From Thailand to Wonderland via fondues, skewers and martinis, November comes with another impressive haul of foodie pop-ups, residencies and supperclubs to sample.
We’ve picked only the most interesting sounding events and ordered them so that those ending soonest are at the top. If you give any of them a go, let us know what you think. And if we’re missing something that you reckon sounds great, then please tell us in the comments below.
Dinner in Wonderland
If you’ve always fancied going the way Alice did and taking a trip to Wonderland, then this is your opportunity. On Saturday 8 November, a secret dinner party invites you to spend the evening with The Mad Hatter, Alice and the Queen of Hearts. Included are four courses, games of cards and a spot of croquet, though just how or where the night will unfold no one knows — well, no one except the event organisers. We’re expecting something fairly impressive given the £72 pricetag.
Book tickets here
Spalding’s suppers
Since cheffing at Simon Rogan’s long-term pop-up Roganic and a brief stint at Islington gastropub The John Salt, Ben Spalding has been running regular supperclubs around town. His latest spot is disused office space on Kingsland Road, where he’s hosting a number of dinners on Thursdays and Fridays throughout the month. For the most part these will be his ‘Stripped Back’ series of events, focusing on simply prepared ingredients of the kind he used to serve on his Broadway Market stall, and feature a whopping nine courses for £39. He will also be running three ‘decade dinners’ focused on the 70s, 80s and 00s, as well as a couple of ‘no rules’ events where diners are each asked to bring their favourite and least favourite ingredient which will then be incorporated into the meal. If you haven’t tried Ben’s cooking, we highly recommend you do so.
260-264 Kingsland Road, E8 4DG. Book tickets here
Martini mad
The Langham Hotel’s Palm Court has been transformed into an evening aperitivo bar for the month. Until 29 November, it’ll be paying homage to all things Martini, with the brand’s posters, adverts and artworks accompanying a menu of seven modern takes on the martini cocktail. The creations include Martini Bianco with pine, raspberry and Crodino, and Martini Rosato with rum, guava and bitters. They cost £12 each and have been put together by Alex Kratena who is head bartender at the hotel’s Artesian bar, recently voted the best in the world.
Palm Court, 1c Portland Place, W1B 1JA
Fairground flavours
Marylebone dining space Carousel is so named as it features a constantly rotating line-up of chefs; for the duration of November it’s the turn of Selin Kiazim, whose Turkish-Cypriot-inspired cooking we reviewed when she had a residency at Haggerston’s Trip Kitchen early this year. We reckon she’s a talent to watch and that her food is vibrant and exciting stuff, so would highly recommend a visit while she’s there. The three course menu costs £35 and includes homemade bread with date butter, venison tartare with bulgar wheat and chilli, and lamb cutlets with cabbage and a citrus and coriander salad.
Carousel, 71 Blandford Street, W1U 8AB. Book tickets here
Forza fondue
It’s become an annual foodie fixture, and this year is no different as Forza Winter returns for a series of dinners built around a bowl of bubbling melted cheese. It’s the cold weather spin-off of grill-based Italian pop-up Forza Win and will serve five courses of pork arancini, meatballs, hams and the like, with the fondue in the middle of the table throughout, to be poured over or dipped into along the way. There’ll also be a bar serving mulled cocktails, a list of Italian natural wines and a vending machine full of beer. It all takes place from Thursday to Saturday evenings until 20 December, at Forza Win’s new Peckham base. Tickets cost £30 a pop.
Unit 4.1, 133 Copland Estate, SE15 3SN. Book tickets here
Tip-top Thai
MasterChef runner-up Andy Oliver has been cooking northern Thai food under the Som Saa brand on and off for a few of years now, with the plan being to open his own restaurant. Having previously worked in top restaurants in Thailand as well as at David Thompson’s now-closed Nham in London, he certainly knows his stuff. Now he and business partner Tom George — a manager at Goodman — are settling into Climpson’s Arch in London Fields until early next year, serving dinners from 6-11pm from Thursdays to Sundays and brunches 11am-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Dishes include pork curry with pickled garlic and ginger, salt-roasted red prawns with a green chilli dipping sauce, and salted palm sugar ice-cream with sesame-fried banana. An adjoining bar will serve kaffir lime G&Ts along with other Thai-inspired cocktails.
Climpson’s Arch, Arch 374 Helmsley Place, E8 3SB
Sticky stuff
The latest residency to hit the Star Of Kings pub near King’s Cross is En Brochette, which serves French-inspired food on sticks. Dishes include slow-cooked pork with truffled apple sauce, rare salmon provençal and lemon-rubbed artichokes, along with regularly changing international skewers such as shish kebabs, satays and yakitori. En Brochette will be sticking around until January, serving from 12-3pm and 6-10pm Monday to Friday and 12-9pm on Saturdays.
Star Of Kings, 126 York Way, N1 0AX
Game for it
Scottish company The Wild Game Co shoots and serves some of the nations finest wild meats — and more recently has also traded at street food markets across London. Now the team has gone a step further with the launch of a site on Charlotte Street, dubbed as a semi-permanent restaurant. We’re not sure how long it will be around for, but it’ll definitely be there until Christmas. While it is, you’ll be able to pop by for game and Scottish-inspired dishes including venison chateaubriand, stovies and a rather fabulous sounding Veni-moo burger, made with one patty of beef and one of venison, along with bresaola and melted cheese. You'll also be able to buy meat to take away and cook at home.
Wild Game Co, 65 Charlotte Street, W1T 4PQ
