What To Do This Weekend 09.02.23
TRY NEW FLAVOURS:
Berber & Q x Updown Farmhouse
Updown Farmhouse near Deal has reopened following a huge renovation. On Saturday 11th February Josh Katz from Berber & Q – the restaurant group behind Carmel in Queen’s Park – will take over the kitchen to cook a Middle Eastern dinner. From 7pm, guests can take a seat in the heated terrace to watch Josh cook dishes like matbucha with courgette tzatziki and olives; grilled hispi cabbage with labneh and macadamia dukkah; and lamb neck shawarma cooked in the wood-fired pizza oven. For dessert, there’s an orange blossom malabi (a type of rice pudding) with hibiscus syrup and coconut. Tickets cost £60pp.
Updown Road, Betteshanger, Deal, CT14 0EF
Visit UpdownFarmhouse.com
MEET THE GIRLS:
Ben & Jerry's x Tony's Chocolonely Valentine's Day Experience
Ben & Jerry's has teamed up with Tony's Chocolonely to create two new ice-cream flavours and chocolate bars. To celebrate, the brands will open an immersive walk-through experience this weekend ahead of Valentine’s Day. Guests can expect party games, canapés and – wait for it – unlimited ice-cream and chocolate. Book a slot with the girls from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th February to learn about the chocolate industry and how the two brands are working together to end modern slavery. Tickets cost £7.50.
The Nave, St Ethelburga’s Centre, 78 Bishopsgate, City, EC2N 4AG
Visit DesignMyNight.com
kris humphreys photography
GET CREATIVE:
Sip & Sketch at Selfridges
From today until Tuesday 14th February, Selfridges is hosting sip and sketch life-drawing workshops from 6-8pm on weeknights and 1-3pm this weekend. SketchSesh’s founder James Davison will lead each session with two life models – you’ll learn how to draw the body and create pieces of artwork to take home. Each session will include a 20-minute break with complimentary wine and soft drinks from the bar, and on Saturday and Tuesday evening, Eddie Peake will DJ as you draw. All levels are welcome and all drawing equipment is provided; tickets cost £10.
400 Oxford Street, West End, W1A 1AB
Visit Selfridges.com
Caitlin Isola
PLAN AHEAD FOR V-DAY:
My Lady Garden Pop-Up Florist
East London florist My Lady Garden is turning its Dalston studio into a pop-up flower shop from Monday 13th to Tuesday 14th February. Whether you want to surprise your valentine with a beautiful bouquet on the day or simply treat yourself, there are three new bouquets to choose from, including the ‘Abundance’ with lilac, pink and blue hydrangeas, alliums and orchids; and the ‘Passion’ with red and pink hydrangeas, roses and gerberas. You can pre-order bouquets online or choose from a selection of flowers in store – some even come with a QR code with specially curated playlists.
Ground Floor, 190 Balls Pond Road, Dalston, N1 4AA
Visit MyLadyGardenFlowers.com
GET YOUR CULTURE FIX:
Joseph Clarkson Exhibition at The Mandrake
To celebrate London Fashion Week later this month, fashion photographer Joseph Clarkson is exhibiting a collection of prints at The Mandrake hotel. From Sunday 12th to Tuesday 21st February, visitors can see ‘A Parasite in Rich Soil’s Delight’, inspired by an unlikely subject – a worm. Clarkson has put a fashion spin on the insect, depicting the journey of a warm from the soil to experiencing its surroundings for the first time. It sounds out there, but there are some glamorous shots of stars like drag queen Bimini Bon Boulash. Tickets are free.
20-21 Newman Street, Fitzrovia, W1T 1PG
Visit TheMandrake.com
Jordan Curtis Hughes
SURPRISE YOUR VALENTINE:
Frameless
If you haven’t been to immersive gallery Frameless yet, now’s the time to go. Tomorrow, the venue will open a new ‘Love Gallery’ where visitors can project their own photos onto the walls via an Instagram live-feed. The gallery is open until late, so take time to visit each of the various rooms afterwards to see projected across the walls world-famous art by the likes of Cézanne, Kandinsky, Monet, Canaletto and Rembrandt. On Thursday 16th February, dating app Thursday will host a mixing event at the gallery. Tickets are available through the Thursday app and Frameless tickets start from £25pp.
