Celebrating its 13th year with a line-up of more than 50 events and 200 exclusive menus, London Restaurant Festival 2021 is back and looking tastier than ever.
With the pandemic providing the industry with some of the most difficult months to date, a festival to celebrate all things food and drink is much-needed.
London Restaurant Festival 2021 will see the return of the restaurant-hopping tours showcasing the city’s talents, as well as tasting menus, masterclasses and ‘Top Ten Cuisines’ events. And, we definitely want to be part of it.
Book a table or event at one of the City’s participating restaurants from the long list included and be treated to exclusive menus or activities created for the festival. There are many places joining for the festival, along with some of our favourites, including Goucho, Cinnamon Kitchen and Osteria.
You can also sign up for one of the two Ultimate Gastronomic Weekends, which includes an overnight stay at Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square.
Simon Davis, Founder of London Restaurant Festival, said: “London Restaurant Festival 2021 is a city-wide celebration of London restaurants and has been for the last 12 years. It stands as a key pillar among dining events both for restaurants and restaurant go-ers across the city.”
So, celebrate London’s award-winning hospitality and head to one of the below this October.
Cinnamon Kitchen
You’ll find the restaurant in Devonshire Square in the heart of the Square Mile. Offering a modern and experimental Indian menu, Cinnamon Kitchen is a great place to try something a little different.
For the whole of October, in conjunction with London Restaurant Festival 2021, the restaurant will be serving a nine-dish sharing menu at £35, which includes a cocktail. Get stuck into chilli paneer, madras shrimp, grilled aubergine, butter chicken and much more. Plus, finish your meal with the tantalising ginger toffee pudding and cinnamon ice cream.
9 Devonshire Square EC2M 4YL
cinnamon-kitchen.com
Alter
Don’t be put off by the solely vegan menu, Alter is home to incredible food and you’ll be blown away, even if you are a meat lover. A three-minute walk from Whitechapel Gallery, Alter offers flavourful and fresh East Asian small plates bursting with goodness.
For this year’s London Restaurant Festival, Alter has put together a special sharing menu that you will be able to order between 5pm-6pm throughout October. The set menu comes in at £24 and includes shitake and yellow bean dumplings, viet nahm dtok salad, khao-soi noodle laksa and kesar mango with sticky rice for dessert.
15 Leman Street E1 8EN
alterldn.com
Osteria
Make sure you take a seat this month at Osteria, the contemporary Italian restaurant in the Barbican Centre. You’ll be treated to spectacular views of the Barbican Lakeside as well as two new menus created especially for this year’s London Restaurant Festival.
Led by Head Chef Clifton D’Souza, the new menus’ focus is on simple Italian seasonal ingredients. The set lunch menu has fennel and gin-cured trout, seared chicken breast and meringue with poached plums.
The dinner menu focuses on a pre-theatre offering, which starts with beef carpaccio and caperberries, and leads onto Ossobuco tortellini filled with a tomato basil ragu with hazelnuts, or pan-fried coley with shaved fennel. Dessert gives you the option of Osteria’s signature tiramisu, or a raspberry and pistachio tart and selection of homemade ice-creams.
Barbican Centre, Silk Street, Barbican EC2Y 8DS
osterialondon.co.uk
Gaucho City
One of the Square Mile’s most-loved restaurants, Gaucho City is set in the historic gold vaults of the Old Bank of England and walking distance of Leadenhall Market.
Running from October 12-30, Gaucho City will be celebrating this year’s London Restaurant Festival with an exclusive menu. You must, however, book via OpenTable.
The festival menu has a few options, but starters include watermelon panzanella salad or seabass aguachile. You can choose an ancho 200g ribeye steak or chilli aubergine linguine for main. Then finish with a sticky toffee pudding or perhaps a chocolate and coconut tart.
1 Bell Inn Yard EC3V 0BL
gauchorestaurants.com
1 Lombard Street
Located near Mansion House in a former bank building, the modern brasserie is a favourite for both locals and tourists alike. Whether you sit down for a dish from the menu created by Food and Drink Director, Mark Hix, using the best sustainably-sourced British produce, or sip on a cocktail in the circular bar at the top of the restaurant with its domed skylight, you’re sure to have a good experience.
This year, for the London Restaurant Festival, 1 Lombard Street will be serving two set menus. You can order either the two-course or three-course menu at £25pp and £35pp respectively from Monday to Friday from 4.30pm. Make sure you end your evening with a nightcap watching the night sky in the dome.
1 Lombard Street EC3V 9AA
1lombardstreet.com
Main image: 1 Lombard Street
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