Located in a space originally used for storing coal in the 19th century, the 100 capacity restaurant and bar immediately transports you to the Big Apple before you even take a sip on one of its funky fresh cocktails.

At the official opening last Thursday, guests including TCÉ were treated to some of its seasonal dishes in canapé form, including borscht (Ukrainian beetroot soup) with dill and dark rye, crab on home baked brown soda bread and some tantalisingly tasty Bombay chips accompanied with chutney.

The menu, which focuses on quality seasonal ingredients, will be updated regularly by the team and also includes such impressive-sounding delights as ‘5 hour shoulder of lamb’ cooked in hay and lavender and ‘pulled’ rabbit with smoked black beans. For game lovers, there’s even quail on offer served with with orange and pickled walnuts.

What’s really impressive however is the prices, with all small-plate dishes coming in at between £4 and £9.

The main event at this cosmopolitan venue is of course the cocktails, with one to complement every dish. Forget clichéd staples like Martinis, Mojitos or Sex On The Beach; here it’s a more sophisticated affair with twists on old cocktail classics, like the ‘Manhattan Spring’ made with soda and chrysanthemum vodka.

The space also includes five additional separate vaults for private dining, which could prove ideal for a West End night out on the tiles or a big birthday bash.

Open seven days a week from 4pm to midnight, the restaurant and bar is the brainchild of young entrepreneurs Martyn Simpson and Felix Leuschner.

The two have brought together a team of young idea-driven talents to bring their latest venture to life, including Chef James Knox Boothman – previously involved in GRUB at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club.

Packed to the rafters on Thursday, if its opening night is anything to go by, Coal Vaults is set to be a pretty bustling and happening spot indeed. We strongly urge you to go and check it out for yourself. (Words: Aoife Moriarty)

For more info, visit: www.coalvaults.com

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But perhaps you couldn’t afford the plane ticket this time round.

That’s ok. It’s a little known secret that every year, Latin America’s penchant for flamboyant festivity arrives to London in the form of the Carnaval Del Pueblo. Renamed Latino Festival this year (following the closure of its previous venue London Pleasure Garden), it will now be taking place at The Coronet Theater in Elephant & Castle on August 18th.

The event has been a feature of London cultural life for over a decade, featuring samba, merengue and capoeira rhythms, as well as music and dance from Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Ecuador and the Oru Carnaval in Bolivia. Not to mention dazzlingly colourful costumes and dance lessons. Though smaller than unusual, Saturday’s event  will include a colourful programme of performances to keep the Carnaval Del Pueblo legacy going strong for another year, running all day from 12-8pm. ‘Que legal!’ (How nice.)

Entry is £3, but for more info visit www.carnavaldelpueblo.com

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Carousel – voted the best musical of all time by Time Magazine – is one of those select few. Written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, it’s a pretty dark and deep fare for a genre that typically likes to keep it upbeat (the duo’s previous creation, Oklahoma!, being a perfect example of this).

The main premise centres around Billy Bigelow, a fairground worker who loses his job working the carousel due to his boss’ jealousy over his loving relationship and thus declines into a life of crime in order to support his newly pregnant wife. The intricate storyline that unfolds deals with some difficult themes including morality, redemption and domestic violence.

This new production by Opera North at the Barbican is set to be world’s away from your typical musical fare. Not only does it feature real operatic singers, it also involves a full orchestra, led by conductor James Holmes, thus offering the impressive score the opportunity reach its full potential. Director Jo Davies is known too for taking lightweight content and giving it greater light and shade. It’s promising stuff.

Featuring classic songs ‘If I Loved You’ and ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, Davies perhaps summed up the work best with a quote from fellow legendary musical composer, Stephen Sondheim: “Oklahoma! is about a picnic, whilst Carousel is about life and death.” Which is basically just another way of saying that  Carousel is not your average musical: it’s a true experience – with a story and message that has never been more relevant than it is right now. Don’t miss out.

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel by Opera North at The Barbican runs from 15 August 2012 – 15 September 2012. For more information or to book tickets, click here.

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To celebrate the recent announcement of its long awaited sequel, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes are holding an Anchorman themed party on Friday, June 29th. Everything will be centred around the characters on the night, with a chance to watch the cult classic as well as dine on some juicy ribs, drink some “scotchy scotch scotch” and participate in a ‘chat up line competition’ (should be interesting!)

There will also be DJs providing live soul, jazz and funk and plenty of other amusing film themed shenanigans.

So don’t wait around; get yourself “a ticket to the gun show”. There is at least “a 72 per cent chance” you’ll have an awful lot of flare-wearing mustachioed fun. Later you will most likely tell us, “You’re so wise. You’re like a miniature Buddha, covered in hair. (Words: Aoife Moriarty)

For more info click here…

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Providing a refreshing alternative to the overcrowded walkway of Broadway market and the hustle and bustle of Brick Lane, the food market was set up by a local resident back in February in order to promote local traders and businesses and bring the community together through some edible yummies from across the continent. It seems to be working out pretty well so far…

Accurately reflecting the diversity of its residents, the cuisine and produce on offer ranges from homemade cheeses, sausages and artisan breads through to wild game, duck eggs, katsu curry, burritos with an Indian twist and sweet cupcake treats from Hackney’s ‘Lush Mush’. Also featuring is a pop-up teashop from Haggerston Tearooms, where you can sit down and ‘chillax’ after you’ve been a little greedy guts, bought up all the homemade guacamole and chutney and stopped salivating for at least five minutes.

