Sabel @ F.Cooke

Newly local and already sucked in, Broadway Market is rapidly becoming a favourite weekend hang out. And what better place to hold a sweet little foodie pop-up than the hundred year old institution of F.Cooke just up from the canal. So when bookings for Sabel, the 'sociable eating' brainchild of a chef with Michelin star experience and an events organising guru opened, I was straight online and in line. 

And we weren't disappointed - it was an afternoon of pure culinary delight in the lovely setting of this historic site.

Ever the indecisive, a simple menu suits me fine, especially when each dish on it looks as delicious as the next. So sharesies it was and it was one of each of the starters for the table.

Sabel: Lamb scrumpets and Heirloom beetroot salad

Mains became trickier with both the slow cooked beef cheek and pork belly leaving us smacking our lips but it was the stinking bishop macaroni that swung it for me and pork belly it was.

Sabel: Pork belly, chaps and black pudding, stinking bishop macaroni cheese

This was some of the best food I'd had for a while - the combination of tastes and textures invoking moans of pleasure from round the table.

It was a perfect Sunday afternoon of food and friends - I can't recommend it highly enough. Not only for the gourmet delights but also the friendly team running it and the general positive vibes. It's a couple of weeks back that I went now, when London was freezing, the space could have been warmer but with Spring finally sprung this should no longer be a problem.

There are only a couple more weekends in the run so you'd best be snappy but, having said that, I shouldn't think it'll be the last we see of this little gem.

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Forza Win

With a love of rooftop revelry and a passion for pizza, Forza Win, the East London supper club of the Napoli inspired Pizza Pilgrims, held immediate appeal. 

With a new rooftop residence following an unfortunate shut down a couple of weeks ago, the guys welcomed us with open arms on Friday night. Open arms and a delicious Aperol Spritz - its zingy zestiness complimenting the balmy evening perfectly.

As the infamous ovens were fired up, we sat down to a simple starter of penne pasta served beautifully al dente with a light  ragù sauce and topped with parmesan. So simple, but so delicious.

Then onto the main event - the pizza. Presented as a tasting menu, we were served pizza after pizza in impressively quick succession. 

Now I've had good pizza, spoilt by the pizzerias of Firenze and Roma, but these were great. Truly great. The dough, light and nicely charcoaled, the toppings carefully sourced for ultimate taste. My favourite was the Napoli salami and portobello mushroom - the salty bite of the meat dangerously good. 

Once we'd had our pizza-fill, we were treated to a little live music from the soulful Ligers. The vibe was lovely, a rooftop of contented Londoners wrapped up in the moment. 

A little something sweet was served in the form of creamy ricotta and vanilla Gelupo topped with flakes of sea salt and drizzled with olive oil. Bloody good - I nailed mine (and Emily's).

And with that, our soirée was over and our kind hosts ushered us back down to ground level. From what I hear, places are now pretty limited, but give it a go - your efforts will be more than worth it. Failing that, the guys (and their oven) will still be appearing in the form of Pizza Pilgrims around the city's food markets. I may now be following them around on my own pilgrimage - that Napoli salami has me hooked. 

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Frank's Café and Campari Bar

Now in its fourth year, the Peckham based car park bar Frank's Café is not waning in popularity. And now I can see why...

With incredible views and some of the most reasonably priced cocktails in London, it provided the perfect place for my bestie Giz' birthday. It felt criminal that I'd never been before. 

Arriving on Friday evening, the list of campari-based drinks lured us swiftly into the weekend vibe, our selected Negroni Sbagliato (Campari, Vermouth & Gin) packing a welcome punch.

  

The uber-urban location makes for a surprisingly beautiful spot, the concrete glowing pink in the evening light. There's also a lovely sense of comradery between the drinkers, maybe from the shared glee at being in such a great place or maybe just the smugness at having made it there at all (don't underestimate the trek).

As the sun set and the view faded, pretty festoon lights came on and the vibe turned merrier still. It was only after the bell for last call had rang, and been obeyed, that we tottered back down to pavement level. Birthday girl and gang good and campari-ed and ready to dance.

With priorities elsewhere, I didn't check out the sculpture, but the Bold Tendencies Project #6 will just be one more reason to go back. 

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Wyndstock Revelry

'Ill met by moonlight proud Titania', Oberon greets his fairy queen, and oh what a chat up line that would have made at Wyndstock's dreamy Midsummer Night's Ball last weekend.

Houghton Hall

Pulling into the grounds of the amazing Houghton Hall, the tone of the evening was immediately set - one of glamour, decadence and a nice touch of the debauched thrown in. 

