MY BEST ‘EAT OUT TO HELP OUT’ PICKS
As many of you know, the Eat Out to Help Out scheme started in the UK on 3 August and will run until 31 August. During this time, restaurants that are registered with the scheme are offering 50% off all food and non-alcoholic drinks (up to a £10 discount per person). Here, I’ve rounded up my personal faves to help you wade through the many choices. As a restaurateur, I know how hard the industry has been hit by the pandemic, so it’s important to support the hospitality industry if you’re able.
Well, I couldn’t do a restaurant round-up without a nod to the Hemsley+Hemsley café in Selfridges! Come taste our gorgeous new seasonal menu, including our new favourite the Summer Green Bowl with Crispy Chickpeas and Mustard Dressing, plus as always the H+H classic salad trio, Moroccan Chicken Stew and Paradise Bars. Everything is free from gluten, grains, refined sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oils, and full of goodness.
This cult London spot has three locations — Soho, Marylebone and King’s Cross — all serving delicious fresh food inspired by Sri Lanka and South India. On the menu: hoppers, dosas, rice, roast, kothu and arrack. Mmh, mmh, mmh.
An eatery with nature at the forefront of its philosophy, Farmacy serves food that is plant-based and free from dairy, refined sugars, additives and chemicals. I love their nourishing Earth Bowls for lunch or mushroom toast for brunch.
A perfect one for a summer dinner with friends, Gold Notting Hill specialises in innovative seasonal dishes cooked in wood ovens. Think burrata and charred peaches, wood roasted kohlrabi, lobster agnolotti and many more special goodies, all served in an idyllic setting in the heart of Notting Hill.
Another one for West Londoners, Orasay Restaurant in Notting Hill is the brainchild of chef Jackson Boxer. Open for lunch and dinner, the menu features only the freshest produce, from Dorset clams to grilled courgettes, all reimagined in modern and mouth-watering ways.
In the before times, you couldn’t visit Borough Market without spying the winding queue outside pasta specialist Padella. Now the queue is completely virtual: join on the WalkUp app and you’ll be notified when your table is ready. Come for the buzzy venue, stay for gnocchi with nutmeg butter, fettuccine with nduja, mascarpone and lemon, or pappardelle with 8-hour beef shin ragu. There’s a Shoreditch location, too.
Located in Neal’s Yard and Islington, Wild Food Café serves trendy plant-based dishes for every palate. Think veganised carbonara, braised shallot and mushroom pizza, super-fresh salads and rainbow cakes...
At Clipstone in Fitzrovia, head chef Andrew Stuart oversees everything. In the morning, come for coffee and pastries, at lunch try the set menu, or come for an early evening aperitivo. Dinner, which starts from 6pm, features yellow beetroot salad, ravioli of celeriac, Cornish monkfish...
Created by chef Assaf Granit and designed by Tom Dixon Studio, Coal Office is a contender for coolest eatery in the King’s Cross area. They keep the menu fresh and creative, and you need to reserve a table in advance, for tables of up to 4 people. Check out their Instagram to get an idea of what to expect.
Visit this London Bridge Mexican kitchen on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for Eat Out to Help Out. They serve super tasty soft shell crab tacos, barbacoa lamb shank, chilaquiles verdes and so much more.