City Eating

Top Chefs Go Head To Head At The Gun’s Slider Decider

On May 16th, some of the UK’s finest chefs will gather at The Gun in Docklands to take part in a slider cook-off. They will be pitting their skills against The Gun’s head chef, Quinton Bennett, and battling to be named ‘Slider Decider Champion 2013’. The competitors will fight it out in front of the judges from 6.30pm in The Gun’s recently revamped outside space overlooking the Thames.

Here are just a handful of the finalists and the sliders they are submitting:

 Capish, a fantastic newcomer to the street food scene, have submitted their meatball marinara slider with Provolone cheese and Italian pickled peppers in a polenta-crusted roll.
 Opera Tavern have entered their now legendary Iberico pork and foie gras mini-burger, with a new offal twist.
 Duck & Waffle are dishing up a harissa spiced mutton slider with charred tomato jam and lime crème fraiche.
 The Ship in Wandsworth are keeping it simple with a 100% beef slider with cheese and pickled cucumber (pictured).
 Tsuru have put forward their new chicken karaage burger.
 Sushinho City have gone all out with a decadent Wagyu beef slider with Comte cheese and onions in a wasabi bun.
 Original Fry-Up Material will be serving a Brunchfast slider - free-range sausages, quail’s egg, English muffin, American cheese and ‘Full English’ sauce.
 The team behind the Check On pop-ups have created The Captain Blackbeard – confit chicken wing, butter-poached langoustine tails and tarragon mayo in a bamboo charcoal bun.

You can check out the full list of competitors and their creations here.

Tickets cost £10 and include a bottle of beer and two sliders (one cheeseburger, one pulled pork with jalapeno relish), as well as the chance to try some of the contestants’ signature slider creations. Booking ahead is essential so secure your tickets today by calling 020 7515 5222 or emailing vanessa@thegundocklands.com.

KERB Brings Street Food To Sundance

This weekend, the KERB street food collective is crossing the river for four days of feasting at the O2 Arena. They are in residence for the duration of the Sundance film and music festival as part of the Town Square Market.  Everyone is welcome and you don’t need a Sundance ticket – the market and KERB traders are open to the public. Great news for Greenwich locals!

KERB founder Petra Barran says, ‘It’s a match made in heaven – delicious film and game-changing street food, served up from both sides with independent spirit.’ She has gathered 20 of the finest ‘KERBanists’ for the event, each with something different to offer the Sundance crowd and local foodies. Here’s the full list of attendees:

Good & Proper Tea, Luardos, Baba G’s (formerly Bhangra Burger), Bell & Brisket, Bleecker St Burger, Well Kneaded, Dosa Deli, Big Apple Hot Dogs, Original Fry-Up Material, Kooky Bakes, Mike + Ollie, Daisy Green, Sorbitium Ices, Horn OK Please, Healthy Yummies, The Bowler, Tongue ‘n’ Cheek, What The Dickens!, Fleisch Mob, Vestal Vodka cocktail bar.

If you haven’t tried them before, head to kerbfood.com to view their profiles and follow @KERB_ on twitter for updates from Sundance and their other locations. (KERB hosts weekly street food markets at Citypoint, the Gherkin and King’s Cross, as well as a monthly market at UCLU).

The Town Square Market at the O2 runs from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th April. (Hours: Thursday 2pm-8.30pm, Friday 2pm-8pm, Saturday noon-8pm, Sunday noon-8pm).

Summer Food Festivals In London

If your budget won’t stretch to a gourmet getaway this summer, why not dine in style at one of London’s fabulous food festivals? There are plenty to choose from, including some free ones, and we will update this list as new ones are announced. Fingers crossed for sunshine!

Real Street Food Festival, 24-27th May – In addition to the Real Food Festival in early May, there are quarterly street food festivals to look forward to in 2013. There’s no entry fee and they take place at one of London’s most iconic riverside locations, just outside the Southbank Centre. In May, visitors can look forward to food from Bell & Brisket, Pizza Pilgrims, Dosa Deli, Big Apple Hot Dogs and more. Look out for newcomers Donostia Social Club and their unique Basque tapas!

Toast, 1-2nd June – In June, the Red Gallery in Shoreditch will host a ‘weekend-long celebration of food and ideas’ with large panel discussions, intimate workshops, tastings and book signings. There will be an after-party at Rotary Bar & Diner on City Road. Tickets and a full events schedule will be available at the end of April. The event is a fundraiser for Action Against Hunger and until the target of £3000 is raised, 100% of revenue from ticket sales will be donated to the charity. After the target is reached, 50% of ticket revenue will be donated.

