What To Do This Weekend 19.09.20
SPEND SOME TIME IN A GREEN OASIS HERE: EDEN at Halkin Arcade
Located just off Motcomb Street in Belgravia, and designed by HagenHinderdael, this garden installation celebrates the importance of natural urban green spaces through an interactive experience, inviting visitors to reconnect with nature. Following a challenging few months, people around the world are valuing open spaces more than ever, and with an emphasis on wellbeing, community, and sustainability, EDEN is a secret garden harnessing the natural world as both an escape from urban life, and a support system for our mental and physical wellbeing. Inside EDEN, visitors will enter a three-dimensional spiral created using upcycled materials, housing an eco-system of greenery to immerse themselves in an urban oasis. At the centre of the installation, visitors can linger among the plant life by taking a seat and even contribute to the installation itself by planting some of their own seeds in a central planter at the heart of the spiral. Visitors are even welcome to take a few seeds from the installation away with them to create a wildflower meadow at home. Just be sure to get there quick – the installation will be taken down on 31st October 2020.
Visit MayfairAndBelgravia.com
HEAD DOWN TO COVENT GARDEN FOR: Homeslice ‘Fire & Friends’
Brothers Mark and Alan Wogan, co-founders of renowned pizza group Homeslice, are starting a new monthly series of dinners hosted by guest chefs at the group’s site in Neal’s Yard following its reopening on Monday 14 September. ‘Fire & Friends’ will start with Michelin-starred Chef Lee Westcott popping up for three nights from 24th September, followed by Neil Rankin (Simplicity Foods) in October with further chefs yet to be announced. All guest chefs will work to honour the Homeslice ethos – a commitment to ingredients of the utmost quality and a balance of traditional and innovative flavours. Each event will feature dishes cooked in Homeslice’s wood-fired ovens and their recently launched range of sauces. Westcott’s menu, priced at £50 per person with an additional £30 wine flight available from Liberty Wines, will include three courses (as well as a bread and petit fours course). Previously head chief at the critically acclaimed Pensons, Westcott plans to open his own restaurant in 2021.
Visit HomeslicePizza.co.uk
ORDER SOME WORLD-CLASS COCKTAILS HERE: The Drinks Drop
The brainchild of Fabrice Limon and Barrie Wilson, founders of Scotch+Limon, a new at-home cocktail delivery service – The Drinks Drop – has now launched nationwide. With an increase in demand for restaurant-quality produce to be easily delivered and enjoyed at home, The Drinks Drop allows you to savour expertly mixed cocktails prepared by teams from some of the world’s best bars, without having to venture beyond your front door. With an initial collection of 20 ready-mixed cocktails, created by 20 bar partners (ten in London and ten in Manchester) the recipes have all been designed in tandem with some of the industry’s most prestigious brands and spirits. Award-winning London icon, Artesian, will be serving up a Tanqueray Gimlet featuring Tanqueray No. Ten, grapefruit cordial and absinthe for a crisp and citrus lead aperitif. Meanwhile, Tiki bar, Laki Kane has created the Espresso Mulatini, with Cuban rum, rubis chocolate wine, rapadura, espresso, Guinness and supasawa for a smooth and indulgent espresso martini alternative. Finally, internationally renowned cocktail bar Coupette has designed a refreshing Corpse Reviver Highball with Eight Lands vodka, Lillet Blanc, Cointreau, green Chartreuse and lemon verbena tea. The platform will start by offering three services, with customers able to receive boxes of six cocktails via a same day bike delivery service in London and Manchester.
Visit TheDrinksDrop.com
GET STUCK INTO THIS NEW DOCUMENTARY: This Is Paris: The Real Paris Hilton
Following an interview with The Sunday Times, this new documentary follows the original socialite as she shares never-before-seen insights into her childhood and day-to-day life. Available to watch for free on YouTube, this original film looks at the defining moments of Hilton’s life and career – from her traumatic time at a corrective boarding school, to her infamous sex tape and rise to popular fame as part of The Simple Life with A-list pal Nicole Richie. With cameos from other famous friends – including Kim Kardashian who credits Hilton as ‘the original influencer’ – and sister Nicky and mother Cathy Hilton, the show promises two hours of uninterrupted footage.
BOOK IN FOR THIS FOUR-NIGHT CHEF TAKEOVER AT: Laylow
Laylow – Notting Hill’s neighbourhood restaurant, club and music venue – will welcome Hot 4 U into their kitchens for an exclusive residency on the 22nd, 23rd, 29th and 30th September. Eddy Tejada (St John and Silo) and Matthew Scott (Cub), the culinary duo behind Hot 4 U, initially created their new partnership in the throes of lockdown, bursting onto the scene with an at-home delivery menu before embarking on a series of restaurant and industry collaborations. A reflection of Matthew and Eddy’s shared love for sustainable ingredients and nose-to-tail cooking, guests to Hot 4 U’s residency can expect plates laden with grilled pancakes, popcorn sweetbreads and chewy tomato kebabs with fermented cep and buttermilk garum. To follow, there’ll be fried apple pie with Szechuan ice-cream and as the evening draws to a close, there will be a couple of surprises in store to ensure no one night is ever the same. Known for being a West London hotspot, Laylow is overseen by James Adams – previously of Skye Gyngell’s Spring and Ruth Rogers’ The River Café – and usually serves a menu of small plates inspired by the Mediterranean.
