoying a peaceful, snore-free sleep cuddled up with his dog Cyrus Of course it's taken a study to confirm what most of us canine owners know: that we sleep better with the dog. Quizzed by researchers from the University of Toronto, respondents said they felt safer and more relaxed when their pet was present in their bedroom.
‘The most beautiful ugly thing I’ve tasted’: William Sitwell reviews Tavern, London
It's as old a street as you can get. Already referred to as such in 1200, maybe the woolly mammoths of prehistoric Hackney mooched along this path reckoning the route was getting on a bit. Old Street rightly inspires the restaurateur to look to the past for ideas. Which is a sensible idea, because this east London road already has its fill of eateries to please the food faddists: I'm talking Seoul street food, Japanese ramen, modern British tasting menus and vegan fine dining.
Sitwell's restaurant: I'm useless at DIY, but I still hate getting a man in to fix things
Is it my inner caveman? A subconscious attempt to assert my masculinity? I don't know. All I know is that the cellars of the White Hart, my West Somerset pub , were flooding and something needed to be done about it. I have form when it comes to minor flooding. When the rains come between October and May, the barn in which I run my supper clubs (monthly dinners that see great chefs cook for the locals in a converted cow shed), floods.
Sitwell’s Restaurant: I’m useless at DIY, but I still hate getting a man in to fix things
Is it my inner caveman? A subconscious attempt to assert my masculinity? I don't know. All I know is that the cellars of the White Hart, my West Somerset pub, were flooding and something needed to be done about it. I have form when it comes to minor flooding. When the rains come between October and May, the barn in which I run my supper clubs (monthly dinners that see great chefs cook for the locals in a converted cow shed), floods.
Andy Burnham’s peace-and-love routine is going to leave Britain broke
It suddenly dawned on me, listening to Andy Burnham this week as he addressed the Labour Party conference, who he reminded me of. Think back to your gap year, your extended sojourn to India, or the sabbatical to the subcontinent. He's that guy in the corner, the bloke at the bar by the beach in Goa. He's always there, day after day, rumoured to have lost or thrown away his passport. If you're on your own he offers some solace and human companionship.
‘Croquetas so good, one can’t believe they’re real’: William Sitwell reviews Ardor, St Ives
William Sitwell Wed, September 30, 2026 at 2:15 AM EDT 4 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add Yahoo on Google Ardor combines Mediterranean pintxos and dishes from the 'mighty' charcoal grill - Adam Sargent Ardor sits snugly in the achingly pretty, cobbled streets of St Ives in Cornwall, town of artists and fishermen, happy sauntering tourists and buskers.
Sitwell’s Restaurant: Video-review my establishment and I’ll get you run out of town
William Sitwell Sat, September 26, 2026 at 1:00 AM EDT 4 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add Yahoo on Google William in his restaurant, the White Hart, where he enforces a zero-tolerance policy on social media influencers - Jim Wileman My word, how I winced. Especially as I am uniquely, insanely, both restaurant critic and pub owner.
Labour’s efforts to get down with the kids embarrass us all
It's making me want to unplug the Wi-Fi and yearn for the days of black-and-white television. Nostalgic it may, be but my heart almost cries when I think of a time when communication at home was via the letterbox or the ring of the telephone on the hall table. And when, specifically, politics was wonderfully boring. There was the big yawn of Brian Walden's Sunday interview programme Weekend World and Johnathan Dimbleby's heroically dull On the Record.
John Torode: ‘The BBC spat me out, but I’m proud of what I achieved’
‘It was a situation that was so shocking... to heal was going to take time’, says John Torode - Andrew Crowley for The Telegraph at The Goring Hotel, London John Torode is stroking the wallpaper of the Silver Room at London’s Goring Hotel. “It’s beautiful,” he says. “It’s all hand embroidered.
