Brilliant Things to Eat and Drink This November
by Daisy Woodward · AnOtherFrom tantalising new restaurant openings to one-off feasts and a taste of Christmas come early, here’s our round-up of November’s culinary highlights across London
At Carmelina’s, the newly opened Italian restaurant at The Webster hotel near Covent Garden, guests can drop in for a quick bite or settle in for a long, leisurely evening. The space comprises a 100-cover restaurant, an upstairs café-bar and covered terrace, and Carla’s, a late-night cocktail den. In the low-lit, forest-green dining room, designed by Red Deer, frosted-glass chandeliers hang above tables where chef Simone Serafini presents everything from fresh pasta to Sicilian red prawns and porchetta with sautéed bitter greens. Upstairs, the green-and-pink striped terrace is primed for spritzes, while downstairs, Carla’s channels the spirit of an Italian disco bar, complete with negronis and a shimmering mirror ball. Come for dinner, stay for another drink – or three.
The family-run team behind Barrafina and El Pastor is bringing a taste of Spain’s bustling neighbourhood beer bars to Borough Yards this November. At Cervecería Los Primos, cold beers will be poured straight from the tap into frosty glasses, with tapas served throughout the day and no reservations required. On the menu: crispy fried pig’s ears, golden bombas stuffed with txistorra sausage and silky aioli, flaky tuna empanadas and, for pud, freshly fried churros with chocolate sauce.
Moro Alumni Series: Tim Siadatan
Moro, the much-loved Exmouth Market restaurant famous for its Spanish and North African fare, has been feeling nostalgic of late. Ahead of its 30th birthday next year, the eatery launched its Alumni Series, inviting former chefs back into the kitchen to cook convivial Sunday lunches. The series concludes on 15 November with a special homecoming feast by Tim Siadatan, who spent three formative years at Moro before going on to co-found London favourites Trullo and Padella. Among the dishes on offer are agnolotti stuffed with delica pumpkin, mizithra and cinnamon, topped with sage butter, and a panna cotta take on Moro’s yoghurt cake with pistachios and pomegranates.
Lunette
Two years after leaving Sessions Arts Club, British chef Florence Knight is back on the London dining scene with Lunette, her first solo restaurant, opening this November. Perched on the 11th floor of Nick Jones’s St Clement hotel near the Strand, the intimate, 30-seat space will serve sweeping Thames views alongside Knight’s quietly inventive, seasonal cooking. Four courses at lunch will become eight at dinner, with trial dishes ranging from crisp pomme soufflé filled with smoked eel and nasturtium to milk custard with Cévennes onion and caviar, and pork loin with figs and anchovy sauce. A sneak preview of handblown glassware and feather-shaped steak knives suggests the table setting will be every bit as refined as the menu.
Zylia
For those craving the Mediterranean sun, Zylia, the new Greek-Cypriot taverna in Covent Garden, offers a delicious consolation prize. Co-founded by chef Nick Molyviatis, formerly of Kiln, Oma and Singburi, and Barry Karacostas, the restaurant has won over critics in a few short months and just earned a place in the Michelin Guide’s October selections. Its charcoal grill is the main attraction, turning out Cypriot sheftalia – pork parcels wrapped in caul fat – alongside souvlaki and Ibaiama pork chops with fennel and olive relish. For something heartier, there’s suckling lamb shoulder kleftiko, slow-roasted with potatoes, peppers and onions.
Five Feet
London is hardly short of pizza joints, but a forthcoming arrival in Bermondsey is squaring up to the competition. Slated to open in late November on Tanner Street, Five Feet is the brainchild of Legare’s Jay Patel, WatchHouse founder Roland Horne and former Dusty Knuckle chef Jack Ellingham. Here, dough is serious business: inside a dedicated, glass-walled room, a French stone mill will be used to grind British heritage grains into flour on site – the basis of thick, airy, square-shaped pizzas, baked in black iron pans. Toppings will range from fennel sausage, ricotta and Calabrian chilli honey to potato, caramelised onions and aged cheddar. Save room for cinnamon-crunch bomboloni with Jersey milk gelato.
On the third Thursday in November, France celebrates the first wine of the year’s harvest, Beaujolais Nouveau – a young, fruity red made from Gamay grapes that’s released just weeks after picking. Happily, Londoners can get in on the Fête du Beaujolais celebrations too. Among the restaurants and wine bars raising a glass to the occasion this year is Toklas, one of our favourite Mediterranean restaurants on Surrey Street, replete with its own adjoining (and highly acclaimed) bakery. On 19 November, chef Chris Shaw will prepare a special Beaujolais-inspired menu, accompanied by a glass of Château Thivin Nouveau for £80 per person. The restaurant’s wine team has also compiled a list exploring the region’s more complex crus for further red-wine revelry.
Colonel Saab’s Christmas Feast
Get a head start on festive feasting at Colonel Saab, whose Christmas menu, served from 24 November to 24 December, offers a welcome departure from the usual turkey and trimmings. Filled with art and antiques collected by founder Roop Partap Choudhary and his family on their travels across India, the restaurant’s two decadent outposts, in Holborn and Trafalgar Square, will be adorned with crackers, pine fronds and baubles for the occasion. The three-course affair begins with dishes such as stuffed paneer tikka and coriander chutney, followed by confit duck curry or the First-Class Officer’s Choice Railway Mutton Curry (Wes Anderson, eat your heart out), simmered with coconut milk and a splash of vinegar. To finish, take your pick of sticky toffee pudding or chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.
Ten years after opening Three Sheets in Dalston, brothers Max and Noel Venning are returning to their old stomping ground with Berryman’s, a tiny martini, wine and oyster bar opening on Kingsland Road on 13 November. The 20-capacity, standing-room-only spot takes its cues from old-fashioned European coastal bars, with dark oak panelling, low lighting and a curved marble counter. Expect Cornish oysters served with inventive accompaniments, from gherkin granita to strawberry mignonette. To drink, there are vespers and gooseberry-spiked white cosmopolitans, while dirty martini crisps and a jamón, ’nduja and cheese-filled bikini sandwich round out the snack options. It’s walk-ins only – simply turn up and slurp up.
Ralphie’s
After making his name as the youngest-ever head chef at The Dorchester’s Grill, Tom Booton is going it alone this November with his first solo restaurant. Named after Booton’s beloved pup, Ralphie’s promises a playful take on British comfort food in an elegant setting – all dark walnut, antique furnishings and brass accents. Diners can anticipate dishes such as crispy cod cheeks with warm tartare sauce, and pork and mushroom pie with charcuterie sauce, plus the rather spectacular-sounding vanilla soft-serve sandwich, finished with warm hazelnut and fudge sauce which will be poured tableside. Four-legged diners haven’t been forgotten either: there’s a dedicated dog menu, complete with bespoke bowls.