Visit Laylow.co.uk
BINGE WATCH THIS NEW NETFLIX SERIES: Ratched
Created by Evan Romansky and starring Sarah Paulson, new series Ratched drops on Netflix this Friday. Described as a psychological thriller based on based on the 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, the series tells the story of asylum nurse Mildred Ratched (Paulson). In 1947, Mildred arrives in Northern California to seek employment at a leading psychiatric hospital where new and unsettling experiments have begun on the human mind. On a clandestine mission, Mildred presents herself as the perfect image of what a dedicated nurse should be, but the wheels are always turning and as she begins to infiltrate the mental health care system and those within it, Mildred’s stylish exterior belies a growing darkness that has long been smouldering within, revealing that true monsters are made, not born. Chilling stuff.
Visit Netflix.com
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS EXTENDED OFFER HERE: Skylon
Exclusively for SheerLuxe readers, Skylon – situated on the third floor of the Royal Festival Hall in the Southbank Centre – is extending its 25% discount offer until the end of September. The offer is available when dining for lunch Monday to Friday, dinner Monday to Saturday and for brunch on Sundays. The restaurant features modern British cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere separated by a stunning centrepiece bar, which is renowned for its fabulous cocktails. With stunning riverside views and floor-to-ceiling windows, Skylon takes its name from the original iconic structure that was built for the 1951 Festival of Britain. Meanwhile, the interior design echoes the style of the Royal Festival Hall during the same period, with unique contemporary touches. To redeem the offer, be sure to quote SHEERLUXE in the ‘Reservation Notes’ section when making an online booking.
Royal Festival Hall, SE1 8X
Visit Skylon-Restaurant.co.uk
TAKE IN SOME AVANT-GARD CULTURE HERE: Sadler’s Wells Digital Season
London theatre Sadler’s Wells has announced a slew of new activity for the autumn, including its new digital season and the first live performances at its venue since lockdown. Digital Stage In Focus is a new series featuring Sadler’s Wells in collaboration with three world-renowned dance companies, with the theatre set to co-create a suite of digital content with the Hofesh Shechter Company, ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company and Candoco Dance Company. Meanwhile, live dance will return to the Islington-based theatre once more with the first socially-distanced performances from Birmingham Royal Ballet, in a mixed bill featuring the first commission from new artistic director (and former Royal Ballet star) Carlos Acosta. Digital Stage In Focus will be free of charge with content released via the Sadler’s Wells website, Facebook page and YouTube channel, while a host of new safety measures will be put in place ahead of any live events.
Visit SadlersWells.com
ENJOY A GLASS OF ROSÉ AS THE SUN SETS HERE: Pergola Olympia
Pergola Olympia, the West London botanical rooftop, is launching two hours of bottomless rosé every Thursday. Aptly named Rosé Sunsets, the rooftop oasis is an ideal spot to watch the sun set over London, with the evening rays beaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows to capture the golden hour. Perched high in the sky, guests can chill out among overgrown ivy and botanical planters, while enjoying bottomless Rosato Rosé for just £25 per person. If you feel like a treat, upgrade to free flowing Provence Rosé for an additional £10. Alongside the rosé, guests will be able to enjoy delicious street food dishes from resident eateries Salt Shed, Wildcard and Izakaya. Think buttermilk fried chicken burgers; vegetable dumplings with ginger dipping sauce; steamed fluffy bao buns; and a steak sandwich with chips. Make Thursdays the new Friday with Rosé Sunsets, available from 5pm.
Visit PergolaOlympia.com
MARK YOUR DIARIES FOR THIS NEW EXHIBITION: Secret 7
Secret 7”, the anonymous charity record sleeve sale that marries world leading artists with legendary musicians, will return for its seventh and final show this autumn. The event, which is raising vital funds for Help Refugees, will now take place from 14th October to the 1st November (having originally been pushed back from May). Among the 700 designers this year are: Sir Anish Kapoor, one of the most influential sculptors of his generation; British painter Lubaina Himid; conceptual visual artist Tacita Dean; contemporary multidisciplinary Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson and the elusive fictional characters The Connor Brothers. They’ll be joined by artists chosen via an open submission, which had almost 6,000 entries this year. All designers have created one-of-a-kind artwork for their choice of this year’s iconic seven tracks: Aretha Franklin ‘One Step Ahead’, Bob Dylan ‘Blind Willie McTell’, Foo Fighters ‘This Is A Call’, The Internet ‘Come Over’, Koffee ‘Toast’, Miles Davis ‘Miles Runs The Voodoo Down’, and Vampire Weekend ‘Harmony Hall’. The 700 records will go on display in a free exhibition at NOW Gallery on Greenwich Peninsula, with visitor numbers capped at 15 at any one time and a one-way route will be in place to ensure the safety of all attendees. Booking a timed entry ticket is essential – hence why we’re giving you the heads up.
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