City Eating

Date For Your Diary: January Game Night At Charlotte’s Bistro

On Monday 23rd January, executive chef Wesley Smalley will be hosting Game Night at Charlotte’s Bistro in Chiswick. The restaurant is well known for its accomplished modern British cooking and cosy neighbourhood vibe. The event will start promptly with drinks on arrival at 7pm, followed by an impressive seven course menu celebrating seasonality and top quality local produce.

The menu includes inventive game-focused dishes like venison tartare with anchovy sabayon and bitter chocolate; pheasant sausage with red cabbage and liquorice puree; and confit wild rabbit tortelloni with espelette pepper ‘Café au Lait’. After a palate cleansing mandarin sorbet, diners will round off the meal with a decadent Valrhona chocolate dessert with vanilla milk, dulce de leche, and bitter endive. The full menu can be viewed online.

Charlotte's Bistro owner Alex Wrethman will be looking after diners throughout the evening, alongside Matthew Mawtus, Charlotte's Operations Director and resident wine expert. Chef Wesley will join diners after the meal for a chat about food, cooking and anything else that springs to mind.

Tickets are priced at £58 per person and can be booked online here. A wine pairing option will be available on the evening at an additional £38 per person.

Don’t miss out on the chance to banish the January blues and experience a truly unique seasonal menu. If you can’t make it, you can still take advantage of some great special offers running at Charlotte’s Bistro this month. The set lunch and early diner deals are exceptionally good value for cooking of this standard – don’t miss out!

Date For Your Diary: The StockMKT, Bermondsey, 2nd December

No plans next Friday? Why not swap a night in front of the TV for a trip to an exciting new night market in Bermondsey Square? From 5pm-10pm on Friday 2nd December, The StockMKT will be recreating the buzz of night markets in the Far East but with a distinctly London flavour. Expect good music, great street food, and plenty of shopping opportunities!

The dark December evening will be brightened by bespoke lighting from their sponsors, Light Collective and Aether Lighting, and a special StockMKT music mix lovingly curated by DJs Culture Cuts. There will be plenty of opportunities to spend your hard-earned cash on unique and unusual goodies provided by a select bunch of creative independent makers and retailers. You can even indulge your artistic side with a do-it-yourself creative craft workshop from Art Stars.

Some of London’s finest street food vendors will be in attendance and foodies can look forward to things like piping hot churros, spicy Korean sliders, Big Apple Hot Dogs, Indian inspired burgers, meaty Mexican treats and delicious cakes from the Sweet Tooth Factory. If it gets cold, you can warm up with hot and spicy seasonal drinks served by the staff from Shortwave, Bermondsey Square’s independent cinema and bar.

If street food’s not your thing, then book ahead at local favourite Zucca or try your luck at squeezing into Jose Pizarro’s excellent tapas bar. Top it all off with cocktails at the Hide Bar and you’ve got yourself a first class start to the weekend! You can keep up to date with all The StockMKT news on twitter and their Facebook page.

Coming Soon: The Botanist’s Pop-Up Oyster & Chapel Down Bar

There’s no doubt that pop-ups have been big business this summer, with everything from lobster roll shacks to Bourbon & BBQ trucks turning up to fuel London’s love of all things temporary. If you’ve spent the summer sipping Bombay Pimms at Dishoom’s Chowpatty Beach Bar or tracking down blink-and-you'll-miss-it fried chicken in Shoreditch, then you’ll be pleased to hear that the fun isn’t over yet.

Next weekend, pop-up fans should head to Chelsea for The Botanist’s suitably sophisticated oyster bar pop-up in the middle of Sloane Square. From 16th-18th September, guests can look forward to daily performances from a solo saxophonist and copious amounts of Chapel Down’s lovely sparkling wine from Kent.

September is widely heralded as the official start of oyster season and The Botanist’s bar will be fully stocked with a range of bivalves, including West Mersea pearls, Brown Sea Island Dorset rocks and Duchy natives. Individually priced at £2 each, you can enjoy a quick pit stop with an oyster and glass of fizz or indulge in a leisurely lunch with half a dozen or a dozen priced at £9.50 and £18.

If oysters leave you cold, there will be a selection of fresh seafood available, sourced from Billingsgate Market. Choices will include whole dressed Dorset crab; poached Isle of Benbecula langoustines; and a classic Atlantic prawn cocktail with avocado.

