Joe Biden‘s arrival in New York City caused traffic chaos on Sunday night as he took his family for dinner at a swanky Italian restaurant frequented by celebs like Alec Baldwin. 

The president’s Air Force One touched down at JFK ahead of the UN General Assembly conference next week, where climate change, poverty and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will be top of the agenda. 

But his first port of call was Il Cantinori, where he enjoyed a meal with his family. They are believed to have been toasting his granddaughter Finnegan’s 23rd birthday.

First Lady Jill Biden and their daughter Ashley Biden were spotted at the family outing – although Finnegan’s father Hunter Biden, who faces three federal charges over his purchase of gun – was not pictured with them.

Biden’s downtown trip snarled traffic as police blocked roads in busy parts of Manhattan to clear the way for his motorcade to travel from the heliport to the fancy hotspot – where he received a standing ovation from patrons. 

Biden’s motorcade was spotted along 3rd Avenue as it made its way from the southern tip of Manhattan.  

Motorists blared their horns in frustration as they were stopped on nearby streets and several roads were shut down, causing stoppages throughout the island including inside tunnels and along the FDR highway. 

Il Cantinori sits along the busy East 10th Street between Broadway and University and the NYU campus. 

The Tuscan restaurant offers fancy dishes from broiled rack of lamb marinated with fresh herbs for $69 and grilled filet mignon in garlic cream sauce for $64, to cheaper options like the grilled seasonal vegetables for $25. 

Biden was spotted leaving the restaurant with daughter Ashley, 42, tenderly leading him by the hand as they were flanked by bodyguards around 8pm on Sunday. 

Jill Biden followed behind them wearing a baby blue suit, and she waved and smiled at members of the public who whipped out their phones to capture the moment.

The president’s scandal-plagued 53-year-old son was nowhere to be seen as he prepares to go to trial accused of lying about his drug addiction on forms to purchase a .38-caliber Colt Cobra revolver in 2018. 

Hunter Biden was indicted on the gun charges earlier this month, and he could face additional tax charges soon. 

Beyond his family struggles, Biden also faces a political war within his own party, as New York Democrats continue to fire criticism at him at every opportunity over the government’s handling of the migrant crisis.

Around 10,000 refugees are pouring into New York each month, and Mayor Eric Adams warned the problem is now threatening to ‘destroy’ the city. 

He blamed a lack of federal support, a ‘broken’ nationwide immigration system and Republicans bussing refugees from their own states into the city for the emergency.

Meanwhile, Biden’s administration have passed the humanitarian issue like a hot potato back to local officials, blaming them for having ‘no exit strategy’ for processing thousands of people.  

Former New York senator Hillary Clinton has also weighed in on the issue, urging Biden to do more to help the beleaguered Big Apple. 

Two sources close to Clinton told NBC New York she agrees with Adams’ assessment of the problem – that a lack of White House help is to blame. 

But the president’s attention will be on global issues at the UN summit, including the war in Ukraine as Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes center stage. 

For the first time in years, Biden will be the only leader from the five powerful veto-wielding nations on the U.N. Security Council attending in person. 

This has sparked private grumbling from developing-country diplomats that key global players won´t be listening to their demands, which need billions of dollars to implement. 

The conference also comes as a recent UN report warned members are not on track to meet the 2015 Paris Agreement climate targets. 

Tens of thousands of people flooded the streets of New York on Sunday to call for increased action against climate change ahead of the meeting.  

Protesters from around 700 organizations and activist groups carried signs reading ‘Biden, end fossil fuels’ and ‘I didn’t vote for fires and floods’, following a summer marked by multiple climate change-linked disasters.

‘We are here to demand that the administration declare a climate emergency,’ said Analilia Mejia, director of the activist group Center for Popular Democracy.

‘We must wake up and take immediate action,’ she told AFP.

A UN climate report released this month named 2025 as the deadline for global greenhouse gas emissions to peak – followed by a sharp drop thereafter – if humanity is to cap global warming in line with Paris Agreement targets.

Later on Sunday, the streets of New York City were blocked again, this time by traffic gridlock as central highways were shut for the president’s motorcade to pass through. 

Motorists fumed over the traffic chaos on Twitter. ‘F*** the United Nations, NYC and crackhead Mayor Adams creating traffic chaos and complete gridlock on a Sunday,’ one man called Jonathan fumed. 

‘They block streets, bridges, and tunnels while they escort, fast lane and lay the red carpet for outsiders with a police note of ‘use mass transit’ to you peasants.’ 

Another man questioned how much more pollution shutting down the streets would cause ahead of the climate-focused summit. 

‘Maybe he should have taken the air train from JFK,’ he said. 

