Spring/summer is here (well for the next few days) so it is time to dust off your flip-flops and head to the beach or the park for us Londoners.
I don’t know but a bit of sun always makes me want to have a picnic. Now creating the perfect picnic I would have to say is a bit of an art as well as EFFORT. Well London being the wonderful place it is, there are plenty of restaurants and cafes who will create a perfect picnic for you to take away and I have listed the creme de la creme here just for you… Happy sunning 🙂
Mr and Mrs 4×4 Luxury
For those of you with a bit of money to line your pockets, London’s many Michelin starred restaurants have many culinary delights on offer:
Harrods
87-135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7XL
Food from Harrod’s is the height of luxury picnic dining, head to the food court where staff will pack you a lovely array of goodies to delight your taste buds to take away in a lovely branded Harrod’s cooler bag.
For more info please visit www.harrods.com or please telephone the Food Orders desk on 020 7893 8041 or email food.halls@harrods.com.
Fortnum and Mason
Want to impress a special someone or give yourself a treat, then you should opt for one of F&T’s luxury three course picnics.
The three courses are made up of Smoked Salmon parcels with crab and lemon mayonnaise filling, Ballotine of barn reared chicken wrapped in air dried ham and ceps and served with 2 salads – jersey potato with walnuts and blue cheese, cucumber and baby spinach tossed with sunflower seeds. To finish there are individual poached pear tarts with a spiced red wine glaze, served with vanilla mascarpone. And to wash that down a lovely bottle of chardonnay. Unfortunately this kind of decadence doesn’t come cheap this picnic will set you back £100 pounds.
For more info please www.fortnumandmason.com to order please contact their customer relations department on 0845 300 1707.
Quintessential English delights
Looking for that quintessential english picnic but don’t want to go for broke?
Betty Blythe – Fine Food Pantry
73 Blythe Road, Brook Green, London, W14 0HP
Betty’s lovely traditional hampers capture the essence of an english picnic. Packed with tasty treats like fresh sandwiches and even champagne. Each hamper is tailored to each customer’s tastes and budget. Choose from a variety of mouth-watering dishes English cakes, finger sandwiches and grilled meats, to couscous, salad, home-made relish and mouth-watering squidgy triple chocolate brownies.
Also if you pre-order then hampers can be hand-delivered to any of the nearby parks. Also for that totally vintage experience; vintage rugs, lawn games, glasses, cutlery can be also provided. Prices start from £10.00 – £300.
For more information and to order your hamper please visit www.bettyblythe.co.uk contact the Pantry on 0207 602 11 77 or email your contact details to darling@bettyblythe.co.uk
Looking for a Mediterranean inspired picnic?
Carluccio’s
Head down to Carluccios’s for the authentic italian picnic. You have a choice of five picnics going for £45 pounds or £60 pounds for two. On offer is a selection of antipasti including chilli stuffed olives, sun-blush tomatoes, balsamic onions and Napoli salami.
Oven roasted chicken legs stuffed with herbs, breadcrumbs and mortadella wrapped in pancetta, as well as many other treats. For kids there is a £10 pound menu containing little pizzas and meat balls.
For more information visit www.carluccios.com/our-food/picnics or go to your nearest Carluccio store.
Other great places to pick up a picnic:
Luigi’s – Fulham
http://www.luigismailorder.com
Clarke’s Restaurant and Bakery
http://www.sallyclarke.com/
Scandinavian Kitchen – Soho
http://scandikitchen.co.uk/
You can still buy tickets for Saturday and sunday! Taste of London is your chance to sample culinary delights from London’s best restaurants. Now in its seventh year, look out for demonstrations from great chefs like Heston Blumenthal and Giorgio Locatelli at the Taste Theatre, and an extraordinary range of quality food and drink from around the world.
Spitalfields festival is the East end version of the proms and is bound to have something that everybody will want to hear. “Music from old and new contemporaries – from Monteverdi to Xenakis, Allegri to Clementi”
Covent Garden is hosting a three-day party this weekend for the Market Building’s 180th anniversary. The celebration kicks off today with the cutting of a giant birthday cake big enough for 2000 people. Children and adults will be able to take part in workshops throughout the weekend to learn singing, juggling, acrobatics and more. And there will be entertainment from street performers.
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