Locals can celebrate the last days of summer with some award-winning Chapel Down Vintage Reserve Brut, available by the glass (£6) or bottle (£30), while designated drivers can sip on a ‘Pomona Fizz’ mocktail. (The refreshing blend of pomegranate, pear, honey, lime and tonic that we enjoyed at The Botanist’s City sister, Chiswell Street Dining Rooms).

The oyster bar will be open from 12pm - 7.30pm on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th, and from 12pm - 5.30pm on Sunday 18th September. You can follow @The_BotanistSW1 for all the latest updates over the weekend. Fingers crossed for sunshine!

News Bites: London Cocktail Week, Jose Pizarro, CUT & More

London Cocktail Week is back this year with an extended run from Friday 7th to Sunday 16th October. There will be tastings, parties and boozy master classes with top mixologists happening all over town, plus the LCW bus to take you from one to the other. (The buses are sponsored by Bacardi so there will be bartenders serving mini cocktails at each stop). This year the ‘week’ has been extended to include The Whisky Show at the Vinopolis (7th-8th October) and RumFest at Olympia (15th-16th October). Register now for a free wristband so you can enjoy bespoke £4 cocktails at over 100 London bars - twice as many as last year. We’ll be posting maps, suggested crawls and more info nearer the time, so watch this space.

Can’t wait for Cocktail Week? Head for Pearl Restaurant & Bar in Holborn where executive chef Jun Tanaka and mixologist Anthony Balik have created a quirky liquid salad bar. From now until 30th September, cocktail aficionados can enjoy three summery cocktails with side salad garnishes, priced at £13.75 each. Try the classic Waldorf – walnut vodka muddled with celery, apple and grapes – or the Greek – a Mediterranean blend of gin, delicate tomato consommé and cucumber, served with feta and olive mini skewers. We like the look of the Thai – a sunset yellow blend of chilli-infused cachaça, mango, papaya, lime and palm sugar syrup. The Thai noodle salad on the side is a perfect amuse bouche before moving on to the dinner in the restaurant.

Following the success of last year’s £1 sale, Cafe Luc will be doing it all again from 8th August to 8th September. If you book a table on the designated secret booking day, you could enjoy a set menu for lunch or dinner at their Marylebone brasserie for a quid! You can choose your preferred date between 8th August and 8th September and there will be ten set menus to choose from each day. To find out when to book, simply subscribe to their mailing list, join them on Facebook or follow them on twitter.

D&D London have announced their plans to redevelop the ground floor and basement of the Old Bengal Warehouse on New Street off Bishopsgate. The 10,000 sq ft development will include a specialist wine shop, bars and two restaurants – a steakhouse and a fish restaurant. Both venues will have al fresco seating within the building’s walled courtyards. It is set to open to the public in Spring 2012.

This September, Wolfgang Puck will launch his first European restaurant, CUT, at the Dorchester’s Park Lane Hotel. The restaurant, which is named after the original in Beverly Hills, will feature a 76-seater ground floor dining room and a central staircase leading up to a mezzanine library and Bar 45. The recently revealed menu boasts ‘the widest and best selection of beef available in London’, with prime cuts sourced from the USA, Australia, Chile and New Zealand. Diners can also enjoy dishes like bone marrow flan with mushroom marmalade; Scottish lobster with black truffle sabayon; and strawberry and cream Baked Alaska. The breakfast menu includes American-inspired treats like blueberry buttermilk pancakes with whipped bourbon-maple butter and salt beef hash cake with poached eggs. 

Spanish Openings – Jose Pizarro’s tapas bar has received rave reviews from critics and locals alike, so it’s great to hear that his restaurant – Pizarro – will open in October. The more formal eatery will be taking over the Bermondsey Kitchen site at 194 Bermondsey Street and will feature a traditional Spanish menu and London’s first Cava bar. Meanwhile, Iberica’s excecutive chef Nacho Manzano will open a second restaurant at Cabot Square this Autumn. The Canary Wharf outpost will offer the same traditional Spanish dishes as the Great Portland Street original, as well as beers and wines that were previously not exported outside Spain.

