As Christmas approaches, it’s even more important than usual to seek out the best places to eat and drink. For this is when the masses emerge from sober Octobers and No-fun-vembers to ruin December for the rest of us consistent folk, before eschewing it all again in their New Year resolutions. Southbank’s Winter Festival is already underway so drop in there for street food delights from the likes of Horn OK Please and brilliant beers from The Hop Locker #2 before the advent countdown starts. For a quieter and cosier street food experience, head over to Flat Iron Square where Ekachai’s South East Asian dishes come with change from a tenner.
The #CookForSyria campaign, masterminded by Clerkenwell Boy & Suitcase Mag, is well underway. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, head to the website here, buy the book a few times over for Thanksgiving/Christmas/Chanukah gifts, and then go out in search of some delicious dishes around London in support of an even greater cause. I’ve already ticked off duck kibbeh at The Good Egg and çilbir at Yosma. So far, so good.
If you are seeking winter warmth in alcoholic form, you could do worse than the bar at Holborn Dining Room which claims to be London’s largest gin bar with 400+ gins on offer. I stopped by recently to road test some new “spirit enhancers” from Merchant’s Heart – an exciting range of mixers for making simple but interesting cocktails that let the chosen spirit shine through. They’ve been created with the help of bartenders and are currently available in some great beta bars around the city. Check the website here for more info. Hopefully they will be more widely available soon!
