Welcome back to the Slice, your weekly guide to what’s on in London.
We might not love the fact that the sun set at 4pm today, but we’re definitely using it as an excuse to start our nights out earlier than ever.
That means three bargain courses before a West End show, alfresco drinks with friends cosied up under sheepskins, evening walks through illuminated gardens and… a dinner dance with a yeti?
The night is still young…
The Slice’s Pick
Velvet Pines
Neither the blistering indoor blizzard nor the snow-capped entrance to a 1970s ski lodge can prepare you for a night at Velvet Pines. This immersive dining experience begins in the hotel bar (complete with staff plucked from Fawlty Towers), before leading you upstairs to the grand chalet-inspired dining hall.
Expect hilarious songs and performances throughout your meal and even… a dancing yeti?! It is absolutely daft but a fantastic laugh; the actors, the music and the set design understand the brief and then some. Sadly, the food is quite disappointing for the price, so if that is a concern we recommend saving yourself £55 by keeping to the cabaret seating. For that price, you are unlikely to find a more fun, bonkers, feel-good Christmas experience this holiday season.
Food & Drink
Stanley’s Chelsea
More elegant than a pub, and more relaxing than a high-end bar, Stanley’s Chelsea is a West London oasis with exceptionally good food. The courtyard’s charming decor adapts to the changing seasons (it’s currently festooned with frosted foliage for winter) and manages to pull off a ‘too good to Instagram’ atmosphere, asking you to just sit back and enjoy.
And the food, oh the food. Everything is cooked, seasoned and presented to perfection. Dishes like the crab crumpet and the ham croquettes have no business being as spectacular as they are, while the mains’ flavours are blended with a staggering level of confidence by the talented chefs. Food this good, at this price, doesn’t come around often.
Small plates from £4, mains from £19. 151 Sydney Street, Chelsea.
Fiume
I don’t go to Battersea Power Station enough. If I had, I’d have clocked Fiume, the Italian eatery that’s part of the D&D Group. You know, Quaglino’s and Bluebird? I was lured in by Fiume’s Sicilian winter terrace, in collaboration with Italicus Rosalio di Bergamotto, the Italian liqueur based around bergamot. This Christmas terrace comes with a bespoke cocktail menu, I’d recommend the Grande Eleganza for Bergamotto blended with Malfy Gin, or the Negroni Bianco, a sweeter take on a Negroni. Soak them up with a host of tasty plates, then scootch over to the high-end shops next door for some window-licking.
Cocktails from £10. Circus West, Battersea Power Station.
Join Metro Drinks Club and save on wine
Fancy regular access to delicious drinks at tasty prices? Then welcome to the brand new Metro Drinks Club, brought to you in association with Naked Wines.
To mark this exciting occasion, Metro’s wine expert Rob Buckhaven has selected a series of cases from the Naked Wines range – offered at a very special price to Metro Drinks Club members.
Choose between a red, white and mixed 12-bottle case, or splash out on all three, to gain access to the Metro Drinks Club.
For £64.99 per case, including free delivery, you’ll get a best-in-market deal and save over £100 off the market price.
How to join – and save over £100 on your first case
Purchase any Metro Drinks Club case and you’re in the club, though you can opt out at any time.
Read more here.
Follow the link to Metro Drinks Club at Naked Wines to join and purchase your case.
Luci
Escape the busyness of Covent Garden, dim the lights, turn on some slow music, and here enters the mushroom and truffle risotto – creamy, earthy and with a hint of garlic. Each dish from this intimate Italian restaurant is simple yet delicious with the right amount of punch – plus, they don’t shy on the portions. We’d particularly recommend the seafood and homemade focaccia.
Mains from £14. 136 Long Acre, Covent Garden.
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🦑 Fitzrovia’s luxury hotel The Mandrake plays host to a stunning 10-course menu made from a collaboration between Yopo and Playa Dubai. South American dishes include stunners like octopus empanadas and wagyu anticucho. Pricey, but extraordinarily tasty. Until the end of November. Set menu £125pp. 20-21 Newman Street.
🥘 Tapas Revolution, the quintessential place for authentic Spanish food, have redesigned their London branches and have a new menu! A parade of tasty starters and flavoursome mains include the stand-out Gambas A Las Ajillo. The cocktails are delicious too and the excellent staff round up a great dinner out. ¡Salud!
