November sits in a grace period before Christmas truly starts ramping up, and everyone begins to truly lose the run of themselves. Which means the events that take place this month can stay classy, with just a hint of hedonism thrown in. It's the festive season soft-launch; a micro-dosing of revelry.
This month, Smokestak and Manteca are joining forces for a hell of a block party, Mondo Sando gets into the pizza game, and there's a whole host of residencies, expansion and celebrations to jot down in your diaries. Here's our list of the best events, pop-ups and things to note for November.
Smokestak x Manteca
Smokestack street party
Two of Shoreditch’s best-loved institutions – Smokestak and Manteca – are celebrating their 10th and 5th anniversaries, respectively, and so have done what many friends who share a birthday like to do so as not to steal each other’s thunder: join forces. Taking over Protein Studios, the ‘Blok Party’ will be kicking off from early evening, with ticket holders greeted with a welcome cocktail, and then free to enjoy the range of entertainment, from oyster shuckers, freshly-swirled soft-serve, and wood-fired smokers serving up 12-hour brisket buns and charred pork belly ribs.
7 November; smokestak.co.uk
Acme Taco expands to Dalston
Acme Taco Dalston
Sonora might be shutting up shop, but it’s not all bad news in London’s taco world – Andrew Clarke's Acme Taco has announced it will expand to Dalston in November, taking pride of place at 40ft Brewery’s Dalston taproom, directly next door to Acme Fire Cult. The menu will continue to pay homage to regional Mexican cuisine with a characteristic Acme twist. Sharing platters of tacos – what’s not to love.
From 1 November; acmefirecult.com
Mondo Sando pizza
Diwali menu at Brigadiers
The good folk over at Mondo Sando know something about carbs; after mastering the sandwich, the natural next step was to get properly involved in London’s pizza scene. The new concept, Oven Pizza, will be launching in the evenings at Cafe Mondo. The style is pan pizza – those classic square slices also called Grandma, Detroit, or Sicilian – and the result is a seriously chunky, golden and airy square: crisp around the edges, pillow-soft on top, with a restrained frico crust.
From 5 November; mondosando.com
Kamu residency at Sun and 13 Cantons
Kamu and the Sun
Kamu, the family-run Sri Lankan kitchen known for its pub residencies across London, will be taking over the kitchen at the Sun and 13 Cantons in Soho from October 28. A hit in the pubs of zones two and three, this marks its first central residency and brings a menu of traditional Sri Lankan dishes and British pub classics with a twist, like the Colombo cheeseburger, which combines a Wagyu beef patty, truffle mayo and American cheese with spicy seeni sambol and dill pickles, or the hot lankan, which features buttermilk-fried chicken glazed in Sri Lankan chilli oil.
From 28 October; sunand13cantons.co.uk
Caia
Caia chefsmaxxing
We’re in the era of maxxing, so it’s only right to be Chefmaxxing. This is the new monthly series from executive chef John Javier of Caia, in which guests will create their own six-dish à la carte menu for the Golborne Road bistro. First up is Valentin Raffali, executive chef of Paris’ newly reopened Bus Palladium, who will take the reins on 16 November. Also on the rota will be Hector Henderson of Rochelle Canteen, Oslo-based Halaigh Whelan-McManus, and Sertaç Dirik of Kid, among others.
From 16 November; caia.london
Beaujolais x Peckham Cellars
Beaujolais at Peckham Cellars
Celebrating both the arrival of this year's Beaujolais vintage and their birthday, co-founders and couple Helen Hall and Luke West Whylie are throwing a party of free-flowing Nouveau from Domaine Saint-Cyr, music by Plots and Parcels and rounds of their new Txuleta Burger. A Basque spin on a classic, the burger has a rich beef patty (made using different cuts of Spanish ex-dairy beef), finished with Piquillo pepper relish, cream cheese made with Ossau Iraty Basque cheese, and served in a house-made brioche bun.
19 November; peckhamcellars.co.uk
Diwali at Brigadiers
Acme Taco Dalston
Diwali lands this Sunday on 8 November, and one of London’s top Indian restaurants, Brigadiers, is marking the occasion in style. A special feast will be available until 14 November, with highlights including Dorset crab samosa, Konkani scallop with crispy chorizo and original BBQ butter chicken wings, and mains such as venison shank korma, cod kalimirch tikka with malai korma or dum guinea fowl biryani. If you have a birthday this month, or just fancy gathering 10 or more of your favourite people together, the Brigadiers' private dining rooms allow guests to pre-order beer towers and large-format cocktails, from picante margaritas to negronis, ready for arrival.
Until 14 November; brigadiers.co.uk
