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This week we’re breaking bread at a modern Greek taverna-cum-épicerie around the corner from Monocle’s new Paris shop and café. Then we’re bedding down in a smartly designed Leiden bolthole that has been all over the rumour mill, followed by a hearty breakfast spread with a Bangkok hospitality entrepreneur. Plus: a Mediterranean seafood feast and late-night steak and chips at a lesser-known Lisbon establishment. Taking the reins is our editorial director, Tyler Brûlé.
The Faster Lane:
It’s late winter 1983 and the idea has been floated around the family dinner table in Montréal that I should do a European summer tour with my grandmother. School strikes in Quebec mean that I’ve already taken up weekday residency at my grandmother’s house in Ottawa and enrolled in the same school that my uncles attended. It’s a funny set-up at first as my grandmother is about to retire from her post in the Canadian government and all of a sudden she has her grandson as a boarder from Sunday evenings till Friday afternoon.
There are a few kinks at the start but after a couple of weeks we find our rhythm and a common mission in planning the summer tour. My grandmother is in charge of contacting the relatives that we want to call on and I make weekly trips down to Mags & Fags to pick up various British, German and French titles to get ideas for hotels, restaurants and shopping side trips. After some calls to cousins in Stockholm and Essen we have the makings of a plan and I start to pull together an itinerary that will cover maximum ground but with enough time to pause in places requiring extended retail investigation.
My references were Per Lui, Vogue Paris, Tatler and Harper’s & Queen for base research and American Express had a good selection of pocket-size guidebooks that were recommended by the father of a school friend. Two weeks prior to departure, my grandmother starts some evening fashion shows in the living room. These little style exercises have been part of my grandmother’s pre-bedtime routine for as long as I can remember and we settle on some dresses, some classic knits, a short trench coat and some leopard-print swimwear – bikini and a one piece. There’s talk about not having the right blazer but maybe it’s not needed and whatever is not in the small Longchamp suitcase can be purchased in London or Paris.
The final itinerary is sorted five days before departure, hotels are booked and train seats confirmed. All going to plan, the one-month tour will go like this: BA from Montréal to London; ferry over to Calais then on to Paris, Stockholm, Helsinki, Essen, Basel, Zürich; back to Essen, then side trips around Germany and the Netherlands before Air Canada from Düsseldorf back to Montréal. By the time we reach Paris and board a train up to Copenhagen and on to Stockholm, I’m rather enjoying my travels with Ema (mother in Estonian). The family and close friends always call her Ema but to strangers on the train she’s Ilse and I’m her travel companion – she liked to keep them guessing about who the teen travelling with the fancy lady was.
Over the following weeks we enjoy sunny lunches on the harbour in Helsinki, explore every floor of the NK department store in Stockholm and after reading about the imminent release of a watch that would transform the industry in Time magazine, we ensure that we’re at Globus in Zürich for the launch of the Swatch. On the same day, my grandmother found the perfect grey suit that she’s been on the hunt for in the Louis Féraud boutique (remember him?) on Bahnhofstrasse and I wander into Bucherer in the hope of buying a matte black Porsche Design watch but end up leaving with a Rolex. I meet Ema at Confiserie Sprüngli and tell her about my shopping triumph but she’s already thinking about when she can do a twirl in her dove-grey ensemble. So successful was our trip that I told my parents that I wouldn’t be going back to school in Quebec (strikes or no strikes), that I’d do grade 10 in Ottawa and continue to live with Ema.
The following year my parents told me that we’re all off to Toronto and while I’m tempted to stay in Ottawa, the draw of the big city is too tempting and so I say goodbye to my comfy situation at Ema’s house. The next summer, Ema suggests we plot another tour together. “How does Australia sound? Should we stop in San Francisco and Fiji on the way?” If the European circuit with Ema was the spark that landed me in Zürich then our Australian tour was the jolt that convinced me that journalism was my calling and my future was across the Atlantic and not in Toronto.
My grandmother gave me a strong sense of what it meant to be Estonian. Perhaps the decades of Christmas dinners, Easter lunches, summer camp and time spent in the Estonian communities in Ottawa and Toronto set the stage for me to get a bit closer to the Baltic Sea, Nordic culture and a life surrounded by teak furniture. If you’ve followed versions of this column in Monocle and the FT over the years then you’ll know Ema’s been with me in Forte dei Marmi, Palma, Honolulu, Merano, St Moritz and, of course, London. If you happen to have come along to one of our launches or cocktail parties, then there’s a good chance that you will have met Ema and know she loves a party, holding court and kicking a leg up.