‘F*** YOU to the UN in NYC for DESTROYING the traffic along 1st and making 40 minute bus ride almost two hours,’ a frustrated passenger chimed in.  

There’s no doubt that Yannick Alleno is one of the world’s greatest chefs – he’s dripping in Michelin stars, with 15 across 17 restaurants around the world.

Two in France each hold three Michelin stars – Alleno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen and Le 1947 a Cheval Blanc in France’s Courchevel 1850 ski resort.

My review of Le 1947 declared the food to be ‘out of this world’.

Now Britons have a chance to try the chef’s stellar cuisine without the faff of a trip across France – because Monsieur Alleno has launched a restaurant set within the seductively suave Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane.

It’s called Pavyllon, and it’s a game-changer – artistry and a soupcon of flamboyance, but food that’s filling, too. And the service? A masterclass in how it should be done. The wine is top-tier, too.

And what’s more, while a heavenly meal at Le 1947 costs 415 euros (£370), the prices are more down to earth at Pavylloyn, with a five-course set lunch menu available for just £55.

Before you even sit down, you’ll be feeling that whatever you’re about to shell out will be money well spent.

The restaurant is sumptuous and smothered in calming hues by acclaimed Parisian designer Chahan Minassian, who oversaw the interior design. The piece de resistance – the magnificent 30-seat wooden counter, where I sat.

Here guests can dine and watch the impressively well-drilled kitchen brigade prepare their food, with waiters and sommeliers weaving in and out of the chefs with mesmerising efficiency, never losing their cool even in the most frantic of moments and delivering the food and drink with effortless charm.

If this scene was a TV channel – I’d tune in.

The bonus on the night I visited was that Yannick himself was present, gently guiding laser-focussed head chef Benjamin Ferra Y Castell and the rest of the team, and gamely pausing from time to time to pose for photographs for guests.

I tried a £148 tasting menu with paired wines. That’s a hefty bill, but the quality never dips below impressive.

First up was a quirky number – a trio of warm potatoes glazed with lovage mayonnaise and served with cucumber and seaweed. This was followed by a refreshing ‘modern gazpacho’, served to me by (warmly smiling) Yannick himself, with cured ham and celery sorbet in the mouthwatering mix.

A beautifully cooked slice of red mullet garnished with chorizo butter and served with a chermoula sauce was the delicious third act, followed by a succulent lamb chop accompanied by green shiso coulis and moreish anchoiade.

The primary-school-aged version of me would have been licking the sauce off the plate.

Not the done thing here, so I wiped every last molecule up with some of the fantastic homemade bread that was in seemingly endless supply.

The final two acts? A duo of delectable desserts – raspberries with a coconut and dill sorbet (an unexpectedly flavoursome combination) and then a well-executed vanilla Napoleon (aka mille-feuille) with Earl Grey caramel (I felt uneasy about this one beforehand because I’m not partial to the pungent taste of Earl Grey, but the way it was blended in here was most pleasing).

By the time I’d finished dish number five I had room for only the thinnest of wafer-thin mints.

Each of the paired wines that knowledgeable head sommelier Baptiste Beaumard picked for the meal was thoughtfully matched with the food and enthusiastically presented.

He took my tastebuds from the Alsace (a white 2021 Domaine Ostertag Sylvaner Vieilles Vignes) to Austria (a knock-out Burgenland Umathum) via Normandy – a stupendous 2022 pear cider by Eric Bordelet that coupled wonderfully with the raspberry and coconut pudding.

The hospitality competition in this quarter of the UK capital has always been hot – Yannick and his able Pavyllon team have just turned up the temperature even further.

BOOK OF THE WEEK  

Before the light fades: a memoir of grief and resistance

by Natasha Walter (Virago £18.99, 256pp)

Natasha Walter had heard her mother say, ‘When the time comes, I will kill myself’ so many times that she’d stopped listening.

It seemed inconceivable that Ruth Oppenheim, a cheerful old lady in her 70s, who lived life to the full and adored her children and grandchildren, could ever carry out such a clinically final act. But Ruth meant it.

In 2017, she gathered the whole family to lunch at her house in Watford, Hertfordshire, not letting on a thing. 

A few days later, she met up with Natasha beside the canal at King’s Cross in London for a normal, chatty lunch in an Indian restaurant.

Natasha had no idea this would be the last time she would ever see her mother. Four days later, Ruth took her own life.

She left a note for her daughters to circulate among her friends, explaining: ‘I decided to do so [kill herself] this year while I am still happy but very aware of my fading memory and health.’

Thus Natasha found herself in a state of profound grief mixed with crushing guilt.