WIN a year's supply of Flävar vodka schnapps or a Flävar mini gift set
Metro has teamed up with the vodka-schnapps brand FLÄVAR to give away a year’s supply of their best-selling schnapps flavours including blueberry and lemon, salted caramel and strawberry and lime! Three lucky runners-up will receive a Flävar Miniature Gift Box.
To enter, simply fill out your details using the form here before midnight, 29 November!
Open to UK (excluding Northern Ireland and Scotland) residents aged 18 or over. For full details, terms and conditions, visit our terms and conditions page.
London's best... new pre-theatre menus
BEST ROMANTIC: Hovarda
The best date night in London is dinner and a show, and the table should be booked at Hovardo. Emerald tiles and sleek table lamps set the scene for three exquisite Greek acts comprising (among other delights) velvety, honey-ed feta wrapped in crisp phyllo strands, tender, delicate stonebass, and rich pistachio Kataifi. We won’t judge you for eating off each other’s spoons.
2 courses £24.50, 3 courses £29.50, Tues – Sat 5pm to 7pm. 36 – 40 Rupert St, Soho.
BEST VALUE: Paro
A high-octane show like The Lion King needs a big dinner to fuel it, and you don’t have to go far to find one. The newly-opened Paro sits underneath the Lyceum, dishing up three huge courses of classic Anglo-Indian fare (go for the Bang Bang chicken and sweet Chicken Korma). Poppadums at £1.50 a pop are worth it for the sauces. It’s not fancy, but you will be full.
BEST GLAM: Bocconcio Soho
With its array of golden lamps, glitzy marble bar, and dough-flipping pizza chefs, it’s clear that Bocconcino was made for the stage, dah-ling. The new Soho branch leans into its Theatreland surroundings with a pre-(or post!) show menu boasting Italian favourites like beef carpaccio, homemade pappardelle with wild mushrooms and stracciatella, and Sicilian cannolo.
WIN the ultimate family day out at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland with Crystal Ski Holidays
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland and Crystal Ski Holidays have partnered up with Metro to give you the chance to win the Ultimate Family Day Out at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland this festive period so you can get that feeling you can’t forget.
You could win entry for six people to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland including tickets for the Real Ice Slide in partnership with Crystal Ski Holidays and Magical Ice Kingdom. You’ll also receive three Ride Tokens per person so you can continue the fun, plus 1 x food voucher and 2 x drink vouchers per person so you can tuck into the delicious alpine snacks and beverages available in the park.
Click here and fill out the form to enter – you have until midnight 24 November. Full T&Cs here.
What’s on
🌼 Take a moment at the Ever After Garden in Grosvenor Square, where an installation of 25,000 illuminated white roses glows this winter. You can dedicate one of the roses to a treasured loved one to make a donation to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, which supports the work of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, a world-leading cancer centre. Until 19 December, Grosvenor Square.
🍸 Everyone is invited at Smirnoff We Do Us Live!, the fully accessible, ultra-inclusive event from Smirnoff in collaboration with Tilting the Lens and Sink the Pink. Hosted by Strictly star Layton Williams and Fats Timbo, the night promises show-stopping performances from the likes of Joshua James and special guest Mel C. Sign up here to win your free ticket.
💗 The menopause takes the spotlight at PAUSE Live, with real-life stories, top tips from the UK’s menopause experts, an array of workshops, wellness sessions and an exciting celebrity line-up. You can even book a 1-2-1 ‘meet the expert’ add-on session to discuss your symptoms. Tickets £15.99. November 25, Business Design Centre.
Theatre
Sleeping Beauty
Oh yes you DO need a break from the kids post-Christmas. Oh no you DON’T have kids but fancy a pre-NYE hilarious treat? Then join stars of RuPauls Drag Race LIVE in the West End for the outrageous SLEEPING BEAUTY.
Starring Kitty Scott-Claus (Masterchef), Victoria Scone (Death Drop), Kemah Bob (The Jonathan Ross Show) and current Drag Race UK stars Kate Butch and Michael Marouli in this retelling of the classic pantomime as you’ve never seen it before.
Tickets from £25. 27 – 31 December, Harold Pinter Theatre, West End.
Culture
Christmas at KidZania
KidZania London is inspiring children to give back this Christmas, by inviting kids aged 4 to 14 to share their KidZos (KidZania’s unique currency) with the charity KidsOut, dedicated to bringing fun and happiness to children in and around London.
The initiative encourages them to spread festive spirit and kindness through fun career role-play activities within the indoor city. Families are also invited to ‘Elfmas’, a special experience to bring them closer together and to take caring and sharing to the max!
See you next week!
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