1 | For Italian Night: Hai Cenato
Jason Atherton strikes again with his contribution to Victoria's culinary ascension: an Italian restaurant with New York bistro vibes and a cocktail bar upstairs. Which is just as well, since it's high time there was somewhere to get a decent drink around there. Luckily, The Drunken Oyster has cocktails ready on tap in case you're especially parched (they're called taptails – get it?), including a sparkling Negrose of gin, rosé vermouth and Campari with strawberry and tonka. There is also an entire range of vermouth and tonics – equally refreshing.
Down below, tables in the darkened dining room curve around an kitchen from which the chefs dispatch classy comfort food. The beautiful homemade pasta includes a grown-up bolognese made with fresh corzetti and doused in burnt sage butter, and the artfully scorched sourdough pizzas are prime Instagram fodder. But nothing is too heavy, with a citrusy ceviche and various salads available as small plates, not to mention the artful meat and fish section. Finish up with a small but perfectly formed cone of gelato.
Hai Cenato feels a lot more casual than Atherton's other outposts, but you can be sure of his signature quality. The menu is the sort into which you could happily stick a pin at random, and sit in smugness when the result arrives.
2 Sir Simon Milton Square, London, SW1E 5DJ; haicenato.co.uk
2 | For A Weekend Tipple: London Gin Festival
In case the title alone didn't get you salivating, just ruminate on the idea of you, a glass, and over 100 gins on parade, just waiting for you to give them a go. Now in its third year, the London Gin Festival is returning to Tobacco Dock this weekend. After exchanging your money for tokens, you are then free to try a whole host of weird and wonderful types of juniper juice, many of which will be new brands exhibiting here, exclusively.
There will also be plenty of Fever Tree mixers to go with them, plus food to soak them up and live music to get you into the party mood. Novices and connoisseurs alike can take part in the masterclasses and tasting sessions throughout the festival.
Tobacco Dock, London, E1W 2DA; For more information, visit ginfestival.com
3 | For A Fancy Lunch: MNKY HSE
Before you ask, you say it "monkey house" but, sadly, we cannot tell you where those pesky vowels disappeared to. No one knows. Or else, they simply won't tell you. However we wouldn't advise focusing too much on the name, as this Latin American restaurant has a lot more to offer than a curious appellation. It might be based in the heart of Mayfair, a veritable stone's throw from The Ritz, but this burgeoning celebrity haunt is slick, fun and quickly becoming party central. That is in no small part due to the late license that extends until 4am Thursday - Saturday, with DJs, jazz nights and all sorts; the idea is to gorge on ceviche and tacos, wash them down with mezcal cocktails and then let your hair down on the dancefloor.
But they now also offer an express lunch menu for those with bedtimes to keep (and bank managers to please). Starting at £24 for three dishes, you can enjoy the most exciting tomato salad you may ever encounter, arriving at your table in a plume of smoke that imbues the heirloom veg with an inimitable flavour. Then there are some proper fish tacos with guacamole, sticky soy chicken, fried goyza with chimichurri – it goes on. Splurgers might be tempted by the black cod over on the a la carte menu, and let's just say you won't be disappointed should you yield.
10 Dover Street, London, W1S 4LQ; mnky-hse.com
4 | For A Posh Pie Fest: Holborn Dining Room
The Holborn Dining Room, situated within the splendor of the Rosewood London hotel, feels like it's been a part of London for decades despite only opening a couple of years ago. Its stunning British cuisine simply doesn't disappoint and, now, they're adding a series of pies to the menu just to please their crowds a little bit more. First up is the lamb curry pie, made with slow-cooked Cornwall mutton, potato and spices, and served atop a piquant red onion and tomato salsa.
Following as the seasons allow will be a chicken, girolle and tarragon variation, a classic steak and kidney, and an epic pork fandango: a hand-raised pie containing pork shoulder and leg, pancetta and smoked ham hock, plus fennel seeds.
Don't question it, just go.
252 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7EN; holborndiningroom.com
5 | For Hockney-style Cocktails: Pomona's
Hockney fever is weeping the capital thanks to the Tate Britain's retrospective. On until the end of May and celebrating the Yorkshire-born artist's work across more than 60 years, it is truly worth seeing. And, conveniently, it is also a rather neat excuse to visit the Hockney-inspired Pomona's restaurant, which opened before Christmas, proudly bearing the delectable colours and style of David Hockney's Malibu period of the Seventies – fresh, clean, bright and hugely satisfying on the eye, this décor compliments the Californian food which is light and healthy, but not annoyingly so. Furthermore, head barman Kestutis Stirba has just created a vibrant set of Hockney cocktails to celebrate exhibition. It features a carrot Negroni named The Grand Canyon, the Bigger Green Valley filled with cucumber and vodka, the Beach Umbrella of pisco, arrack, pineapple and sea salt, and the startlingly deep purple Rainy Promenade, which contains port, tequila and orange.
47 Hereford Road, London, W2 5AH; pomonas.co.uk