The party opened with lunch (running inevitably late, we sadly missed this), followed by lawn games and tea. There was even a yoga lesson for those wanting to get their stretches in.

A girls affair, Jessouin, Em and I wandered the gardens, glasses of fizz firmly in hand, soaking up the atmosphere. It felt more as though we were at a friend's wedding than ticketed soirée and this lent the evening a lovely intimate feel.

An amazing swing band and accompanying tap dancer soon got us on the dance floor and swinging our legs like goons, working up our appetites for supper.

At 9pm we sat down to eat, long tables laid out, fellow revelers mixed and matched and ready to tuck in.

The food was good - simple, but hearty, the venison stew warming us as the night cooled.

Darkness fell and the bonfire was lit. The hot tubs nearby were opened for dipping and a fair bit of nudity ensued - not by me (somewhat uncharacteristically).

As midnight struck, we hoarded into a small nearby tent for ghost stories told by the mesmerising Giles Abbott. I'd forgotten quite how lovely it is to be told a story, and the still silence of the tent suggested that everyone else felt the same.

Fireworks called us back outside and marked the real start to the night, the impressive display perking us up and pulling 'ooh's' and 'ah's' of appreciation from the crowd.

The ultimate Fourth Wall

As the night danced on, the party moved to the woodland, where this week's Fourth Wall bar had popped up. The best saved til last, Elderflower cocktails and some neatly mixed 90's hip hop had us dancing 'til dawn. 


It was only when the sun was up that we finally traipsed back to our tent, giddy from the night's magic and wrapped in our Midsummer dream.


'Lovers, to bed; 'tis almost fairy time...'

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Weekend Wonders

There is a list the length of my arm of fun things to do in and around London this weekend... but how to choose?

It's the last night of Camden Brewery playing host to Street Feast this Friday, so go fill your boots with the finest foods and fresh-brewed beer. 

For a bit of pop up art, catch the The Horsebox Gallery's Best of British exhibition in the beautiful Blewcoat school. I'm yet to go to one of this team's event, but they're doing a whole load of great stuff, including touring this Summer's Polo, racing and country
events with their gallery-in-a-horsebox. Nice.

Forzawin launches this Saturday, a new rooftop supper club serving three course Italian meals (including Pizza Pilgrim's delicious pizza), specially chosen drinks and a nice bit of mystery entertainment all set against a view out over our fair city.

The Garden of House of St Barnabas - pic from here

This Summer, the Lexi Cinema presents The Nomad, a travelling cinema with screens popping up all over the city for some magical viewing. This weekend sees them set up shop at Greek St's House of St Barnabas (one of my favourite places) for a Baz Luhrmann extravaganza. Tickets are still going for the burlesque-dream Moulin Rouge on Saturday night, with a drink and nibbles thrown in.

Wilton's - the auditorium

On 2nd July, the lovely Wilton's Music Hall closes for 6 months worth of repairs. Head down for talks on the plan for this amazing building on Saturday and Sunday followed by cocktails in the newly opened upstairs Mahogany bar to say your farewells until 2013. 

Sunset at Frank's Cafe - snap from here

Frank's Cafe re-opens this Saturday for another year of car-park coolness. I hear the opening party is always a good one.

What I See in Her (Quello che vedo in lei) - Gianluca Capaldo

For cheap (free) and cheerful entertainment on Sunday, go check out this year's BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery. There are some lovely pieces this year. I had a weird double take situ at the private view last week as the naked girl above wondered past me (fully clothed).

Wyndstock

I, meanwhile, will be bailing on London tomorrow to head up to Norfolk for the lovely Wyndstock. So, if you fancy escaping the city, come join - it seems that there are still tickets going. It all kicks off with lunch on Saturday followed by lawn games, back to the manor (tent) to tart and onto dinner and dancing under the stars. 


Let me know if you make it to any of the above... I've got serious FOMO.

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Pop Up Friday

The Friday feeling is near impossible to suppress at the best of times, let alone pre a mammoth 4 day weekend. And so, as home-time struck last Friday for our Queen's Jubilee, me and my work pals were nearly tripping over ourselves in our haste to leave the office.

First stop was The Fourth Wall's pop-up bar in Bedford Square. A little underwhelmed by my last visit, the leafy square setting made for a much better venue and we quickly sunk a Re-Bourne, hugely restorative in it's gin and elder flower zing - yum.

It was a one-cocktail-wonder, however, as we had tickets booked for the 7.20pm seating at the much-talked about God Save the Clam. For those that aren't spoilt, tickets were steep at £40 for 3 courses. So it was with high hopes and a hearty hunger that we arrived at what looked little more than an office block just off Hackney's Richmond Road.