John Torode: ‘The BBC spat me out, but I’m proud of what I achieved’
John Torode is stroking the wallpaper of the Silver Room at London's Goring Hotel. "It's beautiful," he says. "It's all hand embroidered. We had wallpaper like this at Luxe." The Luxe was one of many establishments owned by the Melbourne-born chef who rose to fame through MasterChef, the show he co-presented with Gregg Wallace for 20 years until the pair were unceremoniously sacked by the BBC in 2025.
Starbucks’s shameless makeover won’t fool Britain
William Sitwell Fri, September 11, 2026 at 11:00 AM EDT 4 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add Yahoo on Google Starbucks is attempting to pose as a friendly neighbourhood cafe - SOPA Images It was, I was pleased to note, going dismally. In the six months to September 2025, Starbucks – purveyor of obesity, destroyer of coffee – saw its stock price fall by 23 per cent. This followed a prolonged decline and loss of investor confidence.
Starbucks’s shameless makeover won’t fool Britain
It was, I was pleased to note, going dismally. In the six months to September 2025, Starbucks – purveyor of obesity, destroyer of coffee – saw its stock price fall by 23 per cent. This followed a prolonged decline and loss of investor confidence. The reasons are multifarious. Indeed, quite why makes for a fun dinner party game. When you’re on to the stickies, and everyone’s feeling jolly, you ask the assembled throng to shout out why they hate Starbucks.
‘The hash brown should have gone in the compost': William Sitwell reviews Lennox, Manchester
I was a little surprised by the seating . Having been shown to a table that was almost out of the dining room and en route to the loos, I might just as well have been sitting in the urinal. I noted the heavy traffic of staff, the bright lighting and the plants tethered above whose large leaves would have been in my face, and ventured back to the entrance. There I lurked until someone with power came past, before lobbying, successfully, for an upgrade.
‘The hash brown should have gone in the compost’: William Sitwell reviews Lennox, Manchester
I was a little surprised by the seating. Having been shown to a table that was almost out of the dining room and en route to the loos, I might just as well have been sitting in the urinal. I noted the heavy traffic of staff, the bright lighting and the plants tethered above whose large leaves would have been in my face, and ventured back to the entrance. There I lurked until someone with power came past, before lobbying, successfully, for an upgrade.
Bring my own dish? No thanks, I’d rather stay at home
William Sitwell Sun, September 6, 2026 at 11:00 AM EDT 4 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add Yahoo on Google Having to bring his own 'potluck' dish to a dinner party was the last (cheese) straw for William Sitwell - Pawel Kacperek/iStockphoto There's a new horror I've spotted on Instagram, touted by American influencers.
Sitwell’s Restaurant: If you don’t like dogs, you’ll hate my new rule
William Sitwell Sat, September 5, 2026 at 1:00 AM EDT 3 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add Yahoo on Google 'My two-legged customers can now bring their four-legged friends into the restaurant,' says William Sitwell - Jim Wileman I've often thought that you can tell a lot by how someone reacts to a dog (allergies aside). It's a strong fictional device: a man who pats a dog is a good guy; dogs growl at villains.
Sitwell’s Restaurant: If you don’t like dogs, you’ll hate my new rule
I've often thought that you can tell a lot by how someone reacts to a dog (allergies aside). It's a strong fictional device: a man who pats a dog is a good guy; dogs growl at villains. A hound's opinion always provides valuable reassurance. That is why I find it perverse when people don't like dogs. I'm not talking about the dangerous breeds, of course – we're in labrador, dachshund territory here.
Sitwell’s Restaurant: If you don’t like dogs, you’ll hate my new rule
I’ve often thought that you can tell a lot by how someone reacts to a dog (allergies aside). It’s a strong fictional device: a man who pats a dog is a good guy; dogs growl at villains. A hound’s opinion always provides valuable reassurance. That is why I find it perverse when people don’t like dogs. I’m not talking about the dangerous breeds, of course – we’re in labrador, dachshund territory here.