Earlier this week I was over in Toronto for meetings and my mom treated me to lunch at Holt-Renfrew. We discussed upcoming trips and agreed that mom would go up to visit Ema in Ottawa and then head down to Atlanta for a bit of sunshine and to see her cousin. I made my way to the airport, caught my flight to Paris and on approach to Charles de Gaulle opened my phone, scrolled through emails and opened one from my mom first: “Ema died in her sleep after lunch,” was the first thing I read and it has been replaying in my mind all week.
Ilse Erika Meere was born in Pärnu, Estonia on 5 June 1918, and was a most extraordinary woman – not to mention an amazing grandmother. She taught me the importance of making an effort, looking one’s best and good manners but also how to have fun, entertain and enjoy the party. Ema was on the eve of her 107th birthday and if you’re looking for a few clues about reaching three digits, Ema would tell you to drink coffee, eat in moderation, cherish the sunshine, walk a lot, maintain a figure that looks good in a bikini and never pass up an opportunity to dance with the boys.
House News: The Chiefs, Jakarta
Monocle’s annual global leadership conference is heading to Jakarta this year. Hear from top CEOs and founders about how to succeed in business.
Plus, be introduced to the next generation of entrepreneurs, connect with an engaged community of more than 100 international business pioneers and hear our take on the latest opportunities and challenges across Southeast Asia and beyond. See here for more details.
Wednesday 23 to Thursday 24 April
25hours Hotel The Oddbird, Jakarta
Eating out: Ypseli, Paris
After shuttering their Paris-based catering company at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Symeon Kamsizoglou and Delphine Pique went to Greece to scope out the winemakers and producers whose bottles that they felt were missing from the French capital (writes Claudia Jacob).
The result of their journey is Ypseli, a modern taverna, wine cellar and deli that brings the spirit of an Athenian taverna to the 2nd arrondissement. “As with bistronomy in France and neo-trattorias in Italy, Greece is bringing its culinary traditions into the modern world,” Kamsizoglou tells The Monocle Weekend Edition. Under the same roof is a grocery shop stocked with olives from Lesbos, Cretan artichokes, charcuterie from Tinos or capers from Syros.
Ypseli can be found behind the art-deco façade of the former A Réaumur department store, which Kamsizoglou and Pique chose to preserve. “The post-Haussmann pilasters look like Greek columns,” says Pique. “We took that as a sign.”
From the marble tabletops imported from Dionysos to the sticky portokalópita orange cake and the chickpeas simmered for seven hours (just like Kamsizoglou’s yiayia used to make), every detail is a delight for the senses.
ypseli.com
Visit Monocle’s nearby café and shop at 16 Rue Bachaumont.
Sunday Roast: Vicharee Vichit-Vadakan
Vicharee Vichit-Vadakan, the co-founder of Bangkok’s The Commons department store, is trying to improve civic spaces in the Thai capital (writes Maria Papakleanthous). Here, she tells us about her weekend-getaway plans, her aunt’s grilled-chicken recipe and the importance of a well-chosen playlist in retail.
Where do we find you this weekend?
My friend is visiting from New York so we’re off for a weekend getaway at The Standard Hua Hin, a beachside hotel in Prachuap Khiri Khan province about 200km south of Bangkok.
What’s for breakfast?
The Standard has an amazing breakfast spread. It’s not what you would call healthy but I am obsessed with its patongko – a delicious, Lao-Thai version of the Chinese youtiao. They’re sticks of deep-fried dough, served with pandan kaya jam and condensed milk.
Lunch in or out?
We’ll hardly be hungry at lunchtime after our big breakfast.
Walk the dog or downward dog?
Downward dog. On Sundays I enjoy an afternoon session of mat pilates or a spin class.
Your Sunday soundtrack?
A colleague and dear friend who is a curator at The Commons made me a playlist as a housewarming gift when we moved into our new place. It includes everything from Dojo Cuts to FKJ and Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon”.
News or not?
I read the news every day. My routine includes browsing The Economist and skimming through the headlines on Bangkok-based website Bitesize BKK.
What’s on the menu?
