ROBIN EDWARDS

London

Backstairs Billy

Backstairs Billy is a play all about the late Queen Mother’s favourite servant, William Tallon, who was cheekily nicknamed Backstairs Billy. He was so called because his official title as a royal servant at Clarence House was Steward and Page of the Backstairs. I actually read the book ‘ Backstairs Billy: The Life of William Tallon, the Queen Mother’s Most Devoted Servant’ that the play is partially based on during lockdown and found it utterly fascinating. As soon as I saw this advertised I knew I had to get tickets.

Written by Marcelo Dos Santos, the production is set in 1979 and explores the unusual relationship between Tallow and his royal employer. As well as being a servant he was also a very promiscuous homosexual. The gorgeous, out gay actor Luke Evans plays the main role of Billy and Penelope Wilton the role of the Queen Mother. The play is very funny and also quite naughty in places, but is an amusing romp. It’s only on until January 27th, so not long to grab tickets if you want to see it. I loved it.

Backstairs Billy
Backstairs Billy
Italy

Stresa and Lake Maggiore

Just an hour North by train from central Milan is the small lakeside town of Stresa. It sits right on the edge of Lake Maggiore and is famous for its stunning sunset views. There is a real sense of belle époque elegance and sophistication to Stresa, with beautiful old villas lining the shore and a pretty warren of pedestrianised cobbled streets in the old town where there is lots of fantastic  restaurants, cafes and gelato all over to choose from. I stayed at the Hotel de Parc, a beautiful former private villa since converted into a quaint little boutique hotel.
Along the gorgeous lakeside promenade sits the Hotel La Palma. From the outside it looks very traditional and maybe even slightly old fashioned, but peaking out on the rooftop sits the Sky bar. This was definitely my favourite Aperitivo spot in all of Stresa. The views over the lake are incredible. Go around 6.30/ 7pm just before the sun starts to set and enjoy the stunning views across the lake with a Spritz or two.
Skybar Stresa Lake Maggiore
Milan

Ceresio 7 Milan

This cool rooftop bar sits atop the former 1930s Enel (electricity company) HQ in the Porta Garibaldi area of Milan. It includes two stunning swimming pools, a bar and restaurant all under the guidance of the ex- Bulgari Hotel head chef. You can hire cabanas by the pool from €110 a day, but I went for evening cocktails or what the Italians call Aperitivo. After a few delicious Spritz cocktails and with the sunsetting over the rooftops of Milan I moved into the adjoining restaurant. Although very tempted by the amazing sounding tasting menu, I felt I probably wasn’t hungry enough for 8 courses and so resisted and went for a simple primo and secondi option instead. I started with a raw tuna carpaccio with black figs and caramelised onions, before moving onto a beautiful loin of suckling pig with celeriac, honey and chilli, accompanied with a glass of Italian white with the fish and a light fruity red with the pork. I skipped the dessert, but they generously surprised me with a couple of complimentary mini choux buns filled with a white chocolate and passion fruit mousse before bringing me the bill.

Ceresio 7 Milan

London

Heartthrob Rob

You might know Heartthrob Rob from his hilarious TikTok or his Instagram reels. My good friend Rup and I first got into his videos over lockdown and so when we saw he was doing a world tour and it was stopping in London we booked tickets. It was in the basement of the Soho theatre a lovely intimate venue ideal for comedy. The show itself felt a bit work in progress, it involved quite a lot of audience participation which might of been more forthcoming if the audience was a bit more tipsy or drunk, but unfortunately it was a Tuesday evening, so we weren’t. Also some of the jokes didn’t translate and land because they were focused to a more American audience, something he definitely needs to work on if he wants to do a world tour again. There was some genuinely very funny bits though, but unfortunately not too many, it was very hit and miss. However there was definitely some potential there, but some more work needed.

Heartthrob Live with Rob Anderson
Heartthrob Rob
London

Rogues

For my birthday this year some of my lovely friends took me to Rogues for dinner. A recommendation from my friend Rup who had seen it recommended on Instagram. We had drinks at the Queen Adelaide across the road, with my friends also gifting me tickets to see James Norton in the new hit play ‘A little life’. We then heading over the road for dinner.

As it was a special occasion and because it was almost impossible to choose from such an intriguing and interesting looking menu we all went for the tasting menu. I’ve attached a picture of the full menu below and all the dishes with an asterisk next to them are part of the tasting menu. We started with a potato & thyme sourdough with Bovril butter and pickled walnuts. Not usually a fan of Bovril, but this really worked, a beautiful salty umami hit. Then on to the bites/starters section of the menu, the standout here was the rabbit Bolognese with pearl barley and Isle of Mull cheddar. So full of flavour from the gamey rabbit, the best bolognese I’ve ever tasted, I wish I could create a bolognese even half as good as this at home.

Then on to the large plates/ mains. The exceptional dishes here were the roasted cod collar with katsu curry sauce and grilled gem lettuce. A really unusual, but tasty part of the fish. Then a pork chop with one of the best romesco sauces I’ve ever tasted. I genuinely wanted to lick the plate to mop up every last morsel. Outstanding.

At the end of the meal after a pudding of carrot cake with miso caramel and custard, they bought out some beautiful madeleines, (still warm from the oven) and a lovely bespoke birthday card that all the staff had signed for me. It was a lovey touch and one I’d not had before at a restaurant. Usually restaurants just shove a candle in the pudding or if you’re lucky write your name in chocolate on a plate.

Particularly shout out to the lovely girl who served us all night, she was excellent and made the already beautiful dinner even better with her fabulous service. She was even kind enough to laugh at my friend Simon’s terrible Dad jokes, surely a sign of good service if ever there was one.

Rogues menu
Carrot cake, miso caramel, custard
Birthday Card

The meal came in around £100 each per head, which might sound like quite a lot, but for the quality of the food and drink we thought excellent value for money and you certainly would struggle to find anything of a similar quality for that price anywhere in central London. I can’t wait to go back.