Yes, she had noticed her mother was becoming a bit more frail, nervous and forgetful, but she’d cheerfully batted away her fears.

‘If I’d been a better daughter all my life,’ she writes, ‘less ready to push away her concerns, maybe she would not have felt so alone that she decided to die alone.’

In this succinct and deeply serious memoir, Natasha relives the days and weeks after her mother’s death.

At first, she tried to carry on as usual, doing her emotionally demanding job of running a charity for refugees.

But she felt ‘unshelled, a little scuttling mollusc without armour’. She broke down and had to take six weeks off, during which she tried yoga, running, swimming and gardening to smother her guilt and depression. None of them worked.

The yoga did not clear her mind. The running hurt her knees. With the swimming, she found she was just ‘dragging her misery up and down the pool’.

To have any hope of getting to the bottom of her mother’s mindset and coming to terms with her death, she needed to dig into Ruth’s life story. And that’s the essence of this compelling book.

Ruth’s German parents, Eva and Georg Oppenheim, were Jewish refugees. Eva, a promising young pianist, had escaped from anti-Semitic Hamburg in 1933 by getting a job as a housemaid to a bossy couple in London’s Blackheath.

Georg, a Nazi-resisting young Communist lawyer, had been imprisoned by the German regime and kept in solitary confinement for a year. 

Released in 1936, he’d smuggled himself into Poland on a coal train and managed to get papers to travel to England just before war broke out.

In London, he met and married Eva. After being interned for a year, separated from each other on the Isle of Man, the couple lived in poverty in a flat in North London, where Ruth was born in 1942.

What this book demonstrates fascinatingly is how children react against their parents. 

Eva and Georg, by now sick of rebellion and resistance, turned themselves into a conventional suburban family, living in a dull, tidy house.

The father who’d once bravely stood up to the Nazis was furious with his daughter when she was arrested aged 19 during a protest against nuclear weapons.

Many years later, Ruth would watch her parents die of Alzheimer’s and cancer, her mother screaming in hospital. 

That didn’t endear her to the prospect of allowing the British medical system to determine the manner of her own eventual death.

Natasha’s evocations of the 1960s Ban The Bomb marches Ruth went on bring back the fervour of those early years of non-violent resistance: the fledgling campaigners for nuclear disarmament did things like expose the government’s secret underground nuclear bunker, from where they intended to carry on running the country after the nuclear apocalypse. 

Ruth was, by her own admission, ‘bloody-minded’ in her persistence. She knew from her own Jewish background, Natasha writes, ‘that the journey from normality to apocalypse can be fast’.

Ruth met her future husband on one of those marches; he would spend time in prison after interrupting a church service in Brighton during the Labour Party conference of 1967.

Dressed in anorak and sandals, with no make-up or bra, Ruth seemed quite an embarrassing parent for young Natasha growing up.

There was a sign on the family fridge saying: ‘Boring women have clean houses.’ Natasha rebelled against this in turn, getting a job at Vogue and briefly luxuriating in the world of high fashion.

When she came home with a coveted pair of Eau De Nil slingbacks, her mother’s reaction was: ‘But you have shoes’ — one pair was quite enough. 

But the strong strain of radicalism in the family passed from one generation to the other and Natasha soon left Vogue.

It wasn’t long after her mother’s death that Natasha took part in her first Extinction Rebellion sit-down protest, blocking a street near Trafalgar Square, linking arms in a metal pipe with another protester.

She describes the euphoria and exhilaration of that day (not mentioning the members of the public who might have been trying to get to hospital or their own mother’s funeral).

A policeman cut the metal piping and carried her off to a police cell. ‘But in order to be myself, to live a more honest life, I need to do the little I can do,’ she writes. She has given up her car.

The more Natasha contemplates her mother’s life, the more her death makes sense.

‘I could see that she was someone who could confront when others shied away.

‘Someone who hated denial. Someone who wanted to live an honest and uncompromised life . . . and in the end, that desire extended even to the manner of her death, so that the way she chose to die was somehow of a piece with the way she chose to live.’

There’s nothing worse than forking out a small fortune for a disappointing dinner out. 

But subpar dining experiences can be avoided if you follow the advice of restaurant insider Danilo Mangano reveals. 

Mangano, who is the managing director of SevenRooms, the reservation platform behind restaurants including Nobu and Michelin-starred Gymkhana, has revealed his eight simple hacks to having the ‘best’ meal out, which he assures will ‘make a world of difference’ to your experience as a diner. 

From choosing the right arrival time to successfully bagging a table at the hottest restaurant in town, here are his top tips. Bon appetit!

