What to do in London this week (Picture: Korean Grill Kensington, The Nutcracker, Cadbury Secret Santa, London Christmas Lights)
Welcome back to the Slice, your weekly guide to what’s on in London.
It’s the most magical time of the year… almost. But the second the last embers fizzle out on Bonfire Night, our brains are instantly filled with thoughts of festive feasting, twinkling lights and of course, The Nutcracker. The countdown begins in London…
The Slice’s Pick
London’s Christmas Lights
Find all the best Christmas locations in London (Picture: Accidentally Wes Anderson: The Exhibition).
We don’t want to hear about them being put up too early: London never looks more breathtaking than when its streets are bedecked with twinkling Christmas lights. This year it all started on Oxford Street, where 300,000 LEDs now light the way for shoppers with garlands of hanging stars (sponsor one of the stars with children’s charity Starlight online for via QR codes on the street). Covent Garden had a major glow-up last night, with the arrival of 40 enormous golden bells with equally gigantic bows, and round the corner, Leicester Square lights up today with the arrival of its Christmas Market. Next, step into Carnaby Universe, where the famous street has been transformed into a space-age neon wonderland, with it’s grand switch-on taking place tonight (get your free ticket here).Tomorrow the capital’s beloved angels will flutter their way back to watch over Regents Street once more, with sparkling new additions on Glasshouse Street, Swallow Street and glittering Quadrant Arcade. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
Food & Drink
Korean Grill Kensington
Kensington’s first Korean grill experience (Picture: Korean Grill Kensington)
Sizzle on down to KGK, the first Korean grill in Kensington to offer an Omakase dining experience. Let KGK take you on a journey into Korean BBQ culture with King Kalbi – a diamond-cut beef rib marinated in KGK’s signature sauce. From the tantalising à la carte menu we recommend the Pork belly Su-yuk with ssamjan for a delicious spicy touch. It’s not a traditional K-BBQ without sipping on some Soju and Banchan so soak in the rich flavours before finishing with some soybean ice cream and traditional Korean desserts.
Mains from £8. 4-18 Harrington Gardens, South Kensington.
NEW IN TOWN:
🍸 Nestled high in the skies above Southwark, Mediterranean-inspired bar and restaurant 26Seabird has paired up with the vermouth maker 22Noilly Prat, to create three distinctive martinis to compliment some of Seabird’s seafood delicacies with the second our favouite. This deal is one for the romantics. £5 per glass of the chosen cocktail. 40 Blackfriars Road, Southwark.
Nest
A cosy foodie escape in Nest’s new branch (Picture: Nest)
Nest’s new home in Shoreditch already feels cosy and familiar – gently lit by candlelight and with an intimate atmosphere perfect for a romantic date. The restaurant offers a monthly themed set menu which only allows one meat in the kitchen at a time, so you can enjoy meat and fish in a more sustainable way. Highlights include what may be the crispiest trout skin in London and Nest’s signature soda bread.
Set menu from £65, 374-378 Old Street.
NEW IN TOWN:
🐟 Some of the most perfectly cooked fish and meat dishes we’ve ever had can be found in Canary Wharf’s recently opened restaurant Fish Game. Our personal favourites: the arancini to start with followed by the impossibly tender monkfish. Mains from £15. 14 Water St, Canary Wharf.
🦀 Step into Whitcomb’s at The Londoner and the chaos of the capital’s most thrumming locale instantly dissipates. The décor is a lesson in restrained elegance; all sumptuous, earthy tones with luxurious finishes. Try the oysters if they’re in season – they’re as crisp as a brisk walk in the sea air – or sample the new festive menu, which features delights including smoked duck carpaccio with spiced orange dressing. Round it all off with a glass of Gusbourne’s Brut Reserve. Mains from £14. 38 Leicester Square, West End.
D.O. Cava x Searcys St Pancras
Enjoy a bespoke Cava tasting menu (Picture: D.O. Cava x Searcys St Pancras)
Cava makes me giddy, in a good way. The hiss of the cork, those dry and eager bubbles, the price tag. Take that, Champagne. Cava is also officially the world’s most food-friendly wine. So, it makes sense that D.O. Cava has joined forces with Searcys St Pancras. All month, customers can savour a bespoke Cava tasting menu and 3 x Cava wine flight, which climaxes in a tasting masterclass on the 21 November, with 8 glasses of Cava matched to super luxe tapas and live music.
Cava tasting tickets £25pp, 21 November. Upper floor, St Pancras Station.
Join Metro Drinks Club for the first ever live online tasting! Metro Drinks Editor, Rob Buckhaven and Naked Wines’ Master of Wine, Ray O’Connor will take you through the highlights in the Xmas Came Early Case (just £64.99 for 12 bottles – click here to get yours) at 8pm on Tuesday 14 November. Save the date in your diary and click here to join this free virtual tasting event (passcode: 523169)
WIN a bundle of Play-Doh goodies plus family tickets to Paultons Park, home of Peppa Pig World
Meet Peppa and George, as well as all your other favourite characters from the TV show, and step inside a world of creativity, fun and laughter at the world’s first Peppa Pig World.