On the flip side of the coin, if you’re a foodie local whose been seriously contemplating peddling your own delectable delicacies, the organisers have tried to make the market as accessible as possible, running market trader training days and offering free stalls to local charities. So what are you waiting for: get involved!

Unlike the current economic state of affairs, this feels like a genuine win win situation for all. And those – as we know – are the very best kind. (Words: Aoife Moriarty)

For more information, go to: http://www.hackneyhomemade.com/food

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Part of University College London and founded over 170 years ago, The Grant Museum of Zoology is the only remaining zoological museum in London. It was originally founded as a private teaching collection and is still used as one today, but recently became open to the public.

Despite being housed in a relatively small space, the dense collection still manages to cram in some 67,000 specimens  and contains some very exciting treasures of the animal worl

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Then you’re probably the type of person for who The Black Cotton Club – a swinging night of hot jazz from the ‘20s to the ‘40s – was created. It’s strictly a dress-up-and-dance-night, so ensure to don your best vintage clobber before you boogie on down to rare swing and rhythm’n’blues music, played on original 78 records. And not only that: if you attend the next monthly night, you’ll also witness retro jive band Sugar Floor Stomp honking their horns and plucking their cellos to their seedy swing sounds until the early hours.

In the age of depersonalised superstar DJ clubs, places such as The Black Cotton Club are a genuine breath of fresh air. So get down to Volupté burlesque club on the 17^th to soak up the fun and sleazy prohibition era atmosphere. Flapper dresses at the ready! (Words: Aoife Moriarty)

For more information, go to the Lady Luck website: www.ladyluckclub.co.uk

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That’s what you’ll find at The Underground Picturehouse at Spitalfield’s The Water Poet during St Patrick’s week as they celebrate Irish film. The popular haunt is really getting into the swing of things with a double bill of nineties classic The Commitments and last year’s Killing Bono on Sunday the 11^th, as well as award winning Brendon Gleeson comedy The Guard on Tuesday the 13^th. Tickets are just £8 for the double bill on Sunday and £5 for Tuesday.

Watch out too for a young Andrea Corr of The Corrs fame with a small speaking part in The Commitments, the film that launched a whole generation of Irish actors and musicians and won a BAFTA for Best Film and Best Direction.

To be sure to be sure, top of the err, evening to you and all those other things that Irish people don’t actually say. Go grab yourself a Guinness and settle down for some quality Irish flicks at the end of the East end rainbow. (Words: Aoife Moriarty)

For more information, go to www.waterpoet.co.uk 

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And whilst many mainstream Bollywood films make it to London multiplexes, films from creative film talents in other parts of Asia and the Middle East more often than not don’t ever make it to these shores.

That’s why the Asia House Pan-Asia Film Festival – from March 9th – 18th  – will be showcasing award-winning films from countries including Iran, Kazakhstan, Tibet, Taiwan and South Korea. The lively programme features a diverse range of genres, from drama and comedy to romance and adventure, and there will be a number of Q&A sessions with cast and crew to coincide with the screenings.

Highlights of the fest include Starry Starry Night from Hong Kong (which visually, takes inspiration from  Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night),  The Tibetan The Sun Beaten Path which follows a young man’s journey from Lhasa to his home in a remote part of the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau and 11th Flower – a heart-warming, semi-autobiographical story set in the latter days of the Cultural Revolution and wraps up the festivities on March 18th.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the chance to gain unique access and insight into life across the diverse cultures and countries of the Asian continent. Not to mention witness some exciting new filmmaking talent. (Words: Aoife Moriarty) 

For more info visit: http://asiahouse.org/arts-and-culture/pan-asia-film-festival/2012-festival-programme

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This year, Mother’s Day takes place on March 18th, a while it’s a somewhat cynical creation of card companies and florists, it’s also a chance to genuinely say ‘thank you’ to mummy dearest for all the long hours she’s put in turning us into the upstanding young characters we are today. Or if we’re not upstanding, for putting up with us just the same and making all those visits to the principal’s office and the jail cell. Thanks mumsies, we really do appreciate it.

If you’re feeling super organised this year, then you might like to attend Drink, Shop & Do’s Mother’s Day Card Making session on March 6th to make a fabulous shoddy handmade card for your own lovely mother ahead of schedule. A nice cocktail and a piece of yummy cake should help the creative juices flow. There’s no doubt she’ll love it – but just don’t blame us when she crowns you ‘the creative, thoughtful one’ and you become her new favourite. (Words: Aoife Moriarty)

For more information, go to Drink, Shop & Do’s website: www.drinkshopdo.com

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