My go-to is my aunt’s delicious grilled chicken. Her secret is to marinate it in coconut milk.
Your Sunday-evening routine?
Spending as much time with my family as possible. We have dinner and then play games for the rest of the evening. Our current favourite is Wingspan, a bird-themed card game.
Recipe: Ralph Schelling
Inspired by Greek psari plaki, and to celebrate the publication of Greece: The Monocle Handbook, this recipe features a whole fish that’s roasted without losing its moisture. Accompany it with sautéed vegetables and crispy potato wedges to ensure a comforting dish that’s reminiscent of sunny days in the Mediterranean.
Serves 4
Ingredients
350g potatoes
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
1 red bell pepper, thickly sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tbsps dried oregano
4 tbsps olive oil
2 whole sea bream
4 bay leaves
50g pitted Kalamata olives
200g cherry tomatoes
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 200C.
2
Cut the potatoes into wedges and place in a pot of boiling, salted water. Parboil for 5 minutes, then drain well.
3
While the potatoes are cooking, chop the onion and slice the red peppers and garlic. Then combine the potatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, oregano and two tablespoons of olive oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, toss well and spread in a single, even layer across a large baking tray. Roast for 20 minutes.
4
Meanwhile, score the skin of the sea bream three or four times on one side. Season the belly with salt and pepper, then stuff two bay leaves into each fish.
5
Remove the vegetables from the oven; if they stick, gently release them from the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the olives over them and place the fish on top.
6
Arrange the cherry tomatoes around the fish and brush the sea bream and tomatoes with the remaining olive oil. Season the fish skin with salt and pepper once more. Return to the oven and roast for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown and the fish’s flesh is opaque and easily separates from the bones using the tip of a knife.
7
Divide the fish, potatoes and vegetables on plates and serve.
ralphschelling.com
Pick up a copy of Monocle’s newest title, ‘Greece: The Monocle Handbook’, to explore every corner of the country’s gastronomy scene.
Weekend plans?: Hotel Rumour, Leiden
The Amsterdam-based firm behind the handsome Gitane restaurant and bar, as well as the revamp of the Blauwe Theehuis pavilion in the Vondelpark, is at it again (writes Josh Fehnert). This time, Studio Modijefsky has transformed a 17th-century carriage house in Rembrandt’s home city of Leiden into the cosy Hotel Rumour.
There’s a downstairs brasserie clad in brown terracotta tiles and a travertine bar beneath the original wooden ceiling beams. You’ll find texture everywhere, from the smooth, sage-hued upholstery of the bar seating to the marble tabletops and bobbly beige stuccoed walls that hint at the age of the building.
Chef Thomas van der Slikke oversees a bistro with a menu of crowd-pleasers. It’s easy to stray into hyperbole when painting such a comely portrait of a new opening but let’s just say that the hotel’s success isn’t just a rumour.
hotelrumour.nl
Late-night eats: Snob Bar, Lisbon
In Monocle’s March issue you’ll find our chosen spots for a late-night bite – the sort of places that hit their groove when the sunlight wanes. This week we’re in a discreet establishment in the Portuguese capital where we take a seat at Table 10, which continues to be the choice of journalists in the know.
It’s a new era for Lisbon restaurant Snob Bar but thankfully one marked by little obvious change (writes Gaia Lutz). “My goal is to keep things as they have always been,” says Miguel Garcia, who took over the esteemed address in 2024 from its previous owners’ 50-year custody with a promise of continuity.
Opened in 1964, Snob is known for its discreet, closed-door policy. But if you’re lucky enough to make it through the mysterious green door on a sloping side street of Bairro Alto, you can expect dimly lit wood-panelled interiors and the possibility of late-night dining. Founded by an illustrator at the O Século newspaper (whose nearby newsroom shut in 1977), Snob continues to draw in a clientele of journalists, writers and politicians.
The intimate décor of red carpet, leather seats and book-lined shelves has remained the same, as has the “Snob steak” with fries. What feels different is the absence of the previous owner, Albino Oliveira, who almost single-handedly served his patrons while managing Snob’s door policy. The hope is that a new staff of eight can offer on-point service while keeping some of the venue’s time-tested allure. The aim? To deliver more of the same. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
snobbar.pt
Looking for a late-night pick-me-up? Monocle’s March issue has got you covered. Have a super Sunday.
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