As recent headlines attest, despite having a well-paid night tzar, London seems to be going to bed earlier and earlier, but this week’s guide is designed to help keep you up all night.
From buzzy rooftop openings fit for spring to a thumping indie gig at the Royal Albert Hall, to the latest West End hit and a renewed drinking den, here’s everything you need to get your weekend off to a good start.
The hot table: TT
East London hangout TT Liquor has undergone something of a glow-up and this week relaunches simply as TT. The revamped kitchen, perched on the roof of the Kingsland Road building, will serve a menu by former Oren chef Sam Lone, centred around live fire, smoking, pickling and baking. Smoked oyster mushrooms with hens egg yolk, roasted baby artichokes with ricotta and pumpkin seed pesto and lamb shoulder a la plancha all feature on the new menu. Spring has sprung, the rooftops are back.
17B Kingsland Road, E2 8AA, tt-london.co.uk
The old favourite: Kima Marylebone
Greek food in London has had a luxurious shot in the arm over the last few years, as across the city a glut of new openings helped elevate this much-loved cuisine into finer realms. Kima was one such opening and despite relatively little fanfare, it continues to be a buzzy, busy restaurant in the middle of Marylebone. There’s a fin-to-gill ethos and a single fish is served across three courses: as a ceviche, with collar and head roasted, and as coal-blistered fillets atop fragrant Greek pasta. For anyone done with hearty wintry fare, seeking lightness and flavour, you’re home.
57 Paddington Street, W1U 4JA, kimarestaurant.com
The drinking den: Lyaness
The new menu at Lyaness has been many months in development and, compared to the old menu, feels more conscious and more concise. The stories behind each cocktail are creative and exuberant, and cleverly deploy a range of often unseen ingredients in cocktail making, from cornflakes to parsnip. Just under a third of the new menu can be ordered as an alcohol-free option, often at a price point around 40 per cent cheaper than the boozy counterparts. The Vampire Fizz is a hit, with tequila, persimmon, lemon and soda, as is the elegant Royale Old Fashioned, a regal drink with Irish whiskey and marrow root.
20 Upper Ground, SE1 9PD, lyaness.com
The gig: Young Fathers
Last year, Young Fathers released Heavy Heavy, the long-awaited follow-up to the smash hit Cocoa Butter. It was met with serious critical acclaim. A solid Glastonbury performance followed, along with a UK tour, but now the thumpingly good Scottish indie outfit are at the Royal Albert Hall for a special Teenage Cancer Trust concert. Expect heavy, heady sounds, richly compiled with a flair that invites the audience to jump up and join in. With only a handful of tickets left, don’t miss this.
Tickets from £34, March 22, Royal Albert Hall, South Kensington, SW7 2AP, royalalberthall.com
The (other) art fix: Seeing Red
Opening this week ahead of the auction house and gallerists sale, Phillips gallery presents Seeing Red with more than 70 works from 40 international artists, which examine the impact and the power of red. Signalling luck, danger, passion, heat, joy, love and with a host of cultural and contextual meanings, Seeing Red offers some surprising depth from the auction house and with works from Marina Abramovic to Helen Beard to Charming Baker, the curation is top notch. For a free art show this weekend, don’t miss it.
Until March 24, 30 Berkeley Square, W1J 6EX, phillips.com
The culture fix: Opening Night
Already dividing opinions among the theatre-going types, Sheridan Smith’s new musical has had something of an uneasy start. Rumours of audience walk-outs and the massive tabloid coverage bring to mind that old adage that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. But Smith is a bonafide talent, an Olivier and BAFTA award winner who in her latest turn takes centre stage as Myrtle Gordon in Ivo van Hove’s adaptation of the 1977 film of the same name by John Cassavetes. The story of a fallen starlet might hit a little close to home for Smith, but for a new British musical, with cutting emotion and more than a little drama (both on and off-stage), there’s nothing out there to rival it.
Until July 27, Gilegud Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 6AR, gielgudtheatre.co.uk
The ticket to book now (for later): Planet Earth Live
The critically acclaimed third season of Planet Earth makes a dramatic resurgence later this year at the Wembley arena in Planet Earth Live. The filming of the enormous show lasted nearly 2,000 days and spanned 43 countries across six continents. This huge undertaking, this global journey comes to life with the footage presented in 4K ultra-high definition from the BBC Studios Natural History Unit series. Accompanying the stunning screens a concert will highlight the musical compositions by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea, and Sara Barone, performed live by the Prague Philharmonic.
