March On The Menu – Foodie Dates For Your Diary

The sun is shining and Spring is in the air – can you feel your appetite coming out of hibernation? We can! This month, we’re feasting on pies, taking our Mums out for a well-deserved treat, and having Sunday lunch at Vinoteca. How about you? Here are some dates for your diary to keep you well-fed until April.

2nd-8th - British Pie Week
This week foodies across the UK are celebrating the great British pie so why not head down south to a trendy gastropub like The Avalon or The Stonhouse? Along with The Abbeville and The Bolingbroke in Battersea, they’re serving up a pie and a pint for a wallet-friendly £10 this week. On the menu, you’ll find classics like cottage pie; chicken, ham and tarragon; and hearty beef and chorizo; as well as award-winning guest ales. For the brave carnivores, there’s rich rabbit pie with black pudding and prunes or cow pie with braised steak, oxtail, tongue and tripe.

You can also satisfy your craving at Manze’s; Bumpkin; F. Cooke; Bluebird; G Kelly; Fox & Anchor; and Prince of Wales – to name a few! For a quick fix pie-on-the-run; try The Farm (Farringdon) or any branch of Square Pie. (We like the Selfridges branch where you can sit at the window to feast and watch the world go by.)

4th - Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is at Waterloo Brasserie
Fancy attending the filming of a brand new BBC Food Show? On Wednesday 4th, Waterloo Brasserie are hosting ‘Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is’ where celebrity chefs are being dragged back into the real world to prepare and cook for a restaurant full of paying customers. Two chefs will each offer up a starter, main and dessert and it’s up to the discerning diners to decide what they want to eat. At the end of the evening, the chef who’s made the most profit will be named the winner and all the cash will go their nominated charities.

Diners need to arrive at the restaurant at 6.15pm and can expect service to take longer than a normal restaurant service as it’s all being filmed. If you would like to take part, please email rosalyn.newbery@reeftv.com for more info.

8th - Vinoteca opens for Sunday lunch
If you’ve ever tried to get a table at Vinoteca after work, you’ll know how popular this Farringdon wine bar and restaurant can be. Thankfully, from March 8th, they’re opening for Sunday lunch from 11am to 4pm.

In addition to their usual lunch menu, they’re also offering a handful of delicious brunch dishes, along with Bloody Marys and Mimosa from the bar. (Ideal if you need a pick-me-up after a long night). Sundays at Vinoteca will also include mini wine tastings in their wine shop. To book a table for lunch, give them a call on 020 7253 8786. Don’t forget to keep an eye on their Events Calendar too, as they also run regular wine tastings and dinners.

15th - Barter Day at Hummus Bros
Hummus Bros have teamed up with Cancer Research UK to give Londoners the chance to eat for free at their Soho branch on Sunday 15th. All you have to do is turn up between 12pm and 6pm and bring along some of the clothes, DVDs, books and other bits that are cluttering up your flat. A Cancer Research UK charity shop expert will assess your donations and the equivalent value can then be used towards anything on the HB menu.

As the credit crunch starts to bite, there’s been an increased demand for second-hand goods but donations to charity shops has plummeted. Cancer Research UK are appealing for clothes, handbags, shoes, jewellery, pictures, DVDs, CDs, books, and other household goods to fill their shops across the UK. Just bring along two to three items per person - nothing electrical or broken please - and then claim your hummus. (We recommend a regular portion topped with mushrooms, pine nuts and caramelised onions - delicious!)

17th - St Patrick’s Day
If you can’t face a crowded pub this year, head for St Pancras Grand opposite the Champagne Bar and Eurostar platforms. They’re celebrating in style by offering diners the chance to enjoy six of the best plump Irish oysters served with a glass of historic Black Velvet for just £13. This cocktail was originally created by the Brooks Club in 1861 and is made with half Champagne and half stout or Guinness. Chef Billy Reid assures us that the strong bitterness and roasted malt flavours of the stout go well with the saltiness of the oysters, so add a squeeze of lemon and enjoy!

If you’re celebrating the weekend before (15th-16th), swing by Covent Garden piazza and pick up some Gaelic goodies at the Irish food market. There will be plenty of traditional soda bread, Irish stew and colcannon on offer, as well as delicious Irish oysters, smoked salmon, dry cured bacon, and home-baked breads, pies and puds. The street entertainers and face-painters will be out in force, so why not take the kids along too?

22nd - Mother’s Day
Don’t forget your Mum this March! We’ll be blogging about some of the best mum-friendly eateries soon so be sure to check back if you need some inspiration.

23rd – 29th – Launceston Place’s first birthday
Launceston Place is one this month and if you dine between the 23rd and the 29th, there’s a chance that Head Chef Tristan Welch and the team will choose your table to be ‘Table One’, and you and your guests will receive champagne and a Launceston Place birthday cake.  If you can't make it down to the restaurant, look out for Tristan competing to represent London and the South East in BBC2's Great British Menu, starting on 30th March.

26th – 29th – La Dolce Vita: Italian Lifestyle Event
If you can’t afford that trip to Rome this year, why not visit La Dolce Vita at Olympia for an authentic taste of Italy? As well as the usual travel and property stands, they’re also showcasing artisan food and fine wine in the ‘Mercato delle Delizie’. You can master your pasta at the Cookery School, or head for the Piazza and try dishes from some of London’s best Italian restaurants including L’Anima, Bar Trattoria Semplice, Theo Randall and Princi. Check out their website for more info and grab yourself an advance ticket for just £14.

Throughout March – Early bird drinks at Bluebird
Punctuality pays this month at Bluebird – if you arrive between 5.30pm and 7pm you enjoy drinks for just £5 each including wine, champagne and a selection of specially-created cocktails, such as the Stairs Mojito (a blend Chairman's Reserve rum, Xante pear, pressed apple juice with fresh lime juice, mint and sugar syrup served long and topped with soda). The offer runs until the end of March and is available until 10pm in the Bluebird bar.

Until 7th June – Picasso Offer at the National Café
To celebrate the ‘Picasso: Challenging the Past’ exhibition at The National Gallery, The National Café have launched two limited edition Iberian menus and a fantastic £10 offer on some very special Spanish wines. To complement the three excellent Riojas on offer, the menus will include dishes like salt cod croquetas with smoked paprika aioli; crisp pork belly with morcilla and broad bean purée; and grilled seabass with stewed peppers, fennel and saffron. For dessert, diners can enjoy Spanish classics like crema Catalana or the nougat-like turron with rice pudding. Priced at £18.50 and £21.50 for two and three courses respectively, the set menus are great value for money but there is plenty of Spanish cheese and charcuterie on offer if you fancy a lighter option.