This weekend is another offering a glut of things to eat, see and do. As the days draw out and the evenings lengthen, it’s the perfect time to make the most of them.
For oenophiles, epicureans and aesthetes alike, this week’s guide spans the best in live action events, wine bars, new restaurant openings and the best of art and culture.
Elsewhere there are supperclubs, coffee shops and a whimsical new art exhibition at one of London’s best little museum spaces.
As ever, enjoy.
The hot table: Agora
David Carter, co-founder of Manteca and Smokestack is going Greek, with Agora opening last week in Borough Market (its counterpart, Oma comes later this month). Greek for ”market” (clever), Agora is the more casual sister spot to Oma, operating on the ground floor of the same building. It’s a walk-in-only spot with an accessible menu focussing on Greek comfort food and rotisserie. Expect plump lamb kebabs, braised fava beans, wood-fired flatbreads and a menu which, on the whole, doesn’t climb above £10 a plate. Kali orexi!
2-4 Bedale Street, SE1 9AL, agora.london
The old favourite: Cafe Vins
Cafe Vins is a wee space. Tiny in fact. It serves, as the name suggests, coffee, alongside copies of the latest independent zines (less GQ, more Shoplifters). The coffee is exceptionally good and the atmosphere is casual and relaxed. Pull up a chair and while away a few hours in Soho reading your new favourite mag, sinking back a few long blacks.
1 Marlborough Court, Carnaby, W1F 7EE, cafevins.com
The drinking den: Yuki
Some haunts prove better as drinking dens than as dining destinations, and so it is with Yuki. But that’s fine, that’s what wine bars are for: discovering something magical in the glass rather than having the meal of the year. The wine comes courtesy of ex-P Franco sommelier Yukiyasu Kaneko, who clearly knows his stuff, with a list that champions young, natural wines. Go to discover your new favourite label.
The supperclub: Dost x Gentleman Brewing Co.
Throughout April, the Gentleman Brewing Co. are collaborating with supperclub regulars Dost for a series of Indian-inspired takeovers in Notting Hill. These dinner parties are geared towards making friends out of strangers, all based around the shared values of loving great food. The supperclub will be hosted at Egg Break and whilst the menu isn’t yet confirmed, a mix of fiery Indian-leaning sharing plates is expected, paired with a handful of Gentlemen Brewing Company’s best beers.
Each Thursday and Friday in April, 30 Uxbridge Street, W8 7TA, dostldn.com
The art fix: Fanciful Figures
Sir John Soane’s museum might be central London’s most interesting little museum and its latest exhibition, Fanciful Figures, is a stunner. A whimsical jaunt across the range of anonymous individuals who make up the background figures to grand architectural studies, the show spotlights these normally overlooked features, revealing their inherent playful charm. In a way, viewers become these figures, known as “staffage” to the artistic trade, as they move through the Sir John Soane space, discovering this charismatic (and free-to-attend) show.
Until June 9, 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, WC2A 3BP, soane.org
The culture fix: Bert Hardy, Photojournalism in War and Peace
The Photographers Gallery, tucked just off Oxford Street, is hosting a major retrospective of London-born photographer Bert Hardy, spanning a huge time period in the influential press and documentary photographer's life. The images range from time spent in the Army Film and Photographic Unit, which includes documentation and imagery of the Blitz in London to the liberation of Bergen-Belsen and later, war in Southeast Asia. Discover more about this extraordinary Londoner’s life.
Until June 2, The Photographers Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, W1F 7LW, thephotographersgallery.org.uk
The Thing to do: supertri E World Triathlon Championships
This weekend sees Britain’s triple Olympic medallist Jonny Brownlee and GB’s most successful female triathlete, Georgia Taylor-Brown return to London for a day of indoor sprint-distance triathlon-ing. This new kind of event blends real-life and virtual racing with athletes diving into the Olympic pool for a 200m swim, followed by 4km on a static bike and a 1km treadmill sprint finish. A boon for e-sports fans as well as those who love the drama of live-action racing.
April 13, tickets £15, London Aquatics Centre, E20 2AQ, supertri.com
The ticket to book now (for later): Passione Vino at the NoMad
Wine director of the NoMad, Alessia Ferrarello, is collaborating with Passione Vino founder Luca Dusi to host an evening with a hand-selected group of winemakers from Valtellina, in Lombardy, northern Italy. The four-course tasting menu dinner is set to be paired exclusively with the best offerings from these hand-picked winemakers, including a glut of black label nebbiolo wines. Book this for the oenophile in your life.