BOOKING DIRECT

Mangano recommends booking directly with your restaurant of choice. ‘By booking through marketplaces like OpenTable, you risk missing out on the best availability and experiences,’ the insider says.

He explains: ‘Restaurants will reward you for booking directly on their website with better availability and you may find out about unique experiences that you might have otherwise missed.’

LOYALTY IS KEY

‘Booking a table at a great restaurant feels more competitive than ever,’ says Mangano, highlighting that this is especially true ‘at well-known favourites like Dishoom [a Bombay-inspired restaurant group in the UK]’.

He adds: ‘An insider secret is that many hard-to-book restaurants save a few tables for their most loyal guests.

‘As in any relationship, loyalty is an essential ingredient of success. Regularly visiting a restaurant and getting to know the staff is a great way to build your customer profile and guarantee yourself a spot in the future.’

DON’T BE SHY IF IT’S A SPECIAL EVENT

Mangano advises letting the restaurant know when you are looking to celebrate a special event ‘whether it be to celebrate a new promotion, a birthday or even to pop the big question’.

He says: ‘Many restaurants have a little something extra to offer to make your memory of the night just that bit more special.

‘You could gain anything from a discount on your meal, a free drink or dessert, to a special bottle of Champagne.’

CHOOSE YOUR ARRIVAL TIME WISELY 

‘If you’ve booked a table for 8pm, it’s likely that at least three or four other parties will be booked in for that slot too,’ Mangano says.

He continues: ‘Instead of arriving at 8pm on the dot, aim to get to the restaurant at least five minutes early.

‘You’ll get in ahead of everyone who arranged to arrive on the hour and get seated much sooner – and likely at a better table.’

The restaurant insider adds: ‘You’ll also be able to place your order before others, which means your food is far less likely to be delayed if there’s a rush.’ 

DON’T BE A NUISANCE

‘Servers are human too, and can apply their own discretion when choosing which tables to prioritise for good service – and who to ignore, if they want to,’ Mangano points out.

He continues: ‘With this in mind, make yourself a pleasure to be around. Generally, staff will want to help to improve your experience where they can if you’re easy and polite – it doesn’t hurt to ask how their evening is going.’

But the expert warns against making ‘When Harry Met Sally-style menu substitutions’.

In the 1989 romcom, the character Sally Albright, played by Meg Ryan, makes ultra-picky requests at restaurants. For instance, when she’s ordering apple pie, she says: ‘I’d like the pie heated, and I don’t want the ice cream on top, I want it on the side, and I’d like strawberry instead of vanilla if you have it.’ 

Such pernickety requests are ‘generally frowned upon’, he says, ‘as is being glued to your phone while ordering [and] interrupting or even tapping them while they’re speaking to another table’.

GHOSTING IS A NO-NO

No longer able to make your dinner reservation? The worst thing you can do, Mangano reveals, is to fail to show up without cancelling your reservation. ‘Just as restaurants track their loyal customers, they also know who their frequent no-showers are,’ he points out.

‘Not only will you be less likely to get a great experience – or even a reservation – next time, but with many restaurants now requiring booking deposits or putting no-show fees in place, you could take a financial hit.’

The expert suggests ‘simply amending your booking ahead of the cancellation window’ rather than missing out on the experience and losing money in the process.

SPILL THE BEANS

Mangano recommends giving the restaurant all the information it needs to help give you the most tailored experience, whether that’s by including it in your online booking notes or by telling your server directly.

‘If they don’t know it, they can’t use it,’ he says. ‘All sorts of details can be taken into account – your likes, dislikes, allergies and seating preferences are just the tip of the iceberg. The more you share, the more personalised your experience can become.’

This can be particularly useful if you dine often at a particular restaurant, he adds.

Mangano says: ‘Instead of getting generic and irrelevant marketing emails, the restaurant will be better armed to only contact you with information on the deals, dishes and special events that you’ll really love.’ 

MAKE USE OF HOTEL CONCIERGES

Mangano says: ‘You can infinitely increase your chances to get a table or seat at the hottest restaurant while on holiday by asking for help from a hotel concierge.

‘Many concierges have close relationships with the best local restaurants in each city and can help recommend the top spots and even get you those “impossible” tables – you just have to ask.’

‘Central’ restaurant in Lima, Peru, has earned the title of the World’s Best Restaurant 2023 – and incredible new YouTube footage reveals what it’s like to dine there.

It was shot by Alexander Varga, the co-owner of one-Michelin-starred restaurant ’42’ in Esztergom, Hungary, who describes eating at Central, which is set in a beautiful botanic garden, as ‘an adventure that will warm your soul’.

