An après-ski hideaway, Champagne-laced fondue and souped-up Japanese street food capture this month’s best London restaurant offerings.
Lodge d’Argent
A rooftop winter wonderland claiming to offer “the best après-ski in London” opens at Coq d’Argent this month, in partnership with luxury cognac brand Hennessy. From 15 November to 22 February 2022, guests can book in for bespoke Hennessy cocktails alongside alpine-inspired sharing bites like a whole baked Mont d’Or cheese and steaming hot Diots sausages with red wine sauce. Private chalets for up to six people are kitted out with twinkling lights and faux fur blankets for toasty evenings, and a three-course set menu is also available for £60 per person. All cocktailed out? Choose from more than 600 French wines on offer at parent restaurant Coq d’Argent.
Studio Paradiso
From 25 November, this East London pop-up transforms an old furniture factory into a 1970s-style Manhattan loft party, complete with more fondue than you can shake a bread stick at. As well as sipping glasses of Champagne from drinks partner Heidsieck Monopole, the fizz will also work its way into the ridiculously decadent fondue offering, with Heidsieck Monopole Brut Grand Cuvée layered into gooey Comté, Gruyère and Emmental cheeses. Staged in the Patchworks venue in Leyton, a retro camper van takes centre stage among a smorgasbord of 70s furniture, fur rugs, disco balls and a vintage wood burner.
Sarap Filipino Bistro
A new Filipino restaurant from Ferdinand “Budgie” Montoya launches in Mayfair’s 10 Heddon Street on 23 November. This latest branch of the Sarap restaurant brand follows the success of its Brixton sister site, and celebrates Filipino specialities such as slow-roasted suckling pig, served whole and stuffed with lemongrass and truffled adobo pork rice. Other dishes include Rellenong Crispy Pata (twice cooked stuffed trotter) and Ensaladang Talong (smoked aubergines, tomatoes, salted duck egg). London/Filipino fusion cocktails will make use of the bistro’s vinegars, fermentations and kombuchas to minimise waste.
Yatay
Japanese robatayaki restaurant Yatay opens in Chinatown on 15 November, inspired by Japan’s street vendors. Spanning two floors, the eatery will serve classic skewers like meatballs with confit egg yolk, alongside dishes such as blow-torched mackerel with wasabi and pickled ginger, and sweet potato served with miso cured cream cheese, garlic chips and Hispi Cabbage smeared with nori butter. Fried milk bread doughnut with matcha and sesame custard light up the dessert list. A well curated list of sakes will be on offer, including some aged in Burgundy barrels, alongside Japanese whiskeys, home-made umeshu (plum wine) and cocktails incorporating ingredients such as Lapsang souchong. A late-night underground bar is due to follow at the venue later this year.
