11 Ways To Enhance An At-Home Date Night

11 Ways To Enhance An At-Home Date Night

Whether you don’t want to be sat among a load of strangers, or the idea of a 10pm curfew just doesn’t appeal, at-home date nights have been made easier than ever by the ever-increasing selection of meal boxes and deliveries on offer from some of the best restaurants around. From steak and chips to a ready-to-serve seven-course tasting menu, here are ten of the best ways to have a great night in…

Wanda

Natalie Jones, founder of lifestyle brand Caro, is launching her third limited-edition Wanda box, this time themed around seasonal chestnuts. A curated box containing carefully chosen tableware and accessories to suit its theme, November’s ‘Chestnut’ box is designed for two guests celebrating at home. Wanda – Natalie’s alter-ego – will act as the perfect hostess, providing not just objects to set the table with but a suggested grocery list, themed playlist and a seasonal selection of recipes designed by Nicholas Balfe of London restaurants Salon, Levan and Larry’s. Those who want to take part this month can enjoy a similar box curated by Bao’s Anaïs van Manen. 

Visit WandaBox.co.uk

& Home by James Knappett

This meal delivery service is the first at-home fine-dining experience from James Knappett, bringing diners a taste of his two-Michelin-starred restaurant Kitchen Table. Using the same independent and trusted suppliers who have been the cornerstone of Kitchen Table since its opening, James has designed accessible tasting menus to be finished off and plated up at home. Customers can choose between monthly changing seven and 11-course menus, and add any additional courses that take their fancy. A selection of sommelier-chosen wines and champagnes are available to complement your meal.

Visit JamesKnappett.com

Ormer At Home

Ormer at Home is an elevated dining experience created by Great British Menu finalist Kerth Gumbs, delivered to your door. The menu features all of Ormer’s signatures, plus several new dishes to provide a restaurant-quality experience at home. Expect choices such as Jersey crab with apple and gingerbread; dover sole with smoked salmon mousse, caperberry, leek and roe; beef tartare with smoked mayo and cured egg yolk; and caramelised pork belly with cabbage and soy. A ‘Sunday Special’ sharing roast for two – featuring a whole roasted chicken served with Yorkshire puddings and gravy – is also available, alongside pre-batched negroni, espresso martini and manhattan cocktails from Moore House Cocktail Company. 

Visit OrmerMayfair.com

Andrew Edmunds

Established in 1985, award-winning Andrew Edmunds is a much-loved bistro, considered one of the last bastions of 'Old Soho’. The character-filled restaurant is known for its seasonal menu, which has now been reimagined as an ‘Autumnal Feast’ box for two (£55 all in). Best shared on a cold autumn evening with a bottle of red wine, the meal comes pre-prepared and cold in an insulated box – all you need to do is heat and serve. The selection includes pickled red cabbage, saffron courgettes, braised Galloway beef, red wine liquor, roasted root vegetables, cavolo nero and horseradish crème fraiche, followed by chocolate fondant and blackberry compote for two.

Visit Dishpatch.co.uk

Levan To Go

This month, Peckham’s Levan launched Levan To Go, a collection and delivery service for Londoners. It offers a complete three-course at-home experience comprising simple snacks, starters, main courses and desserts. On the October menu you’ll find smoked cod roe, carrots and rye; chicken liver parfait with plum jam; fennel salami with cornichons; and a hearty cassoulet. To finish, the team has reworked its favourite desserts, including tarte tatin. For those looking for the complete Levan experience, director Mark Gurney has raided the cellars to create a list of three reds and three whites for takeaway.

Visit LevanLondon.co.uk

Andrew Edmunds
Andrew Edmunds
Ormer At Home
Ormer At Home

STEVEN JOYCE

Farang

Farang is well known for its colourful selection of award-winning Thai food. Now available to order via Dishpatch, its ‘Thai Street Food Feast’ package costs £50. The spice-packed menu includes hoi sin crispy pork belly with soy glaze; satay salmon bake served with peanuts and a cheek of lime; massaman curried potato bake; a whole chicken roasted in red curry; and salted foraged apple brownies served with coconut butterscotch sauce. All menus serve two and can be ordered until 6pm each Wednesday for delivery nationwide on Friday.

Visit Dishpatch.co.uk

Fishworks Oyster Box

Bring a taste of the coast to your kitchen with the FishWorks Oyster Box. Freshly sourced from Devon and Cornwall’s fish markets and day boats every morning, you’ll be sent a mixture of a dozen Jersey, Carlingford and Morecambe Bay oysters. Covering all preferences, an assortment of condiments including lemon, merlot vinegar and tabasco will be included – all to be paired with a bottle of Fernao Pires white wine. For those new to the oyster game, you get your own shucker and a link to a ‘How to Shuck an Oyster’ video tutorial. Delivered to your doorstep at £60 per box, the package also includes a £10 voucher to welcome you back into the Marylebone restaurant.

Visit Fishworks.co.uk

Corbin & King Home Dining

The restaurant group behind the likes of The Wolseley, Brasserie Zédel, The Delaunay and Colbert has launched Corbin & King Home Dining, a selection of prepared meals to plate up yourself. Best of all, customers can pick and choose dishes across all of those restaurants in one order. Highlights include The Wolseley's haddock goujons with frites and tartare sauce; Zédel's steak haché et frites; Colbert's duck confit with bean cassoulet; and The Delaunay's vanilla cheesecake. Celebration cakes are also on hand, and those throwing gatherings for six can take advantage of its Home Entertaining arm, which offers large sharing dishes, plus tableware and glasses.

Visit BBot.Menu

Hawksmoor At Home

London’s pre-eminent steakhouse group is running a nationwide delivery service. Its ‘Hawksmoor At Home’ boxes (£120) serve two, covering everything from the pre-dinner sour cherry negroni to a bottle of Rosso Braida that pairs beautifully with the food: two British fillet steaks from the same grass-fed traditional-breed cattle used in the restaurants, bone marrow gravy, creamed spinach, exec chef Matt Brown’s ultimate oven chips (which will arrive among nuggets of beef dripping ready for a blast in the oven) and sticky toffee pudding. All boxes come with a link to instructional cooking videos with Matt to help you along the way. A real treat.

Visit TheHawksmoor.com

Paul At Home

After something a little more low-key? Paul has made its luxe hot chocolate sets available for nationwide delivery. The French bakery makes some of the nicest hot chocolate we’ve tried in London – you can now recreate the signature sip from your own kitchen as part of the new Paul at Home range, which also includes bread-making kits. ‘Signature Hot Chocolate For Two’ packages (£27.50) include a litre box of hot chocolate and two reusable Keep Cups. Coffee lovers can opt for the ‘Coffee & Hot Chocolate Kit’ (£22.75) which includes 250g of fresh ground coffee and 1 litre of hot chocolate. Ideal for anyone after a cosy film night for two.

Visit Paul-UK.com

Café Murano

Michelin-starred chef and hospitality hero Angela Hartnett’s Café Murano Bermondsey is now open for delivery and collection. Alongside family-sized lasagnes, spinach and ricotta tortelli, and tagliatelle with sausage ragu, customers can pre-order mix-and-match sauces, pestos and fresh pastas for the ultimate night in. Alongside store-cupboard staples from the kitchens, the team has also selected some of their favourite Italian wines from the restaurant list. All this is available on site for collection, or delivered within a five-mile radius of the restaurant.

Visit CafeMurano.co.uk

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