House of HOLI at Cinnamon Kitchen, the City
6-21 March; 9 Devonshire Square EC2M 4YL
Back for its fifth year, the House of HOLI is coming to bring a bit of spice and colour to Cinnamon Kitchen. It's not a proper celebration unless there's food (and a paint fight) so expect a five-course Holi menu for £35 per person specially designed for the occasion. Dishes include: tandoori king prawns with fennel and coriander, tomato salsa; laal maas fiery lamb curry; spinach and paneer kofta with tomato lemon sauce; and an assortment of traditional Holi sweets.
Ella Canta x Mazi Mas 'Power of She' menu
8-31 March; Ella Canta, One Hamilton Place, Park Lane, W1J 7QY
From 8 March until Mother's Day on 31 March, Martha Ortiz's much lauded Mexican restaurant Ella Canta will play host to a special menu titled the 'Power of She'. The aim? To help raise money for Mazí Mas, a social enterprise that employs and trains refugee women, acting as an incubator programme for those wanting to open their own food businesses. The seven-course menu celebrates the work of famous Mexican women, including the likes of Frida Kahlo, founding member of the Women's Liberation Movement in Mexico Leonora Carrington, and Mexico's first female photographer Lola Alvarez Bravo. And £5 from each meal will go on to support Mazí Mas' efforts in London. The 'Power of She' menu is available at Ella Canta until 31 March and is priced at £70pp.
St Patrick's Day at Borough Market
13-23 March; 8 Southwark Street, SE1 1TL
Borough Market is hosting a nine day pop-up to showcase the best food and drink
Northern Ireland has to offer. A roster of guest traders will be present at the historic market offering everything from Shortcross Gin (Northern Ireland's first premium craft gin) to fresh-baked soda farls, Irish beef biltong, Irish Black Butter and Millbay Oysters. Wash that excellent fodder down with a range of craft beers from Hillstown Brewery for a ruddy good day of it. The celebration will be kicked off with a special opening of the market on St Patrick's Day with all kinds of free family friendly fun – including cookery demos from celebrity chef, Paula McIntyre – from 12 - 4pm. Bring your kids, bring your mates, bring an appetite.
Jameson Irish Whiskey St Patrick's Day Celebrations
16 March, 12:00pm-00:00am; Peckham Springs, SE15 4QN
To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, Jameson Irish Whiskey is hosting a grand old celebration at London's Peckham Springs. It's obviously customary to do a bit of drinking on St Paddy's Day, so it would be rude not to raise a toast or two with your friends here. From midday on Saturday 16 March you can enjoy Jameson drinks aplenty, load up on gourmet street food and challenge your mates to a range of retro games. Rugger fans will also be able to keep tabs on the Six Nations' before some live music revs up to keep you going until late.
Rococo Chocolates' truffle-making workshop
16-17 March; 5 Motcomb Street, SW1X 8JU
Taking place in the kitchen of Rococo’s Belgravia shop, this hour-and-a-half long chocolate truffle-making workshop promises to provide a proper tour through the ins and outs of the cocoa trade.
Taking place in the kitchen of Rococo’s Belgravia shop, this hour-and-a-half long chocolate truffle-making workshop promises to provide a proper tour through the ins and outs of the cocoa trade.
Taking place in the kitchen of Rococo’s Belgravia shop, this hour-and-a-half long chocolate truffle-making workshop promises to provide a proper tour through the ins and outs of the cocoa trade.
Taking place in the kitchen of Rococo's Belgravia shop, this hour-and-a-half long chocolate truffle-making workshop promises to provide a proper tour through the ins and outs of the cocoa trade. The experience begins with an informal education on Rococo Chocolates for budding chocolatiers, as well as talk on the wider history of chocolate and its provenance. That's followed by an outline of the truffle-making process and a guide through each variety of ingredients involved to inspire your own subsequent flavour combinations. But you're here to make chocolate, aren't you? And that you shall do. Get your hands dirty coating and rolling ganache in cocoa before dipping the bad boys in milk, dark tempered chocolate and decorating them to your heart's content. While you wait for your truffles to set you'll also be treated to a unique chocolate tasting, where you'll learn a little more about how we eat chocolate and how to max out your senses while you do. You will then, of course, get to take your truffles home with you. Great stuff.
Paddy's in the Park
16-17 March; The Hoxton Trust Community Garden, 156 Hoxton Street, N1 6SH
Leprechauns: rejoice. Lycanthropes: you, too. Because Howl at the Moon are turning up at the Hoxton Trust Garden in East London for a fat-off St. Patrick's festival. There will be rugby. There will be live music. And there will be enough street food, Guinness and craft beer from The Cellar Boys Brewery to help you forget about whatever the Six Nations result is. Just pray that the weather stays on your side. Get loose with the Apostle of Ireland from 12pm to 10pm with a £10 entry fee.
House of Vegan at Brick Lane Food Hall
16-17 March, 10:00-18:00; 152 Brick Lane, E1 5EG
There's a plant-based party going on at the Brick Lane Food Hall this weekend, and you're invited. Hosting some of the UK's best vegan street food (along with a well-stocked bar), the House of Vegan offers one of the trendiest meat-free hangouts in East London. Expect good food, good music, and good vibes. Entry is also completely free, so you can go for just a snoop around even if you're not fully sold on the vegan cause just yet. Who knows: you might just find yourself converting to seitan-ism.