Foodies Festival (Clapham), 7-9th June – This year’s Foodies Festival will include a chef’s theatre hosted by Masterchef 2012 winner Shelina Permalloo, baking masterclasses, live music, street food and a childrens’ cookery theatre. Some fantastic restaurants have already been confirmed, including Barbecoa, Masala Zone, Jamie’s Italian and Randall & Aubin.

Soho Food Feast, 8-9th June – The Soho food festival returns to St Anne’s Gardens after a hugely successful first run last year. The event raised £35,000 for Soho Parish Primary School in 2012 and organiser Margot Henderson plans to make this year’s event bigger and better. Keep an eye on their website and twitter feed for 2013 announcements because there were some fantastic restaurants in attendance last year, including Polpo, Koya, Hix and Bocca di Lupo.

Rioja Tapas Fantasticas, 15-16th June – This annual festival near London Bridge is the perfect place to try some authentic tapas and wines from Spain’s most famous wine region. It’s held in Potters Fields Park, in the shadow of Tower Bridge, and entry is free. Wine experts Olly Smith and Susy Atkins will be hosting wine tasting workshops and walks and there will be cookery demos from renowned Spanish chef José Pizarro. Food fans can look forward to tapas from top London restaurants like Camino, Copita, Iberica, José and Bar Tozino.

Taste of London, 20-23rd June – London’s biggest summer food festival returns to Regent’s Park for a weekend of alfresco eating and drinking. Visitors can buy gourmet goodies from over 200 artisan producers and premium brands and take part in wine tastings and cookery demos. Celeb chefs like Wolfgang Puck and Bruno Loubet will be in attendance and 40 of London’s top restaurants will be showcasing their signature dishes. Amongst those already confirmed are L’Anima, Barbecoa, Maze, Club Gascon and The Cinnamon Club.

Great British Beer Festival, 13-17th August – Visitors to the epic annual beerfest at Olympia can look forward to live music, brewery-sponsored bars, pub games and lots more. With over 800 real ales, ciders, perries and foreign beers on offer, there’s definitely something for everyone.

Five Ways To Eat Well In April

 New Openings – April is a busy month! Beagle is already up and running in Hoxton and Kimchee have just launched their new takeaway concept on the Strand. Jason Atherton will open his third London restaurant, Social Eating House, this month and Alan Bird (ex-The Ivy) will open a five-storey venue (complete with basement bar and roof terrace) in Smithfield on the 29th. If all goes well, London will have a British brasserie in King’s Cross, a small plates joint in Canary Wharf, great pizza in Covent Garden, and Brazilian street food in Soho before the end of the month.

From April 16th-28th The Jam Tree’s Chelsea and Clapham restaurants are bringing the spirit of New Orleans to London with a Jambalaya pop-up. Executive Chef James Browne has travelled throughout New Orleans and will be recreating classics like blackened Creole hanger steak, deep-fried catfish tails with slaw and hot sauce, Louisiana crab cakes, Southern fried chicken, and – of course – jambalaya. With cocktails, live Dixieland jazz and NOLA funk DJs to look forward to, The Jam Tree should definitely be on your radar this month.

Roti Chai Chaat Shack & Bar – After a successful four-day pop-up last year, Roti Chai are bringing their shack back to Southbank for a month. You can find them in the ‘Festival Village’ space under Queen Elizabeth Hall until April 26th. Drop by for Indian street food buns filled with smoked tandoori chicken, smashed Punjabi pea and potato samosa, or Keralan spiced pulled pork. In the evening, the shack will serve Kingfisher beer and some of Roti Chai’s unique cocktails.

Each weekend in April, The Hideaway in Tufnell Park is hosting an indoor Picnic pop-up to get locals in the mood for summer. Swing by on a Saturday night for some British tapas or cure your hangover with their Sunday brunch menu which includes pancakes, smoothies and a Full English. On Sunday evenings, you can tuck into homemade burgers, roast chicken and chorizo Scotch eggs while the DJs spin laid-back weekend tunes. Places are limited, so book now!

The Peko Peko Kitchen team have moved into the kitchen at The Pipeline near Liverpool Street so that locals can enjoy their street food indoors with a drink or two.  At lunchtime, you can pick up a katsu curry, bowl of yakisoba or chicken rice bowl for about a fiver, while in the evening the menu expands to include things like gyoza, tempura fish and chips, and a teriyaki burger. Check out the full menus and info on their Facebook page.