Central doesn’t have a Michelin star – its inspectors don’t cover Peru – but Alexander has eaten at over 50 three-star restaurants and tells MailOnline Travel that it ‘certainly deserves the title of world’s best’. So, if they ever get there, three stars could well be on the cards.

Alexander’s fascinating video explains that the philosophy of Central’s chefs – Virgilio Martinez and wife Pia Leon – is to present courses that each showcase a Peruvian ecosystem at a specific altitude.

‘The menu is really something to marvel at,’ Alexander says.

The dishes are crafted using 180 ingredients, with around half of them unknown.

Some of them are presented on a huge stone table at the entrance, with Alexander revealing that ‘each one is grown and cultivated by Chef Virgilio and his team’.

‘He cooks food that belongs to his land and people,’ he says.

The 14-course ‘Altitudes’ tasting menu on offer costs 250 euros (£215/$273), with drink pairings that cost from 50 (£43/$54) to 115 euros (£99/$126).

Alexander opts for the local spirits and wines pairing and then begins his culinary odyssey.

Dishes include Peruvian potatoes grown on trees – called ‘flying potatoes’ – served with a coriander dipping sauce; bites made with seaweed, clams and squid; algae from a mountain lake; vegetarian piranhas served with some of the nuts and plants they feed on, and wine poured from a clay bottle.

He describes the flavours he experiences as ‘out of this world’. 

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Did the restaurant live up to the hype of ‘world’s best’?

Alexander told MailOnline Travel: ‘Absolutely. Actually, it exceeded the hype, and my expectations too.

‘I obviously watched some content about it, and had a picture in my head, but when I was there, it was something else. Peaceful, elevated, an almost church-like feeling filled with exciting and unknown things to discover.

‘I don’t even look at it as going to a restaurant. I went to a philosophy workshop. And for me, that beats everything.

‘The “best in the world” thing is an interesting subject. In my humble opinion, there’s no such thing. Most of the world’s top-tier restaurants are no better than the others. Central isn’t better than the others, but it is different.

‘I thought about it a lot, and I always ask this question: “If I die tomorrow, which restaurant would be the one where I’d go back right now?” Everyone would have different answers, and all of them would be “The Best”. But obviously if we consider the fact that there are objective aspects, which we base the No.1 choice on, then yes, I’d say right now Central absolutely deserves the title.’

How does Central compare to three-Michelin-star restaurants Alexander has been to?

He says: ‘I’ve been in at least 50 three-star restaurants, and each of them is different in some ways. But at the end of the day it is a high-end restaurant, and in that aspect, it doesn’t really differ. 

‘It has extremely professional service and staff, a stellar kitchen and super-talented people in it, so things you can usually say about the world’s best restaurants. But with these tools, Central tells – in my humble opinion – a unique story and they have a different mission. And that’s what makes them different.’

What does he think the secret to the success of the restaurant is?

Alexander says: ‘If I had to highlight something, I’d say the people. I saw the passion and joy in everyone there. It was more like an obsession in a good way. They really believe in what they do, and it’s honest. They are loyal to the roots of Peru and its people, and this unconsciously (or consciously) creates magic.’

And the part of the trip that was most memorable?

Alexander reveals that it was actually his visit to Chef Virgilio’s food lab and interpretation centre – ‘Mil’ – located at an altitude of 3,568m (11,706ft) in the Andes, near the famous Moray ruins.

Here visitors can see for themselves how food for Central is researched and cultivated.

Alexander said: ‘It was uplifting to see how a modern restaurant in a modern world becomes a bridge between the new and old generation. I saw how they draw from the wisdom of the past with respect and humility. This kind of respect is really rare today. The whole place and all the people radiated a really good vibe, and I was under its effect for a good while.’

For more fascinating foodie videos from Alexander visit www.youtube.com/@alexandertheguest and follow him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/alexandertheguest and on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@alexandertheguest. Follow his restaurant on Instagram at www.instagram.com/42restaurant. Click here for the Central video.

Beyoncé has donated £8,000 to a struggling Nigerian restaurant in North London, who were at risk of closure due to rising energy bills.

Chuku’s, a Nigerian tapas restaurant in Tottenham run by brother and sister duo Emeka and Ifeyinwa Frederik, were one of 10 winners to receive a grant by the music superstar, 41, this month.

As part of her incredible Renaissance World Tour, the Halo hitmaker’s foundation BeyGOOD had pledged to donate a share of $1 million (£806,000) to ten businesses in cities around the world.

They included Atlanta, New Orleans, Chicago and London – where Bey (worth an estimated £420 million) took to the stage five times in May and June with gigs at the nearby Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

Though Chuku’s built up an impressive following since opening in 2020, they found themselves facing difficult times after launching during the pandemic including struggling with the cost if rising energy bills. 

