1 | Cheese Fondue @ Fortnum’s Lodge
The festive season is well and truly here and, you’ve guessed it, that means that you have a new default leisure activity: skating. And it doesn’t come better than at Somerset House, where the pictures come out a treat and the food is not limited to some lukewarm hot chocolate, but provided by exemplary co-hosts Fortnum & Mason.
Get to the end of the deluxe shopping arcade and you’ll find the Fortnum’s Lodge, which has a bowl of mandarins atop every table so that you can nibble away whilst perusing the menu. Line up a hot toddy (nicely strong and, thankfully, with only subtle amounts of honey and clove) or a gingery Bellini and then set to business. Namely, cheese: if no one wants to share with you, opt for the classic raclette, which is a joyous plate of new potatoes covered in melted cheese and pickles. A larger option is the shareable fondue, and what could be a more gleeful prospect? There are plenty of quintessentially British morsels to try on the side, or to begin, or to form a picnic kind of meal with, like steaming hot pigs in blankets, Scotch eggs and even beef tea (deep in flavour but not exactly filling in substance – just to warn you).
But if it’s still that hot chocolate you’re after then you will find nirvana here. Choose from milk or salted caramel chocolate as your base and then the list of extras will send you over the edge: every complementary (and gluttonous) flavour of giant marshmallow and chocolate biscuit is available, served on the side so that you can assemble, dip, etc., as desired. And once you’ve tried a Toffolossus biscuit, your life may never be the same again.
Until 13 January 2019
Strand, London, WC2R 1LA; somersethouse.org.uk
2 | Robata-Grilled Octopus @ Sushisamba
The first UK Sushisamba opened in 2012, bringing its Peruvian-Japanese-Brazilian fusion food to the City with knockout views on the side. The second, much anticipated branch has just opened in Covent Garden and whilst it may not boast those vertiginous vistas, its location slap bang in the middle and, indeed on top of, the piazza is just as striking. It’s no secret that Covent Garden’s culinary credentials are on the rise, but this places the proverbial cherry on top by making use of a building that everyone sees but many didn’t even realise housed a restaurant. Good job its new inhabitants are so colourful, then.
Drinks are created by the international restaurant group’s mixologist, Rich Woods (otherwise known as The Cocktail Guy, which should give you confidence). Expect yuzu and lychee and sake, plus cocoa butter-washed cachaça and chilli-infused pisco. The drink of the month, known as the Sambatini, is currently a startling but feisty slant on a Negroni, featuring coffee-washed whisky. Flavour-wise, it’s a starter in itself. But for real food, you’ve got plenty to choose from, kicking off with tempura green beans to dip in a truffly aioli and succulent wagyu gyoza with sesame and soy. But there’s everything here: fresh ceviches and spicier tiraditos (give the kanpachi a go), melting black cod, smoky octopus from the robata grill, and then you find the sushi roll part of the menu… (the house special is made with soft shell crab with dried fish flakes on top).
There is a lively atmosphere, plenty of colour and, whilst not particularly cheap, a menu that is sure to please – ideal party territory.
35 The Market Building, London, WC2E 8RF; sushisamba.com
3 | Pac-Man Dumplings @ RedFarm
And just across the road, literally, is another American import with novelty value. RedFarm does Chinese cuisine with contemporary and American twists. What does that mean? Well, the famous Pac-Man dumplings for one. Four pastel-coloured steamed shrimp dumplings are lined up after a ghoulishly shaped piece of fried sweet potato on smashed avocado. It is entirely daft but, hey, it provides a talking point for the table, very strong Instagram fodder, and who doesn’t love a dumpling? Elsewhere on the menu you’ll find cheeseburger spring rolls and a pastrami egg roll, so you get the gist.
