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There are no rules about enjoying food you know well, it could be your partner cooking you breakfast in bed to an early hours falafel after a night out. Equally, experiencing a new dish or drink could be at any time of the day or night, like when you went to a friend’s place for dinner and they concocted that sensational cachaça cocktail. To mark the fact that drinkable discoveries and edible epiphanies can happen at any time, we’ve rounded up the best ways to discover and enjoy new foodie and drink experiences at any time of the day across London – including one that involves no more effort than getting out of bed!
EatFirst brunch delivered to you in bed
London’s fastest growing online-only restaurant EatFirst, has recently launched weekend ordering, the menu for which is perfect for London-based foodies who plan on spending a lazy day at home.
The menu includes vibrant vegetarian, meat and savoury dishes, served alongside artisan breads, Virgin Marys and fresh juices. In collaboration with head chef Noemi Dulischewski from Berlin Brünch, before the end of August you can order a few delights including a lightly smoked mackerel pâté with horseradish (£6.95) served with a celeriac remoulade and a traditionally German rye bread apple, or a sour cherry Rote Grütze (£2.95) topped with lashings of vanilla custard.
We recommend the drool-inducing Berlin Brünch almond butter and banana on sourdough toast with quark, amaranth, granola, honey and thyme (£4.95). Be warned, you will not want to share this indulgent and aromatic dish with anyone else, so be sure to order one each! To complete your brunch experience add a from a choice of Virgin Marys, fresh juices, Sandows Cold Brew, Collalto Prosecco and Our/London Vodka make perfect accompaniments.
To order, visit www.eatfirst.com or download the app, choose your meal and pick a 30-minute delivery slot up to six days in advance. Delivery is available in selected postcodes in London zones 1, 2 and 3 from 11.30am on Saturday or Sunday. The customer service team at EatFirst were really helpful when we called up about our order, the added touch of great service (on top of delicious food), goes a long way to building customer confidence in a new service.
Rum blending with The Duppy Share
The Duppy Share offer an alternative way to drink rum. As well as selling their own blend of rum, they invite customers to join them on an interactive taste journey across Jamaica and Barbados. You will get the chance to profile different rums, and then blend your own rum and take home, according to your preferred flavour profile. During the course of the evening, you’ll learn a few interesting facts about rum – very useful for a pub quiz.
We visited The Duppy Share at Duke on The Green, a Young’s-owned pub on Parson’s Green. It’s location, between Chelsea and Putney makes it an ideal meeting place to drop in for a drink (or Duppy event) en route home. What makes you want to stay for a second, third or daringly fourth round (on a school night) are the inviting armchairs, open fireplace and home-from-home feel that this neighbour local offers.
Events are scheduled across the capital, with listings available on their Facebook page, here: https://www.facebook.com/theduppyshare/ – book directly with the venue, tickets are £15.
Twilight Soho Food Tour
Soho, in addition to being one of the biggest LGBT hangouts in the UK, is a hotbed culinary curiosities, with new food outlets and trends continuously popping up in this area (the pineapple was introduced to the UK on Berwick Street Market as an example). Some of our favourite food institutions reside in Soho, from Dean Street Town House for a sophisticated midweek dinner, to Balans, frequented for a morale-boosting cocktail. There is so much on offer, it is often hard to choose…or in fact to know the latest openings from which to choose.
That is where Eating London’s Twilight Soho Food Tour comes into its own. The foodie tour guides require 4 hours of your time, and in return will lead you through the streets of Soho, stopping at 6 venues to sample food and drink at each, enveloping you in the history of the area. Highlights include margaritas and prawn tacos at La Bodega Negra, homemade pie and gin tasting at The London Gin Club and descending into Basement Sate, a speakeasy with desserts as sumptuous as its cocktails. For both Londoners and non-Londoners alike, this is an evening experience worth investing in. Both tastebuds and minds are stimulated on this journey of edible exploration.
Twilight Soho Food Tour typically run every Tuesday – Friday night, with tickets priced at £84, inclusive of all food and drink. A full calendar of dates and booking is available at http://www.eatinglondontours.co.uk.
Tequila and Mezcal Fest
Mexico’s much loved liquid export, Tequila (and its lesser-known sibling Mezcal) celebrates its third year at a festival dedicated to drinking this Agave-based spirit. The UK’s only festival Tequila & Mezcal Fest is dedicated to showcasing the best exports from Mexico, on 17 and 18th September. Festival goers will be able to enjoy Mexican cocktail making masterclasses, and try (and buy) the Margarita of The Year 2016. As well as the Patron brand, we suggest keeping an eye out for Altos (who make a mean Margarita) and Ocho, whose Curado agave-infused Tequila is almost liqueur-like and will tempt Tequila loathers and lovers alike.
To help absorb all the 40% strength spirits, London’s well known Mexican restaurant brands will be on hand to serve hungry revellers. Barrio Bars (see our feature here), Lupita, Camion and Wahaca are some of the stalls we’ll be visiting for nourishment.
Sessions are available Saturday (17th) noon – 4:30pm, 5pm – 9:30pm, or on Sunday (18th) 11:30am – 4pm or 4:30pm – 9pm. Tickets are £15 in advance and £20 on the door. Full details and ticket purchase available at http://www.tequilafest.co.uk/.
