Under the Table
A new restaurant, tinned soup (yes, really) and an excellent face mask
Occasionally, I like to share a round-up of things I’ve enjoyed as of late - e.g. below! A high-low smorgasbord of wearable, edible and readable recommendations awaits.
This week’s edition includes a face mask that’s made a noticeable difference to my skin, a new bakery/restaurant with a brown butter hazelnut croissant that blew my mind, and lots of very beautiful children’s books (good for presents if you don’t have your own tiny person).
As ever, thank you for reading - it means so much to me.
Don’t Tell Dad, Queen’s Park
A bakery by day and bistro by night, I had been dying to try Don’t Tell Dad since it opened just before Christmas. It didn’t disappoint.
The restaurant is down a quaint cobbled street in NW London’s Queen’s Park and named in memory of the owner’s sister, a mischievous influence on him throughout childhood, who died suddenly not long ago. The food (oxtail crumpets! Crab tarts! Cassoulet!) is superb - unsurprising when you hear the head baker and the head chef are from Layla and Noble Rot respectively. Don’t just take my word for it: Jay Rayner called it ‘sheer bliss’.
I shared the invitation for my son’s first birthday party on Instagram and received the nicest response. It was illustrated by my wonderfully talented uncle, Bruce Ingman, whose books I grew up reading and loving, and now read to my little boy.
Written with his longtime collaborator Allan Ahlberg, some of my favourites are Under The Table, The Pencil, and The Runaway Dinner.
Given the number of times you’ll likely read each book to your child (circa 2,000 at latest count), they need to be a) not annoying and b) aesthetically pleasing to adults as well as kids. Bruce’s books tick both boxes.
Some of my other favourites are: Peck, Peck, Peck; All the World; The Lost House and I am a Bunny.
Not unrelated, I loved “Room, Moon, Moon, Balloon: Reading and Breathing,” by Jamieson Webster for The Paris Review, about the poetry of children’s books and The Pages of Goodnight Moon, Ranked By Our Ten-Month-Old Son by Daniel Lavery.
My skin is finding this winter particularly tough. At least it was until I discovered Beauty Pie’s Japanfusion Bio-ceramide Moisture Mask. I use it as an overnight mask once or twice a week and it has made such a difference. Never before did I believe a product could have a ‘plumping’ effect, but I stand corrected. I know it’s annoying to recommend a product that requires a membership so if you do decide to join, I also wholeheartedly endorse this serum and this moisturiser.
This isn’t strictly speaking a recommendation but I am, unsurprisingly, obsessed with the Heinz publicity stunt for the new Bridget Jones film. I was crushed to find out the soup won’t actually be available in stores.
Again, this isn’t a recommendation (although I’ll never not recommend an afternoon playing Scrabble in a cosy, English pub) but an amazing piece of trivia I felt an urgent need to share. Buckle up. The reigning world champion of Spanish Scrabble (a man named Nigel Richards) doesn’t. speak. Spanish! Richards – who also has five English Scrabble world titles to his name – simply memorised the entire Spanish dictionary. It doesn’t stop there. Richards has actually done this before – in French. Twice.
I’m going to Cape Town next week - does anyone have any recommendations for me? I can’t wait to feel some sun on my face.