Branching out for autumn

Things are looking up for ice cream fans as the new Gelateria Valerie opens up in the equally new Duke of York Square. Elsewhere, Wapping Food has designed a new menu specially designed for groups and ECapital is expanding their Shanghai menu and premises. Here's this week's food and drink news.

Patisserie Valerie doesn't do a great deal in the way of new product launches - why blow what's been a winning formula for decades? But when it does, you can be assured it'll be done in style.

The Gelateria Valerie at the glossy new Duke of York Square in Chelsea is a splendid place to hang out and watch the world go by.

There's something gorgeously Latin about sitting outside on a bright, chilly day, wrapped in coats and scarves, spooning up Nutella or fresh strawberry ice cream (deliciously creamy, with an interestingly moreish hint of evaporated milk), or digging into a squishy, custardfilled French doughnut. Eccentrically harassed waiters only add to the fun.

Gelateria Valerie, Duke of York Square SW3. Tel: 020 7730 7978.
Tube: Sloane Square

ECapital, when it opened, got big brownie points from us, not only for focusing on Shanghai cuisine rather than Chinatown's more common Cantonese, but also for scrupulously translating even the most abstruse menu items for intrepid Western adventurers.

Now they've expanded - both space and their well thought-out wine list - and are bringing us even more authentic Shanghai dishes. Check out the juicy buns or Nanjing salt-marinated duck - or head for the 'thousand layers' pigs' ears or crispy chilli eels.

ECapital, 8 Gerrard Street W1. Tel: 020 7434 3838. Tube: Leicester Square

Autumn feast time at the striking Wapping Food: their new menu is specially designed for large parties, from nine to 24 people. It's hearty, ideal fantasy family dinner-type stuff: freshly baked loaves; native oysters; stuffed whole saddle of Ryeland lamb with mustard and shallot mash, braised red cabbage and apples, and gooseberry jelly; port wine ice cream with spiced cherries.

The price is £40 a head, including coffee and hazelnut macaroons.

Wapping Food, Wapping Hydraulic Power Station E1. Tel: 020 7680 2080.

Tube: Wapping