1. For Art Lovers
The 5-star Rosewood London hotel has taken the idea of high tea as an artform to new heights with its Art Afternoon Tea offering which uses five famous modern artists (Banksy, Damien Hirst, Yayoi Kusama, Alexander Calder and Mark Rothko) as inspiration.
The afternoon tea, created by executive pastry chef Mark Perkins, has your standard sammies and scones before the dessert section: five cakes, mousses and tartes designed with a work by each artist in mind.
Banksy's Girl With a Balloon is the inspiration for a white chocolate cube filled with vanilla cream choux, salted caramel and chocolate cremeux, and Hirst's spot paintings are referenced in a white chocolate tart with cassis jelly and yuzu curd. Prices start at £45 ($77).
2. For Avocado Lovers
The ironic thing is that if you stopped spending so much darned money on smashed avocado on toast at your local cafe and made it at home instead, you might be able to afford a trip to Amsterdam's The Avocado Show cafe, which is due to open any day now in the hip De Pijp neighbourhood.
The all-avocado menu, available from early until late, will feature everything from buns made with avocado halves instead of bread to avocado smoothies. Also opening this month is the New York version, Avocaderia.
3. For Pickle Lovers
Americans love pickles. They come with many meals (especially at diners), but if you still can't get enough, consider a trip to New York City to The Pickle Guys' kosher "pickle-centric restaurant", due to open within its new retail store in the next month or two.
At the time of writing the menu was not confirmed, but likely contenders include burgers and sliders and fried mushrooms, okra and tomatoes. It’ll mostly function as a takeaway, but there will be some seating available.
4. For Kate Middleton Lovers
A Melbourne cafe has taken adoration of the Duchess of Cambridge to the next level, with a new eatery dedicated to its muse, Middletown Cafe.
Owner of the Prahran cafe, Randy Dhamanhuri, has fitted out the stylish eatery with Instagram-friendly royal navy and white decor, while the walls feature illustrations of Kate's signature trench coat and sapphire engagement ring. That ring pops up again, as the cursor on the website.
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Advertise with NZME.The food looks worthy of a princess too, think chia seed pudding with fresh mango, macadamia, almond, maple coconut crumble and watermelon sorbet, and duck leg with potato fondant, celeriac remoulade, watercress, nasturtium and sour cherry jus.
5. For Tomato Lovers
The humble tomato gets pride of place at an Icelandic restaurant an hour out of Reykjavik. Fridheimar can maintain its constant supply of tomatoes thanks to being situated within a working greenhouse. So no matter how freezing it is outside, inside its doors you'll find an almost subtropical environment — which is created using natural resources such as geothermally heated water.
The signature dish on the small menu is trusty tomato soup, served with sour cream, home-baked bread, cucumber salsa, butter and fresh herbs, but you’ll also find more inventive dishes including green tomato and apple pie, and tomato icecream, and several tomatoey drink choices.
6. For Peanut Butter Lovers
Along similar lines to the avocado and toast phenomenon comes a new craze — a pop-up peanut butter bar, which is in the foodhall at Selfridges, London, for just a few more days.
The brainchild of Pip & Nut, the pop-up has been serving sourdough or rye toast with unusual nut-based toppings such as marinated strawberries and almond butter, peanut butter with grated apple and maple syrup, peanut butter with fresh chilli, lime and coriander, and avocado and almond butter and spiced seeds. At £3 ($5.10) a slice this may not take off, but they probably said the same about avocado . . .
7. For Those Who Like Company
If you can't be bothered cooking but don't want to eat alone, Take In, a pop-up in central Helsinki, Finland, is offering a shared space to sit and eat your dinner with others.
There is, of course, a catch at this restaurant with no kitchen — you have to order your food from one of the 20 options available via a delivery app called Wolt who have partnered with American Express, and then sit and wait. A bonus is the on-site bar, and the staff on hand to clear tables and swap containers for crockery.
