Celebrate National Pizza Day
Saturday 9 February; Nationwide
Pizzerias nationwide are offering a discount of 30% or more off of their doughy delights on Saturday. Some of London's favourite pizza joints, including the likes of Radio Alice, Voodoo Rays and 400 Rabbits will be dishing out all the hot deals on the day, and you can even take a slice off your bill with national operators, including Papa John's, Prezzo and Wildwood, too. Head to nationalpizzaday.co.uk to get a pizza the pie.
Ring in the Year of the Pig
Sunday 10 February; Charing Cross Road
Chinese New Year in London officially kicked off on 5 February. And to mark the occasion, many of London's restaurants have put on plenty of tasty specials for you to get stuck into. If you don't know where to start, check out Gok Wan's guide to find out how he rings in the New Year. Spoiler: it involves a lot of eating. Once you've had your fill, get yourself to central London where you can watch the Chinese New Year parade take to the streets. Starting on Charing Cross Road from 10am on Sunday morning, the parade will shimmy its way through Chinatown before all the excitement kicks off at noon in Trafalgar Square. Expect many a firework and traditional Chinese dance.
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Wake up and smell the coffee (and orchids)
9 February - 10 March; The Princess of Wales Conservatory, Kew Gardens, TW9 3AB
The ever-popular Orchids Festival returns to Kew this month and this year the gardens has looked to Colombia for inspiration. Perfect for those who'd rather not spend their weekends shivering in a park somewhere, you can escape from the cold and indulge in a multi-sensory journey around the toasty Princess of Wales Conservatory. It's set to be a bright carnival of Colombian colour with the heady scent of flowers and fresh, ready-to-sample Columbian coffee in the air.
Try something new
Whenever you like; take your pick
London lays claim to one of the best restaurant scenes in the world, which means there's always a whole roster of new openings on the cards. Here are some of our February favourites:
- Maremma, a new neighbourhood Tuscan restaurant which has taken over the iconic Montego Inn site in Brixton.
- Island Social Club – the British Caribbean pop-up by Marie Mitchell and Joseph Pilgrim – which kicked off its 12-month residency at Curio Cabal in Haggerston this month.
- The Beak Street offshoot of cult Turkish restaurant Yeni Lokanta by Cem Bilge and chef Civan Er – which, in case you were confused, has since ditched 'Lokanta' and is bringing a taste of Istanbul's rich culinary scene to London under the name of Yeni.
Liked this but still hungry for more? Hop on over to our pop-up guide where you can get your fill of London's latest festivals, one-off dinners and restaurant takeovers.
