In some places, things tend to slow down for autumn. Cozy nights take centre stage, enhanced with pumpkin-spiced candles and new sets of pyjamas. However, London isn't exactly some place. Here, we have a fresh batch of openings to attend to, one which pairs burgers with champagne. No rest for the wicked.
Here's what to eat and drink this week.
Free Noodles at Kung Fu Mama
It's National Noodle Day on Tuesday and before you roll your eyes, there's a valid reason to celebrate. Kung Fu Mama is giving away 100 portions of its signature 12-hour beef noodles across its Covent Garden and Canary Wharf restaurants. From 3pm to 4pm, the first 50 people through the doors at each restaurant can scan a QR code to claim a free bowl. If you miss out on the giveaway, there’ll be 25% off noodles for the rest of the day. The signature bowl usually costs £12.95 and comes with beef slow-cooked for 12 hours, sun-dried noodles and a tingle of Szechuan pepper.
6 October | Covent Garden & Canary Wharf
Emilia’s Crafted Pasta Arrives on Tottenham Court Road
Emilia’s Crafted Pasta opens its sixth London restaurant on Tottenham Court Road on Wednesday 7 October, with 50% off food until the 13th. The new Central St Giles restaurant comes with an open kitchen, visible pasta-making station and covered piazza terrace. Food-wise, expect Emilia’s signatures, including its four-hour slow-cooked pappardelle béchamel bolognese and homemade pesto casarecce, alongside a handful of dishes created especially for the new opening.
7 October | Tottenham Court Road
Clementine Bakery Finally Opens its Doors
After a slight delay, we're happy to announce that Clementine bakery has an official opening date: this Saturday. In case you missed it, pastry chef Anna Higham has opened a Quince bakery 2.0, directly across the road from the OG. Clementine is a tiny 20-cover all-day café serving breakfast, brunch and lunch with the same focus on seasonal British ingredients. The menu includes tattie scones with Cacklebean eggs, a Ploughman’s with Kirkham’s Lancashire and Gothelney ham, chicken and tarragon pie and scones with Ivy House cream. Head chef Marcus Westlake joins from Forno, having previously worked at Brawn.
10th October | Islington
Milk Burgers Serves Burgers and Champagne
Burgers have come a long way from being relegated to hangover food, eaten with a Coke and a side of regret. Nowadays, burgers are sexy. If you don't believe us, look towards Notting Hill, where chef Jorge Paredes, the chef behind OMA and AGORA, has opened Milk Burger. The premise is simple: burgers and Champagne. Paredes has already had quite the run in London, with OMA earning a Michelin star and Agora earning a mention in every second TopJaw interview. The expectations for his interpretation of the humble burger are high.
5th October | Notting Hill
The Prince Arthur Moves to Chelsea
Belgravia’s loss is Chelsea’s gain this week as The Prince Arthur swaps neighbourhoods and begins its next chapter.
Opening on 6 October, the new two-storey restaurant and bar takes the Basque-inspired cooking that made the original Prince Arthur a hit and gives it a considerably bigger home. Downstairs, there’s a 79-cover restaurant centred around a wood-fired grill, while upstairs you’ll find the Chelsea Music Bar, inspired by Tokyo listening bars.
Head Chef Adam Iglesias is back in the kitchen, cooking an ingredient-led menu over live fire. Expect plenty of seafood, dry-aged meat and familiar Prince Arthur favourites including sea urchin, txuleta, carabineros, whole turbot and lobster rice. There’ll even be a seafood counter where diners can choose the exact fish they want to eat.
6 October | Chelsea
Stoke Newington Gets a New Puglian Restaurant
On Wednesday, Stoke Newington welcomes Da Pino, a new neighbourhood restaurant taking over the former Bianca’s site. Two familiar faces are staying behind: chef Giuseppe Pepe and front-of-house manager Federico, who are taking the restaurant in a new direction with a particular focus on the food of Puglia.
The opening menu includes a take on the Puglian classic riso, patate e cozze, made with grilled rice, confit potatoes and fresh mussels. It might come as an initial shock that there's only one option for dessert, but when the dessert in question is sourdough bread miso ice cream, nothing else seems to matter. And for afterwards? Perhaps a nightcap at the pub that serves the best pint of Guinness in London (and no, we're not talking about the Devonshire).
7 October | Stoke Newington
Bellanger's Wine & Cheese Night
Thursday has been the new Friday for quite some time now, and we couldn't think of a better way to welcome in the extended weekend than with cheese and wine. Few pairings have stood the test of time quite like this one, and this week two Islington favourites are getting together to remind us exactly why. French bistro Bellanger is bringing back its Cheese & Wine evening in collaboration with neighbourhood cheesemonger Pistachio & Pickle Dairy. From 6pm to 8pm, guests will work their way through four cheeses, each paired with a French wine and presented by the team from Pistachio & Pickle. Equal parts educational and delightful. Tickets still available at £35.
8 October | Islington | 6pm–8pm