St Patrick's Day at Brigadiers
17 March; 1-5 Bloomberg Arcade, EC4N 8AR
To ring in St Patrick’s Day on 17 March, Brigadiers and Guinness have teamed up for ‘The Big Guinness Weekender’.
To ring in St Patrick’s Day on 17 March, Brigadiers and Guinness have teamed up for ‘The Big Guinness Weekender’.
To ring in St Patrick’s Day on 17 March, Brigadiers and Guinness have teamed up for ‘The Big Guinness Weekender’.
To ring in St Patrick's Day on 17 March, Brigadiers and Guinness have teamed up for a little something something that they're calling 'The Big Guinness Weekender'. It's basically a stout-heavy haven for food and sports fans alike. Along with big-screens showing all the weekend's sporting action, Brigadiers will be serving a traditional Sunday Roast with an Indian barbecue twist. You'll be able to nosh on bespoke starters such as masala carabinero prawn cocktail and hot goan sausage oysters before moving on to the show-stopping St Patrick's Day three-course roast. Not sure what an Indian roast entails? Well, the Brigadiers Beef Roast consists of the following: BBQ Afghani sirloin, masala keema yorkshire puddings, jeera roast potatoes, and saunfiya masala gajjar with bonemarrow rogani gravy and Bengali kasundi mustard. Oh, yes.
St Patrick's Day at The Sun
17 March; 441 Bethnal Green Road, E2 0AN
Head on down to Bethnal Green for a mad St Patrick’s Day celebration at The Sun Tavern.
Head on down to Bethnal Green for a mad St Patrick’s Day celebration at The Sun Tavern.
Head on down to Bethnal Green for a mad St Patrick’s Day celebration at The Sun Tavern.
Head on down to Bethnal Green for a mad St Patrick’s Day celebration at The Sun Tavern.
Head on down to Bethnal Green for a mad St Patrick's Day celebration at The Sun Tavern. Along with a live band and an exclusive Slane Whiskey cocktail list (available for a reasonably wallet-friendly £7.50), you can get your lips into an ocean of complimentary oysters from the Columbia Road's Oyster Boy. Oh, and did we mention Suggs from Madness is also going to be there? Because he is.
St Patrick's Day in Cahoots
17 March; 13 Kingly Court, W1B 5PW
Whiskey cocktails and Guinness? What more could you want on St Patrick's Day? Cahoots are keeping your Sunday absolutely liquid with a Paddy's Day bash in conjunction with the people at Roe & Co Irish whiskey. Bespoke cocktails like the Irish Toucan (Roe & Co Irish whiskey, Guinness syrup, green apple cordial) and the Black Custard (coffee-infused Roe & Co Irish whiskey, Grant Brulot Coffee liqueur, vanilla syrup, Philadelphia cream cheese foam, and Guinness) are about as Irish as they come. Sort of. We're not sure that anyone in Ireland actually drinks anything that mad but they sound super "top o' the morning to ya", right? Which is good enough for us.
Breddos Tacos Bottomless Brunch
12-5pm every Sunday; 82 Goswell Road, EC1V 7DB
What's the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon? Why, eating as many tacos as humanly possible, of course. For £20 you can get access to all-you-can-eat tacos at either of Breddos Tacos' tantalising taco joints for an hour and a half of Mexican food-based gluttony. With the option to choose between masa fried chicken, baja fish, sweet potato, and black bean tacos – you're not going to struggle for variety, either. For an extra £15 on top you can also join your tacos with a bottomless selection of frozen margaritas and michelada beers. Go loco.
Unlimited pasta at Palatino
Every Saturday; 71 Central St, London EC1V 8AB
Head to Palatino on Saturday's between 12pm-5pm where, for £25, you can get your fill of unlimited plates of pasta. Yes, you read that right. Unlimited. Pasta. There's not really much else that needs to be said, really. Though the dreamy carb deal also includes a free Palatino Spritz. Book ahead now to ensure you don't get left out on the linguine feast.
Rum Punch Brunch at Rudie's
Every Saturday and Sunday; 50 Stoke Newington Road, N16 7XB
If you fancy sipping on some rum-infused cocktails with some real spicy food, then get on down to Rudie's in Dalston this weekend. Running from 12-4pm every Saturday and Sunday, the rum punch brunch offer allows you to get one of Rudie's delicious main dishes (including a hearty 'Full Jamaican' of ackee & saltfish, lamb sausages, baked butter beans, sautéed spinach, boiled green banana and bakes) as well as access to bottomless rum punch for an hour and a half. All of which will only set you back a mere £18. Jerk and rum is a hard combo to top at that price, so make the most of it this weekend.
Pie and a Pint at Rochelle ICA
Every Sunday; The Mall, SW1Y 5AH
Never will you ever feel forlorn on Sunday afternoons again, because, starting from 17 February, Margot Henderson and Melanie Arnold will be on hand with pints and pastry to save the day. All you have to do is get on down to the Rochelle Canteen ICA where the two chefs will be running a series of Sunday evening 'Pie and a Pint' dining menus. An excellent pie and a pint (or a glass of house wine) for £10? Monday morning doesn't seem too bad after all.
