CATEGORIES

Before the bill was even paid, I'd made plans to come back

THE promise of \"authentic Thai food\" has long been an especially elastic and problematic one; an ever-moving target shaped by time, context and whatever level of regional fidelity the cautious masses deem tolerable.

High camp and screaming, irrepressible brilliance

ONE of the things that restaurant owners invariably find most annoying about critics and we cannot do the full, unabridged list as we would literally be here all day - is that we visit too early. That, blinded by our manic desire to be first, we show up and paw at the glass like cats, desperate to be let in to pass judgment on something that isn't quite ready. My rejoinder to this has always been that it is really an issue about the ceding of control as much as journalistic impatience; that, really, the \"right time\" to visit for most chefs will be some amorphous, faraway point in the future that's specifically dictated by them.

Sound the alarm: This beauty is a grill on fire

I WAS about an hour into my lunch at Mountain-chef Tomos Parry's spanking new, instantly thronged successor to the Michelin-starred . Brat when something that sounded a lot like a fire alarm started to wail out over the hubbub of a bustling service.

Aroom of gutsy flavours and twinkling magic

MIDWAY through university, a mate and I spent a good chunk of our summer in the remote wilds of south-west France. Ostensibly there as live-in, temporary handymen at a vast, cobwebbed former schoolhouse, we painted shutters in the heat, went on a road trip to Perpignan, and generally lived out what felt like an especially uneventful arthouse film.

Raise a glass to best in class of 2023 (and a few we didn't love)

In a turbulent year, eating out meant uncomplicated familiarity. It was 12 months of soul-warming highs, says our chief restaurant critic, despite the odd disappointment

Havertz playing a key role for Arteta after finally finding his feet at Arsenal

WHEN Kai Havertz finally got back to the dressing room after his winning goal for Arsenal at Brentford last month, he was hit by a wave of noise.

On and off Johnson's 'moment' is coming, says Ange

BRENNAN JOHNSON returns to Nottingham Forest tonight still waiting for lift-off after his £47.5 million move to Tottenham on deadline day.

Dombrandt's charge to reclaim Test spot

Quins No8 has knuckled down after World Cup heartbreak

I’ve stopped partying to try to keep hold of this trophy... it belongs to me

THE name Michael Smith is etched into the plaque at the base of the giant World Darts Championship trophy — and the champion is staring at it in raptures.

Oh, brother... the Issas in £500bn accounting error

THE Issa brothers' debt levels have been a hot topic in the business press for some time. But Spy was taken aback to find out just how steep they are.

The hardest job in British theatre is in good hands

THEATRE  Indhu Rubasingham has been named as the new boss of the National, which is one hell of a task but all the signs are that she's got what it takes

Falling in love pulled me back from death

THIS week I cried a few times. The first time was strangely unexpected. I was talking to the person I love when something in me snapped and I realised I was thousands of miles away. I wanted them to jump through the screen of my phone and hold me.

Salute to the unsung heroes

William Hosie talks to a carer forced to feed her family on just £11 a day and discovers a charity that's become a lifeline

Shout out to Man United's (London) army 59

WE’LL race you back to London! We’ll race you back to London!” It’s a refrain Manchester United fans have been rolling their eyes at for decades, sung by rival fans playing on the age-old gag that a fair share of the club’s fanbase are about as Mancunian as jellied eels.

Harry's victory in Mirror phone hacking battle

15 out of 33 stories came from his mobile as newspaper bosses turned a blind eye’

Police still hunting for missing Gaynor Lord

DETECTIVES were today continuing the search for mother-of-three Gaynor Lord as her family marked a week since her disappearance.

'Abducted' teen's call to granny

Emotional video reunion six years after he was taken to spiritual retreat’

Stephen Daldry triumphs again with this gruesome nerdgasm

THIS astonishing show turns normal expectations of theatre upside down. Director Stephen Daldry has taken the Duffer Brothers’ cult, Eighties-set Netlix sci-fi hit and magicked it into a spectacular, multimedia prequel, full of enough thrills, scares and knowing nods to please fans and the uninitiated in equal measure.

Where's the justice?

Heart-rending letters from elderly in court for trivial offences are ignored under single justice procedure

Arteta hopes luck of the draw is kind to Gunners

MIKELARTETA will be keen to avoid a meeting with Kylian Mbappe when the draw for the Champions League last 16 is made on Monday.

Moyes caught in a Catch-22 as he's forced into unfamiliar Euro territory

EYEBROWS might have been raised when David Moyes handed his West Ham players two days off at the start of this week.

Aussie Green reveals he plays with chronic kidney condition

AUSTRALIA star Cameron Green has revealed he has chronic kidney disease and at one stage was warned he may not live beyond the age of 12.

James abuse after stamp is fuelled by racial profiling, claims Hayes

EMMA HAYES today hit out at the way Lauren James is being treated and claimed the Chelsea and England star is the victim of \"racial profiling\".

CHELSEA MUST FIND £112m FOR OSIMHEN

RELEASE CLAUSE IN STRIKER'S NEW NAPOLI DEAL CLEARS PATH FOR MOVE

Red Bull pitting wits in the dark for two seconds of perfection

Changing the team’s tyres has become an art form for the fastest outfit on the F1 circuit

Fashion giant Shein accused of 'intimidation'

CHINESE online fashion retailer Shein has been accused of \"mafia-style intimidation\" by rival Temu in a US legal battle that threatens to derail its $90 billion IPO plan.

US signal on rates sparks buying spree

LONDON'S FTSE 100 index today bounced 2% and rate-sensitive stocks by as much as 7% after global markets were handed a huge pre-Christmas boost.

Mortgage lenders cut rates as gilt yields tumble

LEADING lenders scrambled to slash mortgage rates today as gilt yields fell sharply after the US Federal Reserve pencilled in at least three cuts next year.

Party mood in the City but beware inflation hangover

FINANCIAL markets were swigging the Christmas sherry today after Fed chairman Jerome Powell effectively declared an end to the painful cycle of monetary tightening that has put a dampener on the global economy for two years now.

Welcome to the great floods of London, showing on repeat until we all go under

LONDONERS aren't used to wild weather - it reaches us in pieces, through gaps in buildings. So when thunder rolled around central London on Tuesday, we sat in silence, listening.