At the end of last year, the restaurant set themselves a huge challenge to get 600 bookings in six weeks. And impressively, they managed to get a whopping 801. 

Emeka and Ifeyinwa found themselves facing a wealth of support from the local community as well A-list celebs and footballers keen to taste Chuku’s unique take on traditional Nigerian food. 

And now they’ve been given an extra boost by Beyonce’s foundation, with the grant awarded during the The Black Parade Small Business Impact Luncheon, created by BeyGOOD to ‘celebrate people, communities, and small businesses impacted by economic inequities worldwide’.

The luncheon was held at the Four Seasons in Tower Hill, where 100 entrepreneurs gathered with the chance to bag $100,000 (£806,090) in prizes.

And with over 400 applicants, the win was all the more sweeter for the sibling duo seeing as they were only part of the two per cent of winners on the night. 

Chuku co-founder Emeka said of the win: ‘This grant couldn’t be more welcome. Chuku’s, like other restaurants that don’t have a financial reserve, has been battered by lockdowns and the cost of living crisis.

‘Every day, we’re fighting to stay open to make it to our fourth birthday. This money will make that fight a little easier and allow us to continue celebrating Nigerian culture on Tottenham’s High Road for the time being.’

While his sister Ifeyinwa added: ‘I still can’t quite believe that Beyoncé has backed our restaurant – it feels a bit surreal. 

‘We’d already felt her impact when she was in town and concertgoers chose Chuku’s for their pre-gig meal, but this is a whole other level.’

On whether she believed the Cuff It singer had ever tasted their food, she told The Times: ‘We never knew [if] anyone came for a takeaway or had the food on the sly. I think it was about what we put in our application.’

Asked what difference the grant has made, added: ‘It helps keep you energised. To receive this award it’s someone saying, “We see you. We recognise your hard work.” This is one of those moments when it’s a fantastic push forward.’

The superstar showed off her toned physique in a sexy red outfit with coordinated elbow-length gloves and a flowing red fabric that extended from the top of her head to each of her elbows.

The beauty donned a glamorous makeup palette, accessorized with long dangling silver earrings, and finished the look with red tights and heels with diamond straps.

The Renaissance World Tour is the singer-songwriter’s ninth concert tour supporting her seventh studio album, Renaissance.

Renaissance was one of the biggest summer albums last year after the pop icon released the disco-inspired collection of dance songs. 

The concert series kicked off at Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, in May. 

A few weeks ago, while performing in Wales, Beyonce was left stunned by her fans as she enlisted the help of her audience to belt out her 2011 track Love On Top, leading to a pitch-perfect rendition of the track, after which the music icon said to the 75k-strong crowd: ‘Give yourself a round of applause.’ 

During her performance, she played an array of her popular songs such as Formation, Run The World (Girls), Love On Top, and a powerful mash-up of Dangerously In Love, Flaws And All, and 1+1 that electrified the crowd.

Nasty indeed! Tourist is horrified by his ‘apple and cheese salad’ at Big Narstie’s Tenerife restaurant – and the British comic admits ‘I’d be pi**ed too’ after laughing about it

• The tourist said the salad was ‘2/10’ and he ‘wouldn’t recommend’ the restaurant
• But Big Narstie offered an hilarious reply and said he’d be ‘pi**ed’ about it too 

By Alexander Butler

Published: 06:28 EDT, 16 June 2023 | Updated: 06:40 EDT, 16 June 2023

Up, up and wahey: Restaurant staff are blown into the air – with one smashing through the roof – after trying to hold down canopy at Chinese diner

•  70mph winds in Hubei province force local diner to erect outdoor canopy
•  Several staff members were swept into the air after failing to let go of it in time
•  Restaurant owner is among the injured – but is said to be in a stable condition

By Allan Glen

Published: 09:51 EDT, 14 June 2023 | Updated: 11:26 EDT, 14 June 2023

For some restaurants, clues about their quality are obvious – a Michelin star or three next to the entrance, pricey tasting menus and glowing press reviews, for example.

But what are the signs of quality for more everyday restaurants? Eateries that we’re more likely to walk into off the street for a spontaneous treat?

The pointers might be less obvious, but they’re there, as comments made on an online forum revealed – from being busy on traditionally quiet days of the week to serving quality bread baskets.

These examples and many more were served up in an Ask Reddit forum after user ‘halfblood_god’, asked: ‘What are some green flags in restaurants?’

Diners were quick to reply, with a flurry of common telltale signs that strongly hint that a mouthwatering experience is on the cards.

‘Odd-Concentrate-6585’ contributed to the debate with: ‘They could fit more seats and tables in, but have chosen not to.’ 