Still hungry? Check out this great list of April pop-ups on the ilovecakeandtea blog.

Chicken Five Ways For February

Roost Residency – From February 4th, the Roost street food truck will settle into Soho for a two month residency at The Sun & 13 Cantons. The Roost restaurant will open for lunch (Mon-Fri 12-3pm) and dinner (Mon-Sat 6-10pm). If you’ve tried their buttermilk fried chicken and chicken and chorizo burgers at Real Food Fest and Red Market, you can now enjoy it indoors with sides like fried potatoes in chicken gravy, pickled slaw and mushroom croquettes. The menu will also include new dishes like a chicken Caesar burger, a grilled chicken salad with butternut squash, livers with rye toast, and wings with chipotle ketchup. You can call ahead for a takeaway on 020 7734 0934.

Kimchi Cult – Following the success of the Mother Flipper residency, The Black Heart in Camden have persuaded another London food truck to come in from the cold. Kimchi Cult will be serving their unique Korean-inspired street food on Wednesday and Thursday evenings (5-10pm) and from noon until 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. They're in-house until February 16th. Their kick-ass kimchi burger is on the menu but it was the dalk galbi chicken version that impressed The Picky Glutton and Thrillist recently. It's a £6 bargain so you can splash out on sides like Korean fried chicken wings or bulgogi fries topped with steak, sesame seeds and spring onions.

Thank Cluck - The Thank Cluck team are a relatively new addition to the London street food scene but they've already impressed chicken lovers at Camden Brewery, Netil Market and The White Horse in Hoxton. They're taking over the kitchen at The Dalston Victoria every Monday in February and serving proper fried chicken, spicy Korean wings and chicken buns. Locals can look forward to weekly specials like buttermilk biscuits with honey butter, mini chicken kievs, tornado potatoes and the occasional offal offering.

Tsuru’s Kara-age Burger - Tsuru’s London restaurants are well known for serving excellent sushi and London’s best katsu curry, but did you know they also do chicken kara-age? (Japan’s answer to fried chicken). This month, they will be launching a brand new kara-age burger (pictured below) and giving away the first 50 for free to Tsuru Loyalty Card holders. Keep an eye on their twitter feed and in store for details of when you can get your hands on one.

Gizzi At The Disco - Gizzi Erskine and Carl Clarke are hooking up for a night of deep-fried debauchery at Disco Bistro on Saturday 9th February. The menu is a junk food adventure, starting with 'snax' of chicken fried popcorn, fried chicken skin and chicken salt. The main event is Gizzi's buttermilk fried chicken wings (sticky, Korean and BBQ) and a fried chicken thigh roll with avocado, latkes, pickled onions and chipotle. It might be tempting to fill up on extras like chicken fat fries and head and trotter beans, but it's worth saving room for Carl's custard doughnuts with rhubarb curd and sherbet. Tickets are £35 per head (sittings at 6.30 and 9pm, includes 3 courses and a welcome cocktail) and can only be booked over the phone (07850 630 129).

Still hungry for chicken? Try one of London’s fowl-focused restaurants. If you like things simple and tasty, try the fuss-free but flavour-packed rotisserie chicken at Chicken Shop in Kentish Town or Clockjack Oven in Soho. For something a little different, head south to Brixton Market and try out the feisty double-fried Korean wings and tangy Thai thighs at Wishbone. Their classic fried chicken and sides like the Hot Mess are worth a try too.

If you're heading east, don't forget that Spit & Roast are still serving all kinds of chicken-based delights at The Princess Alice on Commercial Street. They're in the kitchen on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings (6-11pm) and Sunday lunchtimes.

News Bites: Forza Win, Red Market, The Malt House & More

Their fabulous fonduta evenings have sadly come to an end but the Forza Win team will be back this summer with more rooftop pizza events. If you’re tired of your usual haunts, an evening spent sipping cocktails, eating proper pizza and watching the sun set over the City comes highly recommended. The team are also working on a top secret project that will be announced soon, so keep an eye on their twitter feed  and sign up to their mailing list for details. If you’ve never been to one of their pop-ups, check out the Forza Win(ter) video below to see what you’re missing out on.

Forza Winter - The Final Chapter from Forza Win on Vimeo.

