The Month Ahead – October 2013

Encompassing new openings and old favourites, pop-up venues, events and everything in between, here is the inside track for the bon vivant.

We’re starting a new regular monthly feature where we summarise some of our highlights from the previous month and offer recommendations for where you should visit or have on your radar for the month ahead.

Encompassing new openings and old favourites, pop-up venues, events and everything in between, here is the inside track for the bon vivant.

September Highlights

The month started with trying the new Dim Sum Sundays menu at Hakkasan Hanway Place – a 6 course menu with half a bottle of champagne and two cocktails for £58.

The high-end Chinese theme continued with a return visit to Hutong in The Shard – the red lantern dish of crispy soft shell crab in a basket of Sichuan dried peppers remains one of my favourite dishes of the year (picture below).

The red lantern dish at Hutong London

If you like negronis, I recommend you visit Caravan King’s Cross, where they now have negronis on tap. A negroni is one of my favourite cocktails and this was an excellent version. The espresso martinis are pretty special too.

Continue your evening with dinner here or head to Shrimpy’s nearby in the old filling station for the soft shell crab burger and some pisco sours like we did.

Theatreland classic Joe Allen has recently changed hands but retains its homely, cosy atmosphere where the buzz is infectious – order the burger that doesn’t exist and soak up the atmosphere.

Gymkhana London

If new restaurants is more your thing, then I can highly recommend Gymkhana (pictured below), an excellent new Indian restaurant in Mayfair.

Sit at the bar with the excellent cocktail selection and a venison keema naan or try the full menu – highlights included the keralan moilee mussels served with curry leaf and garlic naan or the astonishingly soft and juicy Lasooni wild tiger prawns.

Last week we had a quick preview of a new suite at a central London hotel, which has a spectacular terrace (ideal for private events) – details to be announced soon – while earlier in the month I attended an exhibition at Claridge’s for David Downton’s portraits of iconic hotel guests and other famous faces from the world of fashion – they know how to throw a party at Claridge’s!

The Month Ahead – October 2013

Rosewood London Hotel – From 15 October 2013

London’s Holborn area continues its redevelopment with the launch of the Rosewood London, which opens on 15 October with 262 rooms and 44 suites designed by New York based Tony Chi and Associates.

The bedrooms at Rosewood London

The main restaurant (where Pearl used to be) will be called The Holborn Dining Room and will be run by Des McDonald, while former Michelin starred chef Bjorn van der Horst will also have a restaurant at the hotel. From the images online and a peek through the windows, the hotel looks gorgeous.

Merchants Tavern – From 8 October 2013

Merchants Tavern is a collaboration between Angela Hartnett, Canteen founders Dominic Lake and Patrick Clayton-Malone, and chef Neil Borthwick, opening in Shoreditch this month.

Merchants Tavern in Shoreditch

The 130 cover restaurant will have a modern European menu and some tables will be available for walk-ins, with a separate bar menu also available. Early reports from the soft opening have been very positive.

Hoi Polloi at the Ace Hotel – From 3 October 2013

Pablo Flack and David Waddington of celebrated east London restaurant Bistrotheque will open Hoi Polloi at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch on  3 October.

Hoi Polloi will be a ‘modernist brasserie’ with a ‘dynamic space’ for 100 covers, with an adjacent bar (50 covers) that will be open throughout the day with a no-reservations policy.

Pieds Nus

Restaurateur David Moore (Pied à Terre and L’Autre Pied) has taken over the site most recently occupied by Simon Rogan’s Roganic. Pieds Nus (which means ‘barefoot’) will be popping up from October 2013 until April 2014.

Keeper’s House at the Royal Academy of Arts – From 2 October 2013

Peyton and Byrne have launched a new 40-seat restaurant and cocktail bar at Keeper’s House in the Royal Academy of Arts. Oliver Peyton has collaborated with Sir David Chipperfield and Long & Kentish who have designed the interiors.

The London Restaurant Festival – 3 to 21 October 2013

The London Restaurant Festival is a celebration of London’s diverse and accomplished restaurant and food and drink scene. Approximately 350 London restaurants will take part in the festival, where special menus will be created offering excellent value lunches and dinners.

There are a number of food events, including the Tapas Tours, Cicchetti Trails and Japanese Journeys, where you can have a dish and a drink in each of six participating venues, along with many other exciting events.

Wine Dinner at Nobu London – 25 and 26 October 2013

Nobu London is hosting boutique Japanese winery Katasnuma Jozo for 2 nights on 25th and 26th October, for an evening of Koshu wines matched with Nobu’s cuisine. The six course dinner with paired wines is £275.

Drakes Tabanco – From 7 October 2013

The team behind Copita and Barrica will launch their next venture, Drakes Tabanco in Fitzrovia, based on ‘a traditional sherry tavern typical of Jerez, Spain’, served straight from the barrel. The Spanish-British menu will also have a sherry matching tasting menu, and if you like what you taste, you can also fill a bottle of sherry from a barrel to take home.

Barts and Maggie’s Winter Tour – From 8 October 2013

Chelsea based speakeasy bar Barts and 80s style nightclub Maggie’s will launch their winter whistle-stop tour on Tuesday 8th October.

Begin your evening at Barts from 6pm onwards with hot vodka chocolate before heading over to Maggie’s and getting involved in a host of winter themed fun and games for the ‘Lake Placid Winter Olympics’, starting on 8 October with the ‘Schnapps Ski-Jump Ice Luge’.

Vivo, Islington – Mid-October 2013

Vivo will open mid-October as a casual all-day restaurant and bakery on Upper Street in Islington. Vivo aims to be casual neighbourhood restaurant focusing on Italian cooking, with the added benefit of a roof terrace for the warm evenings ahead (!).

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