Staying with the theme of the volume of diners present, ‘Jarek86’ wrote ‘busy on a Monday night’, while ‘pr0ph3t_0f_m3rcy’ agreed: ‘Same, Sundays now as well for me.’

In a similar vein, llcucf80′ said Tuesday night is the one to look out for.’

Their reasoning is sound – after all, it’s harder to pack out a restaurant on days when fewer people are out and about. 

Echoing this sentiment, ‘Biddilybong’ wrote: ‘I never eat at an un-busy restaurant in an unknown town.’

Another commenter counselled to observe where the diners come from.

‘Ok_Whatever_Buddy’ commented: ‘If you walk into a restaurant that serves food from a different country and every single person in there – working and dining – is from that country.

‘In my experience, that means you’re about to have an awesome meal.’

‘DutchHasAPlan_1899’ said their green flag was a ‘small menu, clean, and the menu isn’t sticky’, in a comment that earned 1,800 Reddit upvotes of approval.

Fellow Redditor ‘Behold-Roast-Beef’ said it is the salt and pepper shakers that diners should have their eyes on.

‘Check the salt and pepper shakers,’ they penned. ‘This is the easiest way to tell if management gives a damn in a restaurant.

‘If the salt and pepper shakers have a dead ant in them, or look congealed, this place is cutting some pretty basic corners.’

While ‘High_Life_Pony chimed: ‘An even greener flag is if they don’t have salt and pepper shakers on every table.’

Focusing more on the preliminary offerings, ‘StudsTurkleton’ advised paying attention to whether the restaurant ‘does the basics well’.

They wrote: ‘If they serve a bread basket, is it good bread or some cr***y store-bought, mass-produced rolls?

‘Is their coffee good? These are easy to get right if you care. If you’re cheap or lousy on these things, then there is a lack of care or corners being cut.’

They added: ‘If they give no attention to the supporting players, I doubt they’re doing anything good with the stars of the show.’

Focusing more on the restaurant environment, other Redditors turned their attention to the toilets and even the smell of the overall establishment. 

‘RealPala’ said, ‘a clean bathroom’, while ‘MCI21’ added, ‘cooks clean the kitchen’.

While ‘Esme-Weatherwaxes’ wrote: ‘A place that smells good when you walk in. The best restaurants I’ve ever been to have all smelt fantastic as soon as you open the door.’

For others, the ‘green flag’ telltale signs focused on the staff.

A chef writing in the forum said one sign is seeing staff eating the food – ‘especially bits of leftover during service’.

Writing under the name ‘PhabioRants’, they added: ‘Seriously, I’m a career chef. We see and make the same food day in and day out, and if the staff are still excited to eat it, that’s always a great sign.

‘Also, a healthy work-social dynamic. If the staff clearly dislike each other, chances are they’re too preoccupied to give you their best.’

In a third suggestion, ‘Aldous_Hoaxley’ said: ‘The same people are still working there 20-plus years later, that means they treat their employees right.’

‘Reallynotmeforsure’ added: ‘Servers that get excited when talking about the menu, and recommend an item that is not the most expensive.’

Price was not a common theme in the thread. However, ‘Apart-Bathroom7811’ said another good sign was a restaurant that ‘doesn’t offer coupons, Groupons or other deals’.

In a more controversial trail of posts, some diners suggested green flags that might be red flags for others.

Referring to Chinese restaurants in particular, ‘OrdoMalaise’ said: ‘Absolutely terrible, surly, rude service in a Chinese restaurant.

‘The more they openly despise you, the better the food.’

In a similar post, ‘powerhower’ agreed: ‘When I go on Yelp and find a three-star-rated Chinese restaurant, and all the negative ratings say how rude they were, I’m heading straight there.’

Echoing their sentiments, ‘Honestnt’ suggested the same is true for small, cheap cafes and restaurants in the UK, known as ‘greasy spoons’.

They commented: ‘The duality of the greasy spoon. Has this table been cleaned in the last decade? No idea? Am I about to have an amazing meal at a good price? One hundred per cent.’

Following the same line of thought, ‘theplaidiator’ said: ‘Some of the best wings I’ve had in years came from a 20×30 cinder block building in the worst part of town with two plywood tables inside.’

And ‘JRockThumper said: ‘If it’s a hole in the wall place, it looks like a bomb exploded inside, half the tables are covered in toys/schoolwork from the owners’ kids, sticky note with an A+ Health and Safety rating… no joke, if you see all of these signs then just know that you are about to eat the best food of your life.’

The Ask Reddit question was clearly not a straightforward one to answer, with many differing views posted on the forum.