News Bites: Pitt Cue Co, Street Kitchen, 4th July & More

STREET KITCHEN – This summer, the Street Kitchen’s vintage silver airstream will be parked at Finsbury Square near Moorgate. From June 27th, they’ll be there Monday to Friday for two weeks and then Tuesday through Thursday until the end of September. Jun Tanaka (executive chef at Pearl) and Mark Jankel (chef and founder of the Food Initiative) will be serving British bistro-style lunches to City workers between 11.30am and 2.30pm. Dishes are priced between £4.50 and £7.50 and include slow-roast lamb shoulder with tomato and goats cheese salad; black bream with smoked aubergine and roast tomato vinaigrette; and cheesecake mousse with summer berry compote. All the food is sustainable and the food boxes are compostable so you can have a guilt-free gourmet lunch for under a tenner. Follow @StreetKitchen on twitter for daily news and updates from the van.

HAWKSMOOR AT PITT CUE CO - Richard Turner (head chef) and Will Beckett (co-owner) of Hawksmoor will be taking over the Pitt Cue Co truck on Wednesday 6th July for one night only from 6 to 10pm. In addition to the full Pitt Cue Co menu (which includes some seriously good pulled pork, ribs and wings), Richard will be serving Hawksmoor ribs, kimchi and the intriguing 'Not Dog' (made with pork, beef and Richard's top secret spicing). Will’s in charge of drinks and will be serving the two new Hawksmoor beers (Seven Barrels Red Rye and Devil's Architect Pale Ale), Shaky Pete's Ginger Brew, and Red Rye and Rye Whisky Boilermakers (beer and a shot). The van is parked under Hungerford Bridge on Southbank – just follow the smell of smoked meat.

INDEPENDENCE DAY - To celebrate Independence Day this year, the Big Easy and The Blues Kitchen are hosting gut-busting eating tournaments on July 4th. At the Big Easy in Chelsea, ten guys and girls will go head to head in a rib-eating race to see how many they can eat in 30 minutes. The winner will receive a £100 Big Easy voucher and have their name engraved on the wall of fame. Entry is free and the competition starts at 6pm. If you’re not into speed eating, you can go along to watch and take your time over their all-American crispy fried chicken, chilli dogs and apple pie. There’s live music from 8pm and red, white and blue Margaritas at £6.95 so ex-pats and Yankophiles can party into the early hours.

In Camden, hot dog fans will have the chance to win £100 worth of Blues Kitchen vouchers in an all-you-can-eat showdown from 8pm. Contestants will have just half an hour to beat the current record of 13, with plenty of water and sauces on hand to help the dogs go down. If just one hot dog will do, simply turn up dressed in red, white and blue and your dog is on the house. If you’re lucky enough to actually be American, show your passport at the bar and they’ll treat you to a free beer, spirit or glass of wine.

SENSES OF THAILAND AT SELFRIDGES – From 14th – 30th July, Selfridges will be hosting a celebration of Thai food and culture with live cooking demos, food tastings and Thai dance and puppet shows. Some of London’s top Thai restaurants will be selling authentic snacks like Som Tam (spicy papaya salad) and Mieng Kham (nuts, dried shrimp, chilli and shallots wrapped in betel leaves). There will be a Thai dessert cart and a tropical fruit stand and juice bar offering healthy and exotic drinks. Renowned Thai Chef Pongtawat Ian Chalermkittichai will be taking up a temporary residence at Hix Restaurant & Champagne Bar, offering a Thai menu of regional specialities together with Thai inspired cocktails. Nahm will run a guest menu at the Oyster & Seafood Bar and Singha Beer will run a temporary bar in Gordon’s Cafe where customers can enjoy a traditional Thai snack menu, washed down with an ice cold lager and Thai cocktails.

Coming Soon: Bonnie & Wild Game & Seafood Pop-Up

THE LOWDOWN: Open from 7pm every Saturday, The Bonnie & Wild is more of a ‘part-time’ restaurant than a pop-up. It’s a unique collaboration between London based catering companies Bonnie Gull Ltd, purveyors of quality Scottish seafood, and the Wild Game Co, who specialise in seasonal game from the Highlands. A mix of both, cooked predominantly on BBQs, will be on offer at their Islington restaurant.

THE LOOK: The Bonnie & Wild team have found a suitably historic and unique setting in M. Manze’s pie & mash shop on Chapel Market in Angel. The Grade II listed venue is an institution in its own right and has traditional marble tables, wooden booths and tiled walls. On Saturday evenings, the pies and jellied eels will be swapped for fresh seafood and game and the room will trade daytime buzz for candlelit cool with a Motown soundtrack.