Driverless taxis are robbing us of great British cabbie banter
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Driverless taxis are robbing us of great British cabbie banter
William Sitwell Fri, September 4, 2026 at 11:00 AM EDT 4 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add Yahoo on Google 'Our civilisation has taken a giant leap backwards,' writes William Sitwell - PA Black cabs are one of life's guilty pleasures. I say "guilty" mainly because of the cost, but when I do submit to a traditional London ride, there's one thing I'll never cease appreciating... the chat.
Driverless taxis are robbing us of great British cabbie banter
Black cabs are one of life’s guilty pleasures. I say “guilty” mainly because of the cost, but when I do submit to a traditional London ride, there’s one thing I’ll never cease appreciating... the chat. The charm, intelligence, wit, wisdom and common sense of the London cabbie is to be celebrated. It’s a national asset, as deep-rooted as the Royal family, and as essential as a pint of ale and a hairy pork scratching. But the chat’s in danger. For the driverless car is heading our way.
‘Almost painfully perfect’: William Sitwell reviews 74 Charlotte Street by Ben Murphy
She's a wonderful woman, but Monica Galetti's good sense, frankly, betrays her industry. Like her fellow MasterChef presenter Marcus Wareing, she is one of the nation's most famous restaurateurs without a restaurant. Galetti closed her place of seven years, Mere (pronounced "Mary"), in 2024, when the economic lunacy faced by the restaurant industry added the prefix "night" to the name of the establishment.
I’m proof that toffs shouldn’t talk to tradesmen
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Sitwell’s restaurant: I’m proof that toffs shouldn’t talk to tradesmen
William Sitwell Sat, August 29, 2026 at 1:00 AM EDT 3 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add Yahoo on Google William Sitwell's attempt at friendly banter with his decorator spectacularly backfired "When you've finished slapping the green on to that wall, can we chat about the architrave?" I asked. It seemed to me a reasonable and utterly jolly question.
If you drive China’s fake Range Rover, you’re betraying Britain
Have you seen the ghastly thing? Or worse still, succumbed to its wily charm? I’m referring to the Chinese-made Jaecoo 7, a mid-size, five-door, five-seat sport utility vehicle that looks a lot like the Velar and Evoque models manufactured by Jaguar Land Rover. But the most obvious difference is that a Jaecoo will cost you about half what a fancy Range Rover does. You can buy a Jaecoo 8 for £45,000.
It’s time to cull urban foxes
For a country dweller, it was a remarkable sight. Cycling near Waterloo one evening this week, around 10.30pm – street lights on, roads quiet – a fox wandered across the road ahead. It had emerged through the railings of a small public park and was sauntering about, head up, confidently perusing the neighbourhood. It slowed as I neared it and the animal looked up at me before nonchalantly going about its business.
It’s time to cull urban foxes
For a country dweller, it was a remarkable sight. Cycling near Waterloo one evening this week, around 10.30pm – street lights on, roads quiet – a fox wandered across the road ahead. It had emerged through the railings of a small public park and was sauntering about, head up, confidently perusing the neighbourhood. It slowed as I neared it and the animal looked up at me before nonchalantly going about its business.
‘Each morsel provided visceral, blissful pleasure’: William Sitwell reviews Mor, Cornwall
Restaurant Story irritated me. That was back in 2013 when Tom Sellers, suitably drilled by multi-Michelin-starred chefs such as René Redzepi, Thomas Keller and Tom Aikens, and duly bearing the scars, tattoos and tweezers, opened it in some godforsaken back street – sorry, fashionable corner – near Tower Bridge. He’d taken one of the greatest words of all time and wrecked it in the same way every tedious PR and so-called content agency was doing. Gone was marketing spiel; in came “storytelling”.
Sitwell’s restaurant: I’m liberating my hotel guests from the tyranny of the bedroom telly
William Sitwell Fri, August 21, 2026 at 1:00 AM EDT 4 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add Yahoo on Google William Sitwell is planning a midnight TV raid on his hotel rooms, armed with a torch and a screwdriver - Jim Wileman Some TVs are so old that there's not even branding.