‘SomeGuy200019’ pointed out: ‘I love how half of the replies are “it looks nice/has etiquette” and the other half are “if it looks like it should have been closed 50 years ago, you’re about to half the best meal of your life”.’  

Heston Blumenthal‘s Fat Duck restaurant is one of the very best in the world, with not just three Michelin stars, but an almost mythical status in the catering industry.

What’s it like to eat there? A fascinating YouTube video has emerged that gives viewers a seat at the table. It was shot by Alexander Varga, the co-owner of one-Michelin-starred restaurant ’42’ in Esztergom, Hungary.

As part of his ‘mission to find inspiration in gastronomy’, he visits other Michelin-starred restaurants and creates spellbinding videos of his experiences at them.

They’re uploaded to his YouTube channel, ‘Alexander The Guest’, with his Fat Duck video so far garnering over 365,000 clicks.

Alexander treated his teenager daughter to a meal at the restaurant – and the video begins with them trying to locate it. He says: ‘We arrive at the address, but there is no sign, only clues.’

The 42-seat restaurant is housed in a white building in the village of Bray, Berkshire, with a spatula in the shape of a duck’s foot hanging outside and a coat of arms on the wall inscribed with the instruction – ‘question everything’.

‘We’ve found it,’ says Alexander.

Inside there are 42 seats – and 42 kitchen staff. One for every guest.

On Alexander’s table is a book called ‘Heston’s World of Curiosity’ and a magnifying glass.

‘The book has a story about adventure,’ reveals Alexander, ‘and the magnifying glass helps you find hidden information.’

Their waiter comes to the table and introduces himself as their ‘storyteller’.

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This approach, says Alexander, ‘is unusual, but interesting’.

There is just one tasting menu, priced at £395 (plus service).

However, there are five wine-pairing menus to choose from – ‘Playfulness [non-alcoholic], Curiosity, Exploration, Discovery and Wonderment’.

Alexander opts for the ‘top-of-the-line’ Wonderment pairing, which costs £990.90.

Then the magic begins.

First up is a ‘nitro-poached aperitif with Campari spritz’ that’s ‘hard to describe… crisp on the outside and soft and refreshing on the inside’.

‘Surprises like that keep happening during the meal,’ says Alexander.

Heston’s team then rustle up ‘Aerated Beetroot’, ‘Red Cabbage Gazpacho with Pommery Mustard Ice Cream’, ‘Oyster with Passionfruit Jelly and Lavender’, a Waldorf salad that’s actually two savoury lollies in the shape of a rocket, and a golden pocket watch that turns to soup when immersed in boiling water.

‘Every dish has something magical,’ says Alexander.

And of course there’s the famous ‘Sound of the Sea’ course, seafood – some of the best Alexander has ever eaten – enjoyed to the sound of crashing waves, supplied via a music player hidden in a shell and in-ear buds.

Alexander told MailOnline Travel that the experience was ‘really magical and memorable’ for both him and his daughter.

Did it live up to the hype?

He said: ‘I don’t know how big the hype is around the restaurant now, but for me, it was a defining experience. Although it might not be considered progressive anymore, Heston Blumenthal has created one of the most influential chapters in gastro history, and I would definitely recommend it. It doesn’t matter if some dishes have been on the menu for more than 10 years, they are still really exciting to this day. The service is a huge part of the whole experience. It absolutely deserves the hype, because the whole thing is simply brilliant.’

The Fat Duck is extremely expensive – but did Alexander feel it was worth the outlay?

He said: ‘Absolutely. It is really hard to review a restaurant in the aspect of the price-value ratio, since we get calories, art, feelings, ideas and theatre, which teach, inspire and entertain at the same time. Those who just want food might not agree, but for me it was well worth it. It was an amazing experience, and worth every penny.’

What does he think the secret to Heston’s success is?

Alexander said: ‘If I had to guess, it would be his open mind, out-of-the-box thinking, experimenting nature and bravery. Aside from those I think he has a very serious organizing ability and strong character. He is also thoughtful and takes inspiration from art and science.’

How does The Fat Duck compare to other three-star restaurants he’s eaten at? Would he say it’s the best restaurant?

Alexander said: ‘Of course this is subjective. I’m not even sure I can decide if a restaurant is “the best”. I’ve been to more than 40 three-Michelin star restaurants around the world, and in my head I list them in three categories. There are some that I don’t like, some that I do and some which are special. The Fat Duck definitely goes into the special category.’

For more fascinating foodie videos from Alexander visit www.youtube.com/@alexandertheguest and follow him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/alexandertheguest and on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@alexandertheguest. Follow his restaurant on Instagram at www.instagram.com/42restaurant.