Main courses are more straightforward: three-chilli chicken, marinated rib-eye, poached turbot with ginger and spring onion, and some delicious Thai lobster sautéed with basil fried rice – tender and light if you’ve overeaten on the smaller plates. To be honest, you could contentedly make a meal out of that first section of the menu, which would be a more economical option, too. An easy-breezy environment with jolly red gingham furnishings, it is entirely permissible to order on-demand if you can’t judge the right amounts at the outset, and the staff will help without being overbearing. Wash everything down with the lip-smacking Manhattan of London (made with a Madeira rinse) and you’ll be very happy indeed.
9 Russell Street, London, WC2B 5HZ; redfarmldn.com
4 | Limited Edition Dishes With #CookforSyria
If you feel like doing a modicum of good now that the John Lewis advert has stirred up those fuzzy feelings, then head to one of the restaurants taking part in #CookForSyria’s latest campaign. An initiative set up to raise money for UNICEF, to help protect and provide aid for children involved in the country’s ongoing conflicts, what started out as a supper club has become an international movement with countless chefs involved and cook books on-sale to boot.
Throughout November and December, a plethora of restaurants are featuring special dishes on their menus and/or adding an optional £1 donation to patrons’ bills to encourage them to help the cause. Of the latter, the likes of Sabor, Petersham Nurseries, The Ned, Berber & Q and Hoppers are taking part. And dishes include Koya’s lamb, cumin and miso udon, and the Chiltern Firehouse’s barbecue venison chop with herb yoghurt, pomegranate and walnut relish. Give it a try – every pound helps and there is no tastier way of giving to charity.
Various locations; cookforsyria.com
5 | Pastries Galore @ Pump Street Pop-Up
Pump Street Bakery makes baked things and it makes chocolate. Both are absolutely beautiful. But this is a Suffolk-based establishment and so you normally have to locate stockists to get hold of their wares, which makes it all the more exciting that there is a Pump Street pop-up shop currently open – for one week only – in Shoreditch. You have until Sunday to head down there for their bars and famous Eccles cakes, plus doughnuts, brownies, pain au chocolats, chocolate chip cookies and lord knows what else. The small-batch, handmade chocolate is all single-origin, made from beans imported from family farms, and Pump Street has just started making tins of baking ingredients like cacao nibs, cocoa powder, chocolate pastilles and so on, hence their celebratory jaunt to the big smoke.
Until 18 November (10am – 5pm until Friday; 10am – 6pm on Saturday; 10am – 4pm on Sunday)
67 Redchurch Street, London, E2 7DJ; pumpstreetchocolate.com
6 | ENTER: Bar 51 Whisky Lottery
You have until Monday to enter an alternative kind of lottery, to win tickets to an exclusive whisky pop up at the end of the month, where you can try drams of a 51-year-old Craigellachie single malt – for free. This is the Speyside whisky company’s oldest expression so far and, as you can imagine, comes in very limited quantities; in true style, they would rather share this special liquid out rather than horde it for themselves, hence the exclusive pop-up within Soho whisky specialists Milroy’s. Bar 51 will be open from 26th – 28th November, before hitting the road to Australia, South Africa and the USA. Reservations will be allocated through said lottery, which you can enter online until midnight GMT on Monday. Good luck.
Milroy’s of Soho, 3 Greek Street, London, W1D 4NX; craigellachie.com
7 | Combine Food & Film @ Plaquemine Lock
When it comes to Cajun and Creole food in London, you simply can't beat Plaquemine Lock. The pub, helmed by Bocca di Lupo and Gelupo’s Jacob Kenedy, sits on Regent's Canal in Angel and was recently awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its Bayou-inspired food (gumbo, blackened chicken & all the okra you could ever ask for) and cocktails (we recommend the Hurricane for some true New Orleans-style boozing).
They’re set to host a special screening of 2011’s critically-acclaimed The Help (Viola Davis, Emma Stone) on Sunday 25th November, where they’ll bring the story to life with a specially curated Creole menu. Think devilled eggs, buttery fried chicken amongst other delicious Deep South favourites. Tickets are £49 and can be purchased here.
Plaquemine Lock, 139 Graham St, London, N1 8LB, plaqlock.com
Words for Plaquemine Lock: Nick Pope