Chef Claude Bosi (Hibiscus) and his brother Cedric have opened their second London gastropub. Following the success of The Fox & Grapes in Wimbledon, their new venture – The Malt House – is situated close to Fulham Broadway. Marcus McGuiness (former head chef at Hibiscus) has put together a menu of modern British dishes like rib of beef cooked in hay, Devonshire crab gratin and a mutton and apricot hot pot. The pub also offers a great value set lunch menu of two courses for £17.50 or three for £19.50 and a childrens' menu for local foodies-in-training.

Red Market is back with a bang in Shoreditch this month. Under the care of Burger Bear Tom, the street food hub will be open Wednesday to Friday from 11 to 5pm, with more dates being added as the summer approaches. With help from social marketing app HitMeUp, Tom and Red Gallery are hoping to transform the urban wasteland into a community space where locals can indulge in some of London’s finest street food, surrounded by cutting edge art installations and graffiti. In February, the resident Burger Bear will be joined by street food heroes like Fleisch Mob, Pasta e Basta and The Bell & Brisket and there are rumours that The Rib Man, Mother Flipper, Dosa Deli and The Flying Squid will join him later in the year.

Chef Ravinder Bhogal (author of Cook in Boots) is hosting Saturday night supperclubs at the South Place Hotel throughout February. The ‘Fork Me Spoon Me’ suppers will be priced at £65 per person (wine pairings available as an added extra) and you can book by calling 020 3215 1270. The menu will change every week but guests can look forward to dishes like caramel quail with buckwheat noodle and banana blossom salad, braised venison with saffron risotto and salami crumbs, and Turkish delight semifreddo.

From Feb 1st, East London’s first pop-up rum cocktail bar will settle into the basement of Off Broadway. With help from Appleton Estate Rum, PortSide Parlour will serve classic rum-based drinks and hot sharing cocktails in a candlelit ‘captain’s quarters’ inspired lounge. The bar will also offer a Davy Jones’ locker system which will allow guests to buy their favourite bottle of rum and keep it in a locker with a vintage name tag around the neck. Each time you visit, you will be served from your own bottle at no extra charge.

Festive Foodie Dates For Your Diary

Forza Win(ter) – Following the success of their pizza pop-ups this summer, the Forza Win team are back with a rooftop fonduta supperclub for the winter months. With the help of huge sharing tables, vintage rugs and fairy lights, they’ve turned an East London roof space into the perfect cosy setting for an evening of Northern Italian style fondue. Alongside the pots of bubbling cheese, they’ll be serving Ginger Pig meats, seasonal British veg, fantastic bread from the E5 Bakehouse, and Gelupo dessert pots. Tickets are £30 and include your three-course meal, a hot drink on arrival, and some great entertainment. Tickets are selling extremely quickly, with some dates already sold out and rumours they may have to extend into January, so get in quick!

FEAST – 6-9th December – After a sold-out summer event in SE1, FEAST is back for the festive season with a new (covered and heated!) location in Islington Square. The fantastic line-up includes a live sensory experiment from Bompas & Parr, a Ceviche DJ set, pizza making with the Pizza Pilgrims, and plenty of live music. On the food front, there will be tasty treats from street food heroes like Rainbo, Yum Bun, Anna Mae’s, Big Apple Hot Dogs, Lucky Chip, and Bocaface, as well as top restaurants like Tonkotsu, Delhi Grill, Elliot’s, Mishkin’s, Naamyaa Café and lots more. Tickets are on sale now.

Real Food Christmas Market – 14-16th and 20-23rd December – The Real Food Christmas Market is the perfect place to pick up seasonal gifts and foodie treats like sparkling wine, artisan cheese and chocolate. You can pick up a proper Italian panettone and mince pies from The Flour Station or collect a free-range bronze turkey or goose from the Thoroughly Wild Meat Co and Label Anglais. The Southbank Christmas Market is also running until December 23rd, so look out for the German-style huts lining the river.

Chocolate Festival – 7-9th December – Also on the Southbank in December, the Chocolate Festival is a must-visit for London’s chocaholics. Sample the delights of some of the world’s finest chocolatiers like William Curley, Damian Allsop, Marc Demarquette and Paul A Young.  Grab a proper hot chocolate and pop into the Cookery Theatre for demos and tastings from The Dessert Deli, Valrhona, Rococo and Outsider Tart. The festival is free to attend so you’ll have more money to spend on stocking fillers!