THE FOOD: The menu will change on a weekly basis but the food will always be organic, seasonal and sourced within the UK. The kitchen will be run by Iain Sim, who is head chef at Edinburgh’s award-winning Mussel Inn. Starters will include Scottish smoked salmon; ½ dozen Loch Fyne oysters; pigeon salad with caramelised apple, chorizo and balsamic syrup; and barbecued squid, scallops and king prawns (tandoori-style with lime and creme fraiche).

From a list of reasonably priced mains, carnivores can choose from dishes like seared venison haunch or roe deer fillet with Dauphinoise potatoes and asparagus. Fish fans are spoilt for choice with barbecued salmon, coley, langoustines and whole sea bream with chilli, lemongrass, ginger and coriander. There’s also a full-on mixed seafood blow-out available for £32 per head. Desserts are light and simple – chocolate, Drambuie and orange mousse; affogato; and Scottish strawberries with vanilla cream and balsamic syrup.

THE DETAILS: The restaurant will be open from 7pm every Saturday. The venue is cash only, BYOB and laid out mainly in booths for 4 and 6. To make a reservation, send an e-mail to bookings@bonniewild.co.uk. (There are still a few tables available for their previews this month – check out their Facebook for details).

If you can’t wait until July, you can find Bonnie Gull selling fresh oysters and Inverlochy smoked salmon at Leadenhall Market every Thursday and Friday. The Wild Game Co are at Whitecross Street Market (near the Barbican Centre) from Monday to Friday and Broadway Market every Saturday. (Just follow the smell of venison and look out for dashing young men in kilts.)

Camden’s Blues Kitchen Hosts Week-Long Blues Fest

If the grey weekend weather is getting you down, head for Camden and warm up with music, bourbon and soul food at The Blue’s Kitchen’s week-long blues festival. From Sunday 29th May to Sunday 5th June, the laid-back bar-diner will be laying on an impressive line-up of rhythm and blues talent with performances from established blues and rockabilly artists from the UK and across the pond. There’s even the chance to learn how to swing dance and play the harmonica! Check out the line-up below; most nights are free entry before 9pm.

 Sunday 29th - Mud Morganfield (the eldest son of legendary American blues artists Muddy Water’s); The Caezars (the UK’s freshest new rockabilly band); Dollar Bill; and Hipbone Slim & The Knee Tremblers. 6pm-3am, free before 9pm, £3.50 after.

Bank Holiday Monday, 30th May - Jamaican born Big Joe Louis and his Blues Kings. 7pm - midnight, free entry.

 Tuesday 31st - Mark Flanegan, best known as Jools Holland’s guitarist and right-hand man. A rare opportunity to see him do his own thing for one night! Support from Sam Hare. 7pm - midnight, free entry.

 Wednesday 1st June - Award-winning UK blues man Ian Siegal. Ian played the Blues Kitchen Festival last year and was so popular that he was asked back. For this show Ian will begin with a solo set and then be joined by The Blues Kitchen’s house band for a full-on electric performance. 7pm - midnight, free entry.

 Thursday 2nd - The Groundhogs, with an original line-up featuring guitarist Tony McPhee. Support from Rodeo Massacre and Roll n Tumble DJs until 2am. Free entry before 9pm, £3 after.

 Friday 3rd - Gumbo Rumble club night with music from Slims Cyder Co, Charlie Hangdog & The Lowdown Highs and fire eater Anna the Hulagan. Free before 9pm, £3.50 after.

 Saturday 4th - Jack Rabbit Slim, widely thought of as the finest Rockabilly outfit in the UK, with support from The Blues Kitchen house band. Hits Don’t Hurt DJs until 3am. Free before 9pm, £4 after.

 Sunday 5th - Festival closing party with secret special guests. 6pm - midnight, free entry.

Blues fans can also enjoy a taste of the Deep South with The Blues Kitchen’s £12 taster paddle, featuring six rye whiskies including the full-bodied Pikesville Supreme Rye Whiskey and Jacquin’s Rock and Rye infused with rock candy and oranges. To soak it all up, the paddle comes with a sharing plate piled high with buffalo wings, BBQ ribs, sweet potato wedges, padron peppers, homemade chilli, dips and tortilla chips. Throughout the festival, the bar will be serving bespoke cocktails inspired by the evening’s line-up. Don’t miss the ‘Mudslide’ (in honour of Mud Morganfield) and the ‘Hillbilly Rock’ (Jack Rabbit Slim). If you arrive early (between 6-8pm), you can tuck into a starter, main and a cocktail for just £10 - a pre-show stomach-lining bargain.

