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To celebrate the publication of our newest title, Greece: The Monocle Handbook, we toast the founder of Athens’s latest wine bar. Then we have a table reserved at Hauser&Wirth’s new restaurant in Somerset for some indulgent northern Italian fare and bed down for the night at a hotel in the hills of Asturias. Plus: a handsome stationery shop in New Zealand and a fresh take on ‘linguine alle vongole’ if you’re entertaining this January. Setting the stage is Tyler Brûlé.
The Faster Lane / Tyler Brûlé
Paris
We’ll start in the French capital with a bit of housekeeping. Many of you have been asking: “When will the Paris café and shop open? And when’s the party?” After a full deployment from Zürich and London to look after fit-out details and hiring, I can report that we’ll be throwing open the doors at rue Bachaumont very, very soon. I don’t want to commit to a fixed date but we’re getting close to installing the cabinetry and banquettes, and training is well under way. I head back to Paris tomorrow for rounds of inspections and meet and greets. Come Friday I will have a firmer grip on when the Marzocco will be fired up, the shelves stocked and the team ready to welcome you. Worry not, there will be a special edition newsletter to mark the official launch.
Paris II
The original plan for Paris was a fully integrated retail, caff, bureau and radio operation all under one roof. But we decided things might get a bit tight and so we opted to look elsewhere for office space in order to have more room for sipping and selling. Just as we were about to put together a brief for our agent I walked out of rue Bachaumont, looked upwards to the right and saw a “To rent” sign 40 metres away. Was this going to be the answer to all our newsgathering and commercial needs? Or a disappointing shoebox? We swiftly called the landlord and, 24 hours later, we were walking the space and visualising if this would be a suitable complement to our public-facing offer across the way. It’s now four weeks later, the space is ours and the painters are already going in to give it all a little spruce up. The brief to our design colleagues is a simple one – deliver the most handsome news bureau in Paris. Pics to come shortly.
Milan
In a little more than a year the Winter Olympics will be in full swing across Milan and Cortina; you can already feel a sense of excitement in the north of Italy. Could it be that all the positive vibes post-Paris 2024 have helped to create a more optimistic mood around hosting the Games? It certainly feels like it. And the smart, creative money is betting big on the future of the neighbourhood around the Olympic Village. Prada and Bottega Veneta are already close at hand and there’s much more to come. If you’re looking to invest, there are still a few finds nearby.
Vienna
To formally celebrate our Monocle: The Entrepreneurs special and partnership with the WKO (Austrian Economic Chamber), we cohosted a little talk at their HQ on Wednesday eve, ate too much schnitzel and stayed out well past our bedtime in a tucked-away corner of the Loos Bar. While our issue celebrates bright business minds, we didn’t devote nearly enough space to the basics that the Austrians do so very well: wine, dine, toast and host. Next time you happen to be invited to a meeting at an Austrian HQ, pay special attention to how your coffee and water are placed in front of you. It beats the Japanese and the Italians and feels very far removed from American corporate hospitality.
Lisbon
It’s a glorious Saturday afternoon and the Portuguese capital is sparkling and free from the summer hordes. There are still plenty of tourists out and about but the city has a gentler rhythm in January and it’s a delightful 20C in the sun. Christmas now feels far away and the welcome warmth has me gazing upwards at all those TAP Airbuses heading for destinations in Brazil. Anyone fancy a Monocle Weekender event at a Fasano?
Eating out / Da Costa, Somerset
Since the opening of Hauser & Wirth’s countryside outpost in Bruton just over a decade ago, art lovers have flocked to the sleepy Somerset village for a taste of some of the best culture that the southwest of England has to offer (writes Monica Lillis). But the landscape and contemporary art are not the only things that Bruton can boast about.
Named after co-founder Iwan Wirth’s maternal grandfather, Da Costa is the latest addition to both the gallery and the village’s ever-expanding culinary scene. The restaurant specialises in hearty recipes from northern Italy made with seasonal British ingredients.
Think salt-baked beetroot risotto, braised ox cheek with polenta, and venison tartare with local cheddar cheese. The creamy tiramasù paired with a heady Sicilian marsala is the fitting denouement to your culinary tour of the Italian Alps via the West Country.
da-costa.co.uk
Sunday Roast / Chris Kontos
Athenian Chris Kontos is a photographer and the editor of Kennedy Magazine (writes Maria Papakleanthous). His latest project is a natural wine bar in the shadow of the Acropolis, called Kennedy Vins Bons Vivants. Kontos shares tips for his favourite tavernas around Attica, tells us about his daily bread and talks us through his eclectic record collection.
Where do we find you this weekend?
I’ll venture out of Athens with my family to enjoy a meat meze at some tavernas around Parnitha or Kapandriti. My favourite is Barba Vasilis in Mikrochori.
Ideal way to wake up on a Sunday? Gentle start or a jolt?
A really gentle start. My weekday morning routine involves running Kennedy Magazine, working as a photographer, replying to emails and managing bar supplies – so my Sunday must be slow.
What’s for breakfast?
The only thing I think about when I’m going to bed is waking up the next morning and having a coffee. Then I usually have hard-boiled eggs with buttered bread or a pastry from 72H Artisanal Bakery, the same one where we buy our bread for Kennedy Vins Bons Vivants.
Lunch in or out?
In. We roast a big chicken with vegetables and pair it with a bottle of wine from our bar.
A Sunday soundtrack?
I’m currently listening to a record I recently bought in London called Talismã by Márcio Hallack. Another record I’ve been into lately is Home Is Where the Music Is by Hugh Masekela.
Sunday culture must?