Monday Supper Clubs At Roti Chai

To celebrate their first birthday, Roti Chai is hosting a series of Monday evening supper clubs in their downstairs dining room. Owner Rohit Chugh and his team have trialled hundreds of dishes and put together menus that showcase some of India’s finest seasonal and regional specialties.

Tonight’s menu (19th November) is inspired by the home-style dishes cooked by Indian mothers all over the world. Guests can look forward to dishes like Keralan fish curry, pork vinha d’alhos (a Goan dish of slow-cooked pork belly with a hot and tangy sauce), and ‘Masala Mac’ – Indian-style spiced mac ‘n’ cheese, one of Rohit's childhood favourites.

In December, the menus will be inspired by festive dishes from the Christian regions of India, such as Keralan duck roast with 'Kappu Puzhukku' (spiced cassava mash). A real winter warmer!

Priced at £19 for 2 courses and £22 for 3, the supper club evenings are a wallet-friendly treat in the run up to Christmas. The restaurant is tucked away behind Selfridges on Oxford Street, so it’s perfect for a post-shopping pit stop. Call Roti Chai for details or to book your table. Don’t miss out!

Yalla Yalla Launches Shoreditch Pop-Up

Following the success of their Southbank shack this summer, Lebanese street food specialists Yalla Yalla are launching a six-month pop-up in Shoreditch from late November.

The pop-up is alfresco, although diners will be safe from the elements underneath a canopy with heaters and cushioned seating. There will be Lebanese lounge music and shisha, as well as belly dancers and DJs at the weekend.

The menu will offer some of Yalla Yalla’s popular mezze dishes like man’ouche lahme (oven-baked flatbreads topped with spiced minced lamb), samboussek jibne (pastry filled with feta, halloumi and mint), and falafel with garlic yoghurt sauce. Diners can also look forward to wraps with fillings like chicken shawarma and soujoc (charcoal grilled Lebanese sausages) and a selection of dips, sides, salads and pastries to eat on-site or takeaway.

A short list of Lebanese wines and beers will be available, alongside fresh juices and signature cocktails like the Cherry Chilli Caipirinha and Beirut Sangria.

The pop-up will be at 186 Shoreditch High Street and will be open seven days a week from 11am until late. Stay tuned for the official launch date. In the meanwhile, you can visit Yalla Yalla’s restaurants in Soho and Winsley Street and their kiosk in King’s Cross station.

London Cocktail Week 2012 - Plan Your Bar Crawls With Our Map

From Monday 8th to Sunday 14th October,  London Cocktail Week returns to the capital for seven days of drink-fuelled debauchery. This year the LCW hub will be based in the Seven Dials area of Covent Garden but there will be tastings, masterclasses, parties and more at bars all over London. You can pop into the Ketel One hub at 15 Shorts Gardens to pick up your wristband, get drink-making tips from the experts, and plan your cocktail adventures with the LCW team.

The £4 wristband entitles you to exclusive £4 cocktails at some of London’s finest bars, including newcomers like Dabbous, Dach & Sons, and The Lucky Pig. On our handy Google map, we’ve plotted each bar with their address and the spirit they will be using in their LCW cocktail. If you need restaurant recs along the way, you can ask us on twitter (@londoneating).

View London Cocktail Week 2012 in a larger map

The LCW events are guaranteed to sell out so sign up fast. Here are a handful of our ‘top picks’:

• The Bourbon Empire – A pop up bar on Tavistock Street hosted by Buffalo Trace. Free entry to bourbon tastings and masterclasses plus £4 cocktails for wristband-wearers.
• Mini Ginstitute – Create your own bespoke gin with gin instructor Jake F Burger. (£45)
• Old Fashioned Night  - Bar Nightjar have teamed up with Woodford Reserve to bring a taste of the Deep South to Old Street. Old Fashioned cocktails will be sold at reduced prices all night and from around 9.30pm there will be a  4-piece bluegrass band. (Free)
• Smatt’s Rum & Ice-Cream Shack – A pop-up rum and ice-cream cocktail bar on Monmouth Street. Free rum tastings, masterclasses and live blues throughout the week.
• Talisker, Stout & Oyster pairing at Worship Street Whistling Shop. (£12)

Don’t forget, wristband-wearers can jump aboard the London Cocktail Week Routemaster for free rides to Shoreditch and Notting Hill and back again. The bus leaves Centre Point at 7pm and 9pm each day and there will be Lovoka vodka liqueur cocktails available on board.

Find out more on the London Cocktail Week website and on twitter @LDNCocktailWeek.