On Bank Holiday Monday, there’s a free harmonica lesson at 4.30pm with professional teacher Captain Bliss, while on June 4th, also at 4.30pm, Swing Patrol will be hosting a free blues and swing dance session.

Check out the The Blues Kitchen website for more info and follow them on twitter @TheBluesKitchen. We’ll see you down there for a bourbon or two.

Valentina Spuntino Bar Pops Up At Harvey Nichols

To celebrate 20 years of selling homemade and hand-picked artisanal Italian produce, Valentina Fine Foods have launched a chic spuntino bar at the Taste Lab in the heart of Harvey Nichols food market. The bijou snack bar seats just ten diners and serves a mix of affetati (hams and salami) with Sardinian bread and formaggi (cheeses) with honey, walnuts and Pavessi crackers, as well as vegetable and seafood antipasti.

Diners can pick and choose from a range of small plates, putting together their selections which are then presented on olive wood boards. The affetati menu includes porky treats like Mortadella and hand-carved Prosciuttio di Parma Riserva, as well as bresaola and salamis from Naples, Tuscany and beyond. Cheese fans can tuck into creamy Taleggio, Provolone Dolce, buffalo mozzarella and 24-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano. Finally, select a few antipasti – maybe stuffed chillies with tuna, grilled vegetables or a rocket and pear salad. Each serving is priced at £3.55.

The hand-picked platters are best enjoyed with a glass of wine, some homemade Sicilian lemonade, or Prosecco served with a slice of peach as they do in Southern Italy. Sorbifacile Caffe and Sorbifacile Limone (drinkable coffee and sharp lemon sorbets) are available as a digestivo (£1.95). For dessert, save room for chocolate, vanilla or lemon Sfoglatina (pastries); chocolate or vanilla Cannolini; or a slice of the unusual but delicious chocolate salami.

Diners can also buy Valentina’s jars of antipasti, jams and honey; durum wheat pasta; pasta sauces; and olive wood gifts. Olive oil from the family’s own farms in Sant’Elia Fiumerapido will also be available to buy.

The spuntino bar at Harvey Nichols is open until May 22nd so don't miss out - head for the fifth floor for a post-shopping feast. (After that, you can visit their deli-restaurants in Sheen, Putney and Sevenoaks).

Celebrate Summer With Four Foodie Pop-Ups In London

Tired of your old favourites? Not convinced by the new openings? Check out one of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it restaurants popping up in London this summer. With everything from urban beaches and lobster shacks to choose from, there's bound to be something that takes your fancy.

Benares pop-up at Meza, Soho – From 4th May, Atul Kochhar’s Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, Benares, will be popping up at Meza on Wardour Street. For one month, the restaurant will be decked out in exotic coloured silks and Meza’s modern grill menu will be replaced by Atul’s creative modern Indian cuisine. Diners can enjoy dishes like Goan goat koftas with lavender and peanut honey; Rajasthani crispy okra with harissa mayo; and Kashmiri-style lamb rogan josh. The pop-up will be open for dinner only, Monday to Saturday, and Benares restaurant will be open as usual. For reservations, please call 020 7314 4002.

Dishoom’s Chowpatty Beach Bar, Southbank – This summer, Dishoom will be transporting its  tasty street food and Bombay cafe vibe from Covent Garden to London’s Southbank. From May 13th, the area near the Southbank Centre will be transformed into a sort of Bombay-on-Thames, complete with 48 tonnes of sand, bunting, deckchairs and a colourful pop-up bar. Dishoom’s Gola-wallahs will be serving authentic Gola (shaved ice) drinks in lots of fun flavours, as well as Thums Up cola floats, beer, wine, Bombay Pimms and much more. Bring your friends, enjoy the sunshine and tuck into Pau Bhaji or freshly baked naans filled with spicy lamb mince or crispy bacon. Don’t miss the Vada Pau – fried potatoes in a bun with homemade chilli chutneys, a bit like an Indian chip butty! The Chowpatty Beach will be open seven days a week until September so there’s plenty of time for return visits this summer.