Four flights up, we were greeted with mugs of punch, laced with José Cuervo's Tradicional Tequila (double yum), and  a nicely decked out space with bunting and beach huts perking up the grey London sky.

Sitting down at a long gingham clad table, our starters were served. The dish was unsurprisingly meaty, the main event,  Pitt Cue Co's links, served with a deliciously salty anchovy salad cream and paprika spiced croutons. Round 2 of the Tradicional magic only serving to whet our appetites further.

And so onto clam-time good and proper and Rock Lobsta's take on the bake. Our table was presented with a collection of coloured kids' beach buckets filled to the brim with steaming shellfish, samphire and seaweed; the seafood impressive in it's variety. We got stuck in.

If I'm honest, it was quite a lot of hard work, the devilled crayfish offering up little meat for your painstaking peeling and the crab claw smashing giving somewhat hit or miss results. Having said that, there were some delicious morsels that made the battle worth it and the accompanying potatoes in smoke dripping, BBQ leeks and charcoaled corn on the cob were dangerously good.

Fingers licked and shells cleared it was time for pudding, and despite the now glacial temperatures there was no way I was missing out on an ice-cream sundae called the Fat Elvis. Sweet mama was it go-o-o-od. With a peanut butter ice-cream base, sprinkled bacon pieces and a maple-syrup drizzle - whoever Glyn is, he's a bloody genius and I only hope to visit his Screwball Sundae Bar again. Fat Elvis could very soon result in Fat Rox.

The Fat Elvis - So wrong, but SO right

Sadly the arrival of the rain forced us down from the roof top and into a nearby pub. A shame, because the DJ's were just warming up and we were starting to get a taste for that tequila... I only hope that our friends at Pitt Cue Co. and  Rock Lobsta  hold another; with a few small tweaks and a little more sunshine they'll have nailed it.

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Queenie's Diamond Jubilee

Yippee! Thank you your Majesty for your 60 years of reign and the mega long weekend it affords us. 

Lightness of Being - Chris Levine, 2007. Currently on show as part of the The Queen: Art and Image exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

London is coming to life this weekend and it feels like we're spoilt for choice in things to do and see in and around the city. Here's what's on my hit list, not all of it as patriotic as p'raps it should be...

Friday night I'm off to God Save the Clam, a big seafood cook up on a rooftop out East organised by Rock Lobsta & Pitt Cue Co. Tickets for Friday's clam bake are sadly already sold out, but they're open for lunch and dinner over most of the weekend so try your luck. With DJ sets and an inevitably fun vibe, you could even just head over to sip a drink and tap your feet at the Banshee cocktail bar.

Saturday, I'm BBQ-ing at my darling Rosie's but, if I wasn't otherwise engaged, I'd be right on board the Field Day bandwagon. As festivals go, it's a good'un and this year's line up looks sweet as (mate). There are still tickets going, and if you fancy making a festi-weekend of it, you can get a good joint-ticket price that'll get you into Sunday's The Apple Cart too.

Sunday's main event is obviously the river procession that will be taking place from 2-6pm. But if boat's aren't your thing, there's a whole load of other delights to take you from day to night, starting with Bourne & Hollingsworth's Her Majesty's Party in the lusciously leafy Bedford Square. With a whole lot of bunting and a swing dance or two, this will be a perfect quintessentially British way to spend the afternoon. This week's Fourth Wall will also be resurrecting itself in the square for Friday and Saturday night.

If you're after a more rough and ready affair, The Book Club will be hosting their own Jubilee Street party which, whilst the priority wristbands are out, they're saying they'll get everyone into. Could be fun for a quick knees up with the fab Guilty Pleasures DJ's on the decks. 

Later on, I think I might head to the Secretsundaze Jubilee Bank Holiday Special at the House Club & Terrace in Greenwich. A neat way to see the boats go by without the mad crowds that will inevitably line the riverbanks. 

Monday will be delightfully un-manic, a long lunch leading nicely into an evening of live music at the Cable Street Electric Open Mic. It seems an elusive event, but I'll give the goss once frequented. Sounds a bit Sofar Sounds. In a good way.

If you're still going, however, and looking to keep the party alive, check out Coppafeel's Festifeel. Curated by Fearne Cotton, it's happening at The Queen of Hoxton and has a pretty impressive line up (Lianne Las Havas has just been announced). All proceeds from tickets go towards the worthy work of the charity, ensuring early diagnosis of breast cancer.

This will definitely be going in my cupboard.

Tuesday is the day of rest, and it's home time for me to see my beautiful Mamie. Good thing she's French, think I may have had my fill of our right royal Britannia by then.

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