What To Book Ahead Of The Bank Holiday Weekend
HEAD TO AN ICE-CREAM FESTIVAL: Covent Garden Cool Down
From 20th August, Covent Garden’s annual ice cream festival – The Covent Garden Cool Down – will return to the Piazza, Market Building and surrounding streets of the tourist hotspot. Now in its third year and running for ten days, the Covent Garden festival will offer visitors over 40 varieties of ice-cream, sundaes, sorbets, frozen cocktails, gelato and more from pop-ups, restaurants and retailers across the estate. Expect to see Crosstown Doughnuts serving ice-cream sundaes with cookies and biscotti; Barafat Café selling ice-cream macarons; and Bears Ice Cream offering samples of innovative flavours including basil and blueberry lavender. Guests can also visit The Little Orange Van, which will be serving frozen Aperol spritz cocktails and boozy spritz lollies.
Various locations; 20th-30th August
Visit CoventGarden.London
CELEBRATE ALL THINGS MANGO: Trishna
Trishna delivers a contemporary taste of Indian coastal cuisine and an extensive wine list that focuses on emerging regions and fine wines from niche producers and boutique wineries. Now, the team is bringing a taste of Indian summer to Marylebone with the launch of its ‘Mango Festival’. To celebrate the seasonal fruit, Trishna has transformed the façade of the restaurant into a burst of greenery and mango trees, while exec chef Sajeev Nair has designed a four-course menu where each dish uses mango: think seafood and mango salad; and mango curry with hake fillet.
15-17 Blandford Street, Marylebone, W1U 3DG
Visit TrishnaLondon.com
HEAD TO A FESTIVAL: All Points East & Field Day
A new kid on the block in 2018, All Points East is set to take over Victoria Park over the August bank holiday. The event will host its usual top selection of pop-up bars, street food and arts programmes, but we’re most excited about its wide-ranging choice of live music: think London Grammar, Celeste, Caribou, Nadine Shah, Bombay Bicycle Club, Jorja Smith and Arlo Parks. In the middle of the weekend, Field Day will take place in the same venue, bringing the likes of Bicep, The Blessed Madonna and Floating Points to the dancefloor.
Victoria Park, London, E3 5TB; 27th-30th August
FEAST WITH FRIENDS: The Coal Shed
This August and September, The Coal Shed is hosting a ‘BBQ Butcher's Feast’ – a sharing banquet of steaks and quality cuts of flame-grilled meat. Every Friday and Saturday, guests can book a table on the new terrace and sample 300g of smoked beef short-rib with BBQ glaze, 300g of dry-aged ribeye steak, 150g of smoked maple-glazed bacon rib and 150g of fillet tail steak. The BBQ offering also includes two sides, such as beef fat hash browns with fresh mushroom ketchup, and a sharing eton mess, and is priced at £42pp based on two people sharing.
One Tower Bridge, London Bridge, SE1 2SE; until 30th September
GET IMMERSIVE: Park Row
Newcomer Park Row is the first fully immersive DC-inspired restaurant experience in the world. Featuring five restaurant and bar spaces, Park Row combines multi-sensory storytelling with fine-dining food and drink that draws from some of Gotham City’s most famous (and infamous) residents, creating a ‘gastronomic theme park for comic book fans and foodies’. In a Grade II-listed art-deco venue, guests will step off the streets of Soho and descend into the DC universe via a secret door in Wayne Manor, home to famous billionaire Bruce Wayne. Of the five spaces, we’re most interested by The Monarch Theatre, a fully immersive restaurant experience with state-of-the-art floor to ceiling projection mapping, live music and an innovative tasting menu. We’re intrigued.
77 Brewer Street, Soho, W1F 9ZN
Visit ParkRowLondon.co.uk
ENJOY BOTTOMLESS BUBBLES: Crazy Pizza
As a bank holiday one-off, Crazy Pizza’s ‘Crazy Bubbles’ brunch is taking place on both the Saturday and Sunday. The party-style brunch offers bottomless champagne, plenty of pizza and entertainment designed to get you dancing: think a shot show, traditional napkin waving performances and energetic pizza spinning. Hosted from midday until 3pm, drinks on offer include unlimited champagne, house spirits and mixers, cocktails, wine, beer and hot and cold soft drinks. When it comes to food, expect to sample starters such as mozzarella, asparagus and truffle salad; and baby octopus with croutons; followed by a selection of thin crust pizzas mad with yeast-free dough; and tiramisu for pudding.
7 Paddington Street, Marylebone, W1U 5QH
Visit CrazyPizza.com
@YAMCARNIVAL
SOAK UP A CARNIVAL ATMOSPHERE: Yam Carnival London
Notting Hill Carnival is cancelled again this year, but festival newcomer Yam Carnival aims to bring a little of the magic to Clapham Common over the bank holiday weekend. A celebration of Black culture from across the globe, the line-up of artists includes Davido, Beenie Man, Honey Dijon and Ari Lennox. The event will also be hosting top African-influenced food trucks and chefs from across London, from contemporary and cutting-edge cuisine to traditional home comforts.
Clapham Common, SW4 9DE; 28th August
Visit YamCarnival.com
TRY A NEW BRUNCH: Café Bao
This August bank holiday, Bao is launching a weekend breakfast at Café Bao in King’s Cross, drawing influence from Taiwanese cuisine and the western-style cafes found throughout Asia. The menu combines both eastern and western breakfast classics, alongside a line-up of baked goods and a selection of new hot drinks, including peanut milk; Taiwanese condensed milk tea; and ‘Cafe Purin’, made with espresso, Taiwanese roasted sugar and custard foam. On the breakfast menu, we love the sound of the sausage hash brown breakfast bao. To celebrate the launch, the team is giving every guest who has made a reservation 50% off their bill during the first two weekends of breakfast service.
4 Pancras Square, King’s Cross, N1C 4AG; from 28th August
Visit BaoLondon.com
SOAK UP SUMMER: Scott’s
Taking inspiration from artist Vincent Van Gogh, Scott’s new summer/autumn installation is all about sunflowers. The Mount Street restaurant has been decorated with the flowers – even across the entrance and over the terrace – and there are a couple of food and cocktail specials, too. We like the sound of the ‘Sunflower Palette’ dessert, which features a passion fruit parfait served with chocolate mousse and a selection of petit fours. Elsewhere, the bar team has created ‘The Golden Sip’, a cocktail created with Beefeater gin, passionfruit purée, toasted coconut syrup and bergamot purée, garnished with edible paint and gold dust to replicate the colours of a sunflower.
20 Mount Street, Mayfair, W1K 2HE; until 20th September
Visit Scotts-Restaurant.com
TAKE THE CHILDREN: Bluebird Chelsea
Bluebird’s hugely popular 'Tiny Tea’ is back for the rest of the summer holidays. Designed for children – with their favourite sweet treats and savoury snacks in mind – this is a lovely activity to enjoy as a family. Dishes on offer include a take on a strawberry jammy dodger, cherry cola pastels and a Malteser milkshake, complete with whipped cream and popping candy. The Tiny Tea is available every Thursday to Sunday, from 3-4.30pm, for kids aged 3 to 10 years old. While kids are tucking into their own treats, adults will be able to make the most of Bluebird Chelsea’s ‘grown-up’ afternoon tea, featuring classics such as a strawberries and cream tart; lemon and lavender macaron; plus, an optional a glass of Nyetimber.
350 King's Road, Chelsea, SW3 5UU
Visit Bluebird-Restaurant.co.uk
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