Hix Oyster & Fish House, Selfridges – From May 12th, Mark Hix’s restaurant at Selfridges will host a pop-up version of his Lyme Regis eatery, Hix Oyster & Fish House. The venture coincides with Selfridges’ Project Ocean – a series of talks, events and in-store activity to raise awareness of the problems of global over-fishing. The menu will feature British seafood dishes like whole Portland crab with mayonnaise; steamed mussels in cider; and hake with cockles. In addition, celeb chef Val Warner, Mitch Tonks and Mark Hix will be hosting a sustainable fish supper on Wednesday 25th May. (Tickets cost £60 per person for a 3-course menu and half bottle of wine. Call 01689 855 390 to book).

Rock Lobsta Bar, Shoreditch – In late June, a pop-up lobster roll bar will open at Luna & Curious on Calvert Avenue in Shoreditch. The bar is a new venture for catering company owner David Wolanski; Carl Clarke (former executive chef at the Clarence Hotel in Dublin); and Adam Van den Bussche (former General Manager at Harrod’s Food Hall). They promise ‘no seriousness, just fun’ and a menu of classic ‘Lobsta Rolls’- soft rolls filled with British lobster meat and your choice of mayo. (Try it with aioli, simple Lobsta mayo, 1000 Lobsta Island dressing, or even sweet & sour sea buckthorn). Seafood fans can also try a brown crab roll; an English crayfish roll; or The Hackney Splitter – a 50/50 crab and lobster mix. Keep an eye on their twitter feed for details.

Shamrock 'n' Roll - Celebrate St Patrick's Day In London

Thursday 17th March is St Patrick’s Day – the annual celebration of the patron saint of Ireland and a great excuse for the rest of the world to down pints of Guinness and bowls of Irish stew. London’s official St Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival will take place this Sunday (March 13th), with colourful floats and marching bands proceeding from Green Park to Trafalgar Square from 12 noon. The square will host the festival programme of live Irish dance and music – a great family day out, and it’s free!

Throughout the week and on the 17th itself, lots of London restaurants and bars will be celebrating with Irish-themed menus, drinks, offers and events. Here are some of the best places to enjoy the craic.

Corrigan’s – In Mayfair, at the culinary home of Irish chef Richard Corrigan, they are celebrating with a week-long festival of Irish food. An Irish Market Menu, available at lunchtime Monday to Friday, will be available for just £27 for three courses, including a carafe of wine. The a la carte will feature daily Irish specials like crubeens, braised collar of bacon, and Oyster Stout rarebit, and the restaurant’s cheese trolley will feature only Irish cheeses for one week only.

Bentley’s – At Corrigan’s other restaurant, Bentley’s on Swallow Street, they will be hosting an Irish buffet in the private Jameson Room. Guests can expect plenty of oysters, smoked salmon, Irish stew, whiskey apple pie and Irish cheeses, along with live music from the Kilburn Cowboys. (Tickets are priced at £45 per head, or £20 each for late afternoon tickets. For more info or to book, please call 020 7734 4756).

The Rubens at the Palace – At the Rubens Hotel on Buckingham Palace Road, the cocktail of the month is the Black Velvet – a Guinness and Champagne cocktail invented in Dublin in 1861. In the Old Masters Restaurant, a special prix fixe menu will include wild smoked salmon and soda bread; Irish stew with bacon and cabbage; and fine Irish cheeses accompanied by a selection of Irish beers and stouts. (2 courses £24.50, 3 for £29.50).

Lutyens – In the City, Lutyens’ Irish head chef David Burke has put together a selection of Irish-themed menus to showcase some of his favourite ingredients and recipes. City slickers can pop in to the bar for the prix fixe menu (2 courses £17.50) or three Galway Bay oysters with a Black Velvet cocktail for £12.50. In the restaurant, diners can enjoy the Menu Compris – three courses, half a bottle of wine, water, coffee and petits fours for £39.50. The menu will include dishes like Claire Island smoked salmon; seared scallops with pea purée and Clonakilty white pudding; Drumlin Gold sirloin steak; and chocolate mousse with whiskey and honeycomb ice-cream. The menus will be available from Monday 14th to Friday 18th March.

The Water Poet – On March 17th, The Water Poet gastropub in Spitalfields will be serving a three-course St Patrick’s Day menu all day. City foodies and Irish ex-pats can tuck into traditional dishes like boiled bacon and cabbage; Irish stew with soda bread; and pan-fried salmon with colcannon and whipped Irish whiskey butter. Save room for a dessert of Baileys cheesecake, Guinness sticky toffee pudding or an Irish cheese platter.