You’ll also get a £250 travel allowance – and we’ll throw in £500 spending money, so you can stock up on plenty of goodies along the way.
Your little explorer will also receive a bundle of must-have Play-Doh goodies, including the Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Busy Chef’s Restaurant Playset, Pizza Oven Playset, Magical Mixer Playset and Picnic Shapes Starter Set, all specifically designed for creative play around make-believe food!
A Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Busy Chef’s Restaurant Playset is one of the fun sets in the bundle
For your chance to win an experience they’ll never forget, click here to enter this incredible competition today.
All you have to do is write and tell us what your kids would create with the Play-Doh Busy Chef’s Restaurant playset in 200 words or less!
You have until midnight 1 January 2024 to enter. Good luck!
All prizes must be claimed and booked by October 2024. For full details, terms and conditions, visit our terms and conditions page.
London’s best… festive warmups
BEST SHOPPING: Marylebone Village Christmas Light Switch On
Christmas is here in Marylebone (Picture: Marylebone Village Christmas Light Switch On)
Marylebone Village is set to kick off the Christmas season with a lights switch-on event this Thursday. The event will include artisan market stalls, festive activities including a Santa’s Grotto, a Ferris Wheel, music, late-night shopping and the switch-on moment itself which will be hosted by a celebrity guest.
9 November, 3-8pm. Marylebone Village.
BEST FOOD: Market Halls Winter Rooftop Gardens
A new festive addition to Market Halls Victoria (Picture: Market Halls Winter Rooftop Gardens)
Market Halls Victoria has transformed its rooftop into two fully covered and heated winter garden terraces for the festive season. Featuring twinkling lights, heaters, blankets, and a skyline bar, it’s an ideal place to stay warm while enjoying London’s finest street food, mulled wine, and seasonal cocktails.
From 9 November. 191 Victoria Street, Victoria.
BEST GIFT: Cadbury Secret Santa
Send someone special something chocolatey this Christmas (Picture: Cadbury Secret Santa)
Cadbury’s Secret Santa is back for the sixth year, allowing up to 120,000 people to send a free bar of Cadbury chocolate to someone special in secret. Users can scan QR codes from pop-up posters across the UK to choose a chocolate bar to gift. Cadbury is also partnering with The Trussell Trust to support food banks during the season.
What’s on
Vagina Museum
The popular and unique museum is back! (Picture: Vagina Museum)
We were gutted when London’s fun, fearless, and hugely underrated Vagina Museum was forced to leave its Bethnal Green home at the beginning of the year. Great news then, that thanks to a successful crowdfunding appeal the museum is back, in new long-term premises on Poyser Street (too cool to lose that E2 postcode, of course). The new venue has three galleries – two temporary and one permanent, plus and events space for talks, workshops and performances, a gift shop and a cafe, which serves delightful vulva-themed buns and biscuits from queer-run bakery Kween Kream. To kick off the reopening, their first temporary exhibition, Endometriosis: Into the Unknown, shines a much-needed, myth-busting light on a poorly understood disease.
Free. Arches 275-276, Poyser Street, Bethnal Green.
Theatre
The Time Traveller’s Wife ★★★
Based on the 2003 weepie, it’s sure to inspire the odd tear (Picture: The Time Traveller’s Wife)
Based on Audrey Niffenegger’s bestselling 2003 weepie, the story centres on Henry, a man cursed with a genetic disorder that makes him hop about in different timelines, and Clare, the admirably patient woman he loves. As it goes on, the score, which initially feels a tad bland, gets stronger, and the accomplished lead performances also help to ground things in real emotion. As a romance that’s a metaphor for how all relationships must negotiate anxieties about the past and future, it resonates – and is sure to inspire more than the odd audience tear.
Tickets from £15. Until 16 December, Apollo Theatre, West End.
Music
The Nutcracker
A new jazzy twist on the Christmas classic (Picture: The Nutcracker)
This jazzy twist on The Nutcracker, choreographed by Drew McOnie, promises to crack up your Christmas with a wild and mischievous take on the holiday classic. The McOnie Company’s premier dancers perform to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score with a live jazz band in the intimate Tuff Nutt Jazz Club, where the show combines familiar melodies with cabaret-style performances, creating a lively and adventurous Nutcracker storytelling experience. After the performance, enjoy a live session at the Tuff Nutt Jazz Club’s Nutcracker Nights. Go nuts – it’s Christmas time!
Tickets from £15. 6 January, Southbank Centre.
See you next week!
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The countdown to Christmas begins in London…