I’ve been watching a Japanese show called La Grande Maison Tokyo.
What’s on the menu?
Lamb chops and sausages at a taverna with our friends.
Sunday evening routine?
My main focus is to spend as much time as possible with my son; whatever time is left is for me. He loves this book we have about the London Underground and how it came together.
Do you lay out an outfit for Monday?
At the moment my uniform is a navy Casentino wool gilet from Drake’s, Oxford button-down, denim jeans and a pair of Alden or New Balance shoes.
Pick up a copy of ‘Greece: The Monocle Handbook’, now the definitive guide to the country’s historic hotels, top tables and rustic retailers.
Recipe / Aya Nishimura
Stuck for dinner-party inspiration? Monocle’s Japanese recipe writer has you covered. This is a linguine-based twist on the traditional spaghetti alle vongole originally conceived in Naples. Garnish with a sprinkle of crunchy breadcrumbs and plenty of fresh parsley.
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the clams
15g sea salt
1kg clams (from the fishmonger)
For the pangrattato (breadcrumbs)
2 tbsps olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 anchovy fillet, finely chopped
30g panko breadcrumbs
¾ tsp chilli flakes
For the pasta
400g linguine
3 tbsps olive oil
6 peeled garlic cloves, finely chopped
150ml good white wine
40g curly parsley, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
1
Wash the clams thoroughly and set evenly apart in a shallow tray. Stir and dissolve 15g sea salt in 500ml water, then pour the saline solution over the clams, ensuring that they’re half submerged. Cover with a tea towel and leave for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to an hour (for the clams to release any sand). Discard the water and let the clams drain in a sieve for another 30 minutes.
2
To make the pangrattato, heat the olive oil in a frying pan, then add the garlic and anchovy. Cook gently until the anchovy dissolves and begins to sizzle. Add the panko breadcrumbs and stir constantly until golden. Stir in the chilli flakes and then set aside.
3
In a large pot, boil water with a generous amount of salt. Cook the pasta for 1 minute less than advised on the packet’s instructions.
4
To cook the clams, heat the oil and garlic in a frying pan until golden. Add the white wine and clams, cover with a glass lid and increase the heat. Remove each clam as their shells open, placing them in a bowl. This prevents the clams from overcooking, keeping them juicy and delicious. Discard any clams that don’t open after five minutes on a high heat – but keep the sauce.
5
Once the pasta is cooked al dente, save 3 tbsps of the cooking water and then drain. Add the pasta and the retained water to the frying pan containing the clam sauce. Add the parsley and black pepper, stirring well to coat the pasta. The sauce should be thickened and glossy. The clams will release some salted water so you shouldn’t need to season with salt.
6
Divide the pasta and clams between 4 bowls, spoon the crunchy breadcrumbs over the top and serve.
Weekend plans? / Solo Palacio, Asturias
If you’re looking for a serving of Spanish sun without a side of overcrowding, perhaps Asturias should be on your radar (writes Claudia Jacob). The cooler climate of this mountainous region is a pleasant alternative to the sweltering south.
Tucked away in the Las Ubiñas-La Mesa Nature Reserve, the 11-key Solo Palacio hotel is a converted 15th-century palace and just the sort of establishment that shows why Asturias is flipping the country’s tourism trends.
Madrileña Sofía Tejerina began restoring the crumbling property in 2023, incorporating the Japanese wabi sabi philosophy of embracing imperfections.
“Tourists are looking for alternatives to Spain’s sunny beaches,” says Tejerina. “Here guests can find a pleasant microclimate away from Spain’s overcrowded urban centres.” Asturian and Japanese touches extend to the restaurant, where you’ll find dishes such as tempura vegetables with soy mayonnaise, noodles with sobresada (Spanish cured sausage), and creamy rice pudding.
solopalacio.com
Top of the shops / Super Kiosk, Cambridge, New Zealand
Tom Sykes was the head of digital brand strategy for the King James Group advertising agency in Cape Town when he started drafting plans to start something of his own (writes Josh Fehnert). Having spent his career positioning big brands, he began wondering what it might be like to start something fresh after moving to New Zealand in 2018. “I started thinking about what I loved and what I hated,” says Sykes. “I love things that are elegant and enduring. So: stationery.”
This was the genesis of Super Kiosk, Sykes’s shop in Cambridge, a town about 150km south of Auckland. Today wooden shelves are stacked high with well-made wonders and tidy tools from Australia, Japan, Germany and the US, including Delfonics ballpoint pens, steel Penco tape dispensers and notebooks from Any Day Now.
“It would have been much easier if I was a fifth-generation stationer and all of this was written in the stars,” adds Sykes, amused by the success of his elegantly branded business. “But that’s not my story; this is my story.” And a rather touching tale it is too.
superkiosk.online
On the move in 2025? Our annual travel special, ‘The Escapist’, is on newsstands now and it’s packed full of new openings and roadtrip inspiration.
Bottoms up / Lost Wines
After discovering a collection of 300 bottles at the family-run Gunderloch vineyard on the left bank of the Rhine, Sophie Liverman and Cassia Johnson-Wheeler launched the Lost Wines project to breathe new life into these rare finds (writes Katharine Sohn). The duo, which heads up the wine team at Sessions Arts Club in London’s Clerkenwell, started the reclamation process by relabelling a 2015 riesling that has an acidic, rich and delicately aged taste.
Artist, painter and founder of the Clerkenwell hotspot, Jonny Gent, designed the new label for the limited-edition Lost Riesling. This fresh stamp for once-neglected bottles marks the end of a redemption story for this wine, which is now being enjoyed by diners at Sessions Arts Club.
sessionsartsclub.com
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