6 Marble Arch, West End, W1H 7AP
Visit Frameless.com
DISCOVER NEW JEWELLERY:
Kirstie Le Marque Pop-Up at With Nothing Underneath
Vintage-inspired jewellery brand Kirstie Le Marque has opened a pop-up at With Nothing Underneath’s Belgravia store. Today and tomorrow, shoppers can meet the brand’s founders, try on pieces, and discover jewellery from the new collection – from pearl drop bracelets and crystal necklaces to bow earrings. Don’t forget to look at With Nothing Underneath’s signature shirts and short sets while you’re there.
47 Elizabeth Street, Belgravia, SW1W 9PP; from 9th-10th February
Visit KirstieLeMarque.com
VISIT THIS COOL EXHIBITION:
Addicted to Love at Quantus Gallery
Quantus Gallery has opened an exhibition featuring works by two contemporary artists, Eve De Haan and Sara Pope. Featuring De Haan’s neon signs and Pope’s signature pop art-style lips, the joint exhibition includes 30 works that celebrate love in all its forms – desire, seduction, emotion, connection and comfort. Tickets are free.
11-29 Fashion Street, Shoreditch, E1 6PX
Visit QuantusGallery.com
SEE A CLASSIC:
The Winter's Tale at Shakespeare's Globe
This season the Globe is celebrating 400 years of Shakespeare’s First Folio. To mark the occasion, it’s staging a new production of The Winter’s Tale across the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and the main theatre. As the story goes, King Leontes falsely accuses his heavily pregnant wife of infidelity with his best friend. Consumed by jealousy, he makes a series of catastrophic decisions that tear his family apart and leave his newborn daughter abandoned. Sixteen years later, can time bring healing and reconciliation? Tickets start from £5.
21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, SE1 9DT; from 9th February-16th April
Visit ShakespearesGlobe.com
GET DATE NIGHT RIGHT:
Rita's
Gabriel Pryce and Missy Flynn opened the long-awaited follow-up to their much-loved east London restaurant Rita’s a couple of years ago. Now, the permanent site in Soho has created an express menu for diners available on Tuesdays to Saturdays between 5pm and 6pm. The set menu costs just £22pp and includes a seasonal green salad followed by an eggplant or fried chicken parmigiana. You can also add on dessert and cocktails like the restaurant’s signature jalapeno martini.
49 Lexington Street, Soho, W1F 9AP
Visit RitasDining.com
FIND UNIQUE GIFTS:
Carnaby Street
If you’re after fun Valentine’s or Galentine’s Day gifts, Carnaby Street should be your first port of call. Over the next week, the area will host several events and competitions – and there are over 100 retailers and 60 restaurants and bars to choose from for a fun day out. Between Friday 10th and Tuesday 14th February from 12pm to 2pm, the first 50 visitors in line for Carnaby’s black and white photobooth will get their snaps for free. On Valentine’s Day, there’s also the chance to WIN a date night for two or shopping vouchers when you play Carnaby’s Spin the Wheel on Ganton Street. Prizes include cocktails for two at Nightjar, coffee for two at Grind, or a £20 voucher to spend in one of Carnaby’s retailers. If you don’t bag a prize, you’ll still receive a tote bag and magazine.
Great Marlborough Street, Carnaby, W1F 7JF
Visit Carnaby.co.uk
TRY A NEW WORKOUT:
Loving Kindness Workshop at East of Eden
Walthamstow fitness studio East of Eden is hosting a ‘loving kindness’ event on Saturday 11th February. Led by yoga instructor James Cassidy, the workshop will help guests develop understanding, kindness and compassion towards all beings, starting with themselves. The class comprises yin yoga, meditation and guided mantra chanting. Suitable for all abilities, you can attend in person or stream the class online (£15).
Studio 1, 14 Hatherley Mews, Walthamstow, E17 4QP
Visit EastofEden.uk
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