Heather’s Food & Drink Hot List

Of course, London doesn’t need another burger joint. However, Parisian hotspot Dumbo has landed in Shoreditch and is well worth the trip. This is the team’s first foray outside France, where Dumbo is famed for its picture-perfect (almost cartoonish, in fact) smashburgers, proper French fries and chicken nuggets, complete with sweet-and-sour dip. Over here, the perfectly crisped patties are made using high-quality, responsibly sourced meat from HG Walter, the renowned London butcher that supplies the River Café and Brat. The shop’s muted white palette and clean tones provide a neutral backdrop for the crisp lines of brushed stainless steel that define the open kitchen, from where the cook line flip patties as they greet you. Trust me, you need to add this to your summer eating list.

Follow @DUMBOPARIS

Over the last 25 years, Fortnum & Mason has been growing its Lossus collection of tinned biscuits – a selection of treats where the chocolate-to-biscuit ratio is almost obscene. Customer favourites include Gingerlossus  (ginger) and Toffolossus (toffee), but newcomer Mochalossus is a serious contender. Fortnum’s own Piccadilly-blend coffee is steeped overnight to create a slowly brewed coffee extract that gets added to the clotted cream biscuit base, then combined with chocolate chips and coated in an extremely thick layer of milk chocolate. The result is the perfect treat to pair with your late-morning cup of coffee.

Visit FORTNUMANDMASON.COM

Somerset’s Brickell’s Ice Cream is now available for nationwide delivery. Run by Rob and Iona Gore in Westcombe, Brickell’s makes all-natural craft ice-cream. Free from preservatives, emulsifiers, stabilisers, colourings and flavourings, it’s an entirely un-ultra-processed ice cream, which is almost unheard of in commercial ice-cream production. This season has seen the pair launch some excellent new flavours thanks to collaborations with the likes of Blackbee Honey, Land Chocolate and their neighbours Landrace Bakery. While you must try the signature roasted strawberry, its new mint choc chip, cardamom, raspberry and toasted white chocolate, and honeycomb combinations are insanely good – and worth stocking your freezer with.

Visit BRICKELLSICECREAM.CO.UK

After two years sworn off martinis, following a martini-fuelled tour of London’s bars with our columnist Alexandra Dudley, I’m thrilled that my love for the cocktail has returned just as the capital’s martini scene undergoes a renaissance. Alongside the aforementioned One Club Row menu, Jeremy King’s martini happy hours at The Park, and Bar Valette’s tiny sherry-infused version in Shoreditch, Town has helped reignite my love with its Dill Boy cocktail. A vodka concoction created by Satan’s Whiskers’ Kevin Armstrong, it’s made with vodka, dill akvavit, dry vermouth and a drop of dill oil, which catches the eye as it hovers on the surface. It’s the perfect way to kick off a meal at Town, which chef Stevie Parle opened in Theatreland last month. Make sure to order the saffron and bone marrow risotto and – unexpected crowd favourite – a loaf of potato sourdough with beef gravy.

Visit TOWN.RESTAURANT

I can never get enough of Rome. While I plot my next trip to see the city’s blockbuster Caravaggio exhibition before it closes next month, I’m all in on Lupa, a new Roman-inspired neighbourhood restaurant from Carousel’s Ed Templeton and actor Theo James (The White Lotus and The Gentlemen). Up in Highbury, Lupa’s head chef Naz Hassan is serving crowd-pleasing classics, alongside seasonal dishes that nod to the specialities of the Eternal City. Menu highlights include fiori di zucca, carbonara, bucatini all’amatriciana, slow-roasted porchetta and the all-important tiramisù. The vibe is laidback: low lighting, packed-in tables, comfortable seats, upbeat music that stays secondary to the chatter of the evening’s guests, and unhurried service. I can’t wait.

Visit LUPA.RESTAURANT