Sitwell reviews Teal, London
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‘Food so good it mocks the past’: Sitwell reviews Teal, London
It was some two decades ago, but the words still cut like a fresh wound. Sally Abé was toiling as a young woman in the kitchens of a well-known upscale restaurant in the centre of London. They were flung at her, she tells me, as a throw-away remark, from a busy chef-proprietor grappling with the stresses of a busy service; come clean-down, they would doubtless have forgotten them. But Abé has worn them heavily in the years that followed, determined to prove that mighty chef wrong.
What hope is there for farming when the man in charge ‘faints at the sight of meat’?
It was a challenging morning for the lad from Southsea. He'd nipped up to the Lake District to tour a food-processing plant when, all of a sudden, he became woozy. Or in the words of a local farmer, "he'd been shown large chunks of beef as well as some steaks," and then "felt faint". No big deal you might think – except this was Stephen Morgan, the Labour MP for Portsmouth South, and more significantly, Britain's new farming minister.
What hope is there for farming when the man in charge ‘faints at the sight of meat’?
It was a challenging morning for the lad from Southsea. He'd nipped up to the Lake District to tour a food-processing plant when, all of a sudden, he became woozy. Or in the words of a local farmer, "he'd been shown large chunks of beef as well as some steaks," and then "felt faint". No big deal you might think – except this was Stephen Morgan, the Labour MP for Portsmouth South, and more significantly, Britain's new farming minister.
Sitwell’s Restaurant: Burnham’s zero-hours reform would force me to close my pub
They are the actions of a man who has spent rather too long, in the words of the dullards of Westminster city council, "vertical drinking". That is, standing at the bar, carousing and becoming confused. Andy Burnham's Labour administration is planning a reform of zero-hours contracts, and while the PM pledges his support for pubs, the policy would actually be the final nail in the coffin for vast swathes of the hospitality sector.
A cabbage is no substitute for delicious mackerel
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A cabbage is no substitute for delicious mackerel
It was a moment more sinister than when Richard E Grant in Withnail and I tells the poacher Jake: "Don't threaten me with a dead fish!" I was on Jeremy Vine this week on BBC's Radio 2 debating the merits, or otherwise, of eating lobster with a spokeswoman from Peta.
A cabbage is no substitute for delicious mackerel
It was a moment more sinister than when Richard E Grant in Withnail and I tells the poacher Jake: "Don't threaten me with a dead fish!" I was on Jeremy Vine this week on BBC's Radio 2 debating the merits, or otherwise, of eating lobster with a spokeswoman from Peta.
A cabbage is no substitute for delicious mackerel
It was a moment more sinister than when Richard E Grant in Withnail and I tells the poacher Jake: “Don’t threaten me with a dead fish!” I was on Jeremy Vine this week on BBC’s Radio 2 debating the merits, or otherwise, of eating lobster with a spokeswoman from Peta.
‘The dish of the night was the foulest looking’: William Sitwell reviews Corner Shop, Glasgow
I daren't return to Glasgow. It might not be possible to retread my path of perfection. The journey itself was all calmness and awe as the tilting Avanti train swept through the glorious Yorkshire Dales. Glasgow Central Station, meanwhile, is (like London's Leadenhall Market) a tribute to modern planners who insist that all store names within the concourse be labelled in the same font.
Sitwell’s Restaurant: I’m taking on the petty tyrants trying to ruin my business
The Aegean Breeze is a restaurant in Worcester, a purveyor of seafood and steak. And usually to the approval of regulars. But recently a group of diners decided, when the £400 bill arrived, that things had not in fact been up to scratch. The lobster had been “earthy”, they said. The staff offered some money off to placate them. The party refused, deciding that nothing had been good and they stomped off without paying. “Absolute Karens”, observed a member of staff.
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