TONIGHT
The Twilight Hours

What better way to celebrate your birthday than with a bucket load of bubbles? As the Tasting Sessions ring in the grand old age of two, they’re throwing a bash in a secret Bloomsbury lodge with plenty of premium Champagne from around the world. So strap on your wings and join them in a huge flight through the méthode champenoise, complete with levitating objects, optical illusions and mind-readers. They’ve promised to hold back a few extra places for UJ subs so get your ticket requests in before it all goes flat.

COMPETITION
Cookbook Cafe Brunch

From confit to crème brulee, manuka honey to miso, grouse to gravalax, The London Restaurant Festival (4th-18th October 2010), proudly supported by American Express, is a citywide celebration of eating out designed to encourage Londoners to make more of our rich array of restaurants. To celebrate we would like to offer the fantastic prize of Brunch for you and three friends at the innovative Cookbook Cafe offering a range of traditional favourites from fresh eggs to pancakes and Tapas style mains to be washed down with a Bellini or Sparkling Ceremant. To be in with chance of winning this fantastic prize, simply answer this question: In which city is the festival being held?

TED BAKER
Ted Baker Sample Sale

Get your hands on designer discounts this weekend.
The Ted Baker Sample Sale offers you the chance to buy designer product and one-off samples  at heavily reduced prices. Today is the last day (8am- 7pm), so get down to The Camden Centre in King’s Cross to scoop great deals on menswear (including suits at £75, shirts at £25), womenswear (dresses at £40, skirts at £25), kidswear and accessories.  All major credit cards are accepted but it’s much quicker to pay with cash. To avoid the queues, you can also apply for fast-track entry at www.tedsamplesale.com or call 020 7255 4800

Camden Centre, Bidborough Street, WC1H 9JE

HEAD’S UP
Nike Running Opens

Marathon masters and track toddlers alike should head down to Nike’s first running specific store, opening in Covent Garden tomorrow. Gait analysis, NikeID technology which lets you design your perfect shoe, and weekly Run Clubs every Wednesday should keep you in perfect cardio condition from tip to toe.

14-16 Neal Street, WC2H 9LY

SHOP
Diana Mini Petite Noire Camera

Ah, remember the days when you’d flick a film into your camera, click away and wait outside Boots for your roll to be printed, never knowing what might come out? Sometimes beats the constant revising of poses and passing around that digital has inflicted on social situations, no? Which is why we’re loving the compositional possibilities of this super cute, super light new Diana Mini, which splits photos into half-frames and squares, and gives your shots that Parisian tint with coloured gel filters. And there’s no going back – so say cheese and mean it!

£95

RESERVED
This week’s hottest foodie destination

Tempo
Mayfair Italian with a difference

54 Curzon Street, W1J 8PG - 020 7629 2742
www.tempomayfair.co.uk

Location
One of my favourite stretches in Mayfair, Curzon Street oozes character not least due to having the colourful Shepherd Market in its midsts. It’s also one of the best places for insider gossip on London’s wealthiest movers and shakers as it’s where the city’s chauffeurs stop for fag breaks.

Vibe
London seems to be overflowing with contemporary Italians these days but Tempo stands out for two reasons: the owner, former hotelier Henry Togna, is so passionate about his new venture he has a tendency to approach diners himself to check up on them and make recommendations, and the chef, Yoshi Yamada, is Japanese.

Flavours
The menu is a wish-list of Italian favourites, from beef carpaccio with hazelnuts to tortelli pasta with wild rabbit, and pork belly with olive oil mash and girolles to a very fine lemon tart, all deftly constructed by Yamada. The ingredients are undeniably fresh and beautifully presented, and could taste even better in some cases if he went a little heavier with the seasoning.

Décor
The only area where Tempo seems to struggle slightly is that it can’t quite decide whether it’s posh or laidback. The ground floor restaurant is smart and simple while the upstairs bar (that does a mean house bellini) and private dining room (with room for 24) are quite a bit plusher.

Upshot
Tempo’s heart is in the right place and for the next week or so the reasonable prices are made even more appealing by the inclusion of their London Restaurant Festival Menu which comes in at £21.50 for three courses. There’s still plenty of time for Tempo to really make its mark.