1 | Goat Ragù Detroit Square Pizza at Temper
Head to the new Temper, in Covent Garden, for some serious pizza action with a thick, square focaccia-style base topped with goat ragù, mozzarella and provolone. Forget about scrawny bits of meat scattered meagrely over the top, or extra jalapeños thrown on in a desperate bid to enhance flavour. Not here. You get the full-on punch of a rich ragù that you know has been simmering gently for hours to imbue the meat with good depth, and it just so happens to be heaped onto a beautiful bread base that is soft on the inside with a nice bit of crunch around the edge. Add in some decent cheese and you have the very definition of winning.
This is chef Neil Rankin’s third incarnation of his fire-inspired restaurants, and it’s all about giving this staple comfort food the turbo treatment. It opens properly on Monday after a soft launch period, and other toppings of that Detroit square variety include cheeseburger (complete with mustard and caramelised onions) and a five-cheese feast with fennel jam. On the flip side (soz), you have the Massachusetts round pizzas, which have wafer thin bases and toppings that go right to the very edge of them. Finally! Opt for wagyu salami or spicy n’duja. Or, in fact, the one with a whole burrata resting in the middle. Wash it down with the bountiful vermouths and you will be a very happy person indeed.
5 Mercer Walk, Mercers Yard, London, WC2H 9FA; temperrestaurant.com
2 | Haye Farm Lamb at The Petersham, Covent Garden
For something a bit daintier, pop around the corner to where town meets country at the new Petersham Nurseries, which is finally completely open. Much like its Richmond original, it is pretty as a picture and the food matches its elegant – though with a charming dash of the ramshackle – interiors. In the main restaurant, The Petersham, you’ll get a thwacking taste of spring with the Haye Farm lamb. It comes pink, tender and caramelised around the edges, with crispy sweetbreads on the side and a spear of Italian artichoke in the middle.
Looking out onto the newly created courtyard (an oasis from the manic location), you can enjoy Petersham Nurseries’ signature style without trekking all the way out to London’s farthest west borders. And there’s a buzzing bar named La Goccia to the side, serving aperitivo and cicchetti if you’re after a quick bite. Cracking ingredients, a delicate touch, and plenty of style.
Petersham Nurseries, 2 Floral Court, London, WC2E 9FB; petershamnurseries.com
3 | Craft Chocolate at Canopy Market
From today until Sunday, there is chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate to be enjoyed at the Canopy Market at King’s Cross. It is a festival hosted by the Cocoa Runners, a subscription service that provides the highest quality artisan chocolate out there. You know about craft beer, you know about single-origin coffee, but now it’s time to learn about bean-to-bar chocolate. Cocoa Runners work with a raft of top-quality chocolate producers worldwide, and they’re bringing a group of them to King’s Cross, to take over the market for the weekend.
Nab some tokens and go round the various makers, sampling some of the best – and rarest – types. There will be tasting sessions throughout the weekend, including a wine and chocolate one run by Wine Car Boot’s Ruth Spivvy, and a coffee and chocolate pairing on Saturday afternoon. If you’ve ever tried a bar from Pump Street Bakery (a family-owned outfit in Suffolk) then you’ll know how good proper chocolate can taste; they’ll be there, along with many others you really won’t have heard of, so here is your chance to find your niche.
Until 13 May
Canopy Market, Kings Cross, London N1C 4LW; kingscross.co.uk
4 | Sweet Potato Dumplings at Foxlow
Monday signals the start of National Vegetarian Week and, whilst you may not immediately consider the sister restaurants to steak behemoth Hawksmoor as the natural choice, they would be a rather astute option. Having completed a successful vegan month last year, they’re dabbling once again, with a special vegetarian menu that will run alongside the normal one this week. Opt for the sweet potato dumplings, which are served on a bed of broccoli and samphire with an aromatic wild garlic pesto. You’ll feel healthy and virtuous, and oh so on-trend.
Other options include a chilli triple cheese sandwich with fries, and spice-roasted cauliflower with curried aubergine. And if you want a reward for your good behaviour, these guys do a mean sticky toffee pudding (with clotted cream) to finish up with… Just saying.
Balham, Clerkenwell & Soho; foxlow.co.uk
5 | Peruvian Ceviche at Coya Angel Court X London Wine Week
If you’re not sold on the veggie thing, then perhaps you will be more enthused by the fact that Monday also brings London Wine Week. Yep, a whole seven days of city-wide events, including a hub bar in London Bridge’s Flat Iron Square (which will have plenty of Pol Roger champagne, white port and tonics, a Muscadet truck, and a two-day takeover by the incomparable Berry Bros & Rudd wine merchants at The Tap & Bottle bar over Tuesday and Wednesday) plus a very long list of wine bars and restaurants offering pass holders £5 wine flights so that you can sample to your heart’s delight.
The week's hottest ticket is to Friday’s wine-paired dinner at Coya, in the City. For £75, you’ll get 12 courses of refreshing Peruvian cuisine, from yellowtail sashimi to sea bass croquettes, Josper grilled rib-eye steak to corn sundae, paired with five glasses of complementary wines. Something to get excited about throughout the working week.
Friday 18 May, 6.30pm, Coya Angel Court, 31-33 Throgmorton Street, London, EC2N 2AT
For more information on London Wine Week, visit drinkup.london
6 | Katsu Sandwich at Tā Tā Eatery X Borough Wines & Beers Kensal Rise
Borough Wines & Beers in Kensal Rise has launched its first long-term residency: Tā Tā Eatery. Starting out as a food stall and run by a husband and wife team who met working for Nuno Mendes, Tā Tā Eatery mixes Asian and Portuguese cuisines to create dishes like its famous toasted Katsu sandwich, which contains deep-fried and slow-cooked Iberico pork neck with Asian slaw. It’ll be one of the many sharing plates available, and you don’t need to book in advance – just turn up, and enjoy them alongside the wines and beers for which its hosts are revered.
Tā Tā Eatery will be in residence for three months, as part of Borough Wines and Beers’ 'Chef Development' Series. Payment for the food is taken in cash only, so be warned.
For full details and opening times, visit boroughwines.co.uk
30 Station Terrace, Kensal Rise, London, NW10 5RP
7 | A Desperados at the smallest festival in the world
Weekend festivals are messy things: you spend half your time baked in mud and tripping over tent pegs before losing your friends forever just because you popped to buy a burger. Forget that waste of time, then, and head to Desperados 'Reclaim the Party' indoor festival this week.
Taking place at Kachette in Shoreditch on 16 May, it's a play on those DIY parties you threw at uni with a mini stage, homemade sound system and an outdoor / indoor wilderness decor - and best of all, you don't have to clean any of it up afterwards.
There'll be plenty to eat and drink (obviously) and tickets are free on a first-come-first-serve bases, through Eventbrite here.
