London’s Restaurant Month returns with more than 60 menus, events and culinary experiences taking place across the capital during October.
The festival, now in its 18th year, has established itself on the city’s gastronomic calendar by highlighting both established restaurants and emerging talent.
This year’s programme includes special menus, chef-led classes, immersive tours, opportunities to meet participating chefs, and one-night dining events representing cuisines from around the world.
Shoreditch features prominently in the festival, with The Hoxton offering an Italian menu through its Il Bambini Club restaurant.
Priced at £25, the menu includes colourful antipasti, pasta dishes, Italian desserts and other Italian cooking.
Another Shoreditch participant is The Llama Inn in Hoxton, where Peruvian culinary traditions are combined with a contemporary Brooklyn influence.
Its multi-course sharing menu, priced at £45, is accompanied by a bar specialising in Pisco and Latin American spirits.
Central London’s House of Louie is also involved.
Located in a grand historic townhouse in Covent Garden, the French restaurant spans several floors and combines dining with music and celebration.
Its seasonal French dishes reinterpret classical cooking with a contemporary approach and are served in the setting of an elegant Parisian salon.
Several other festival menus combine regional cooking with drinks and wider experiences.
The Italian Greyhound on Seymour Street in Marylebone is presenting an Italian menu.
At the Pullman in King’s Cross, a three-course set menu costing £42 per person accompanies a creative interpretation of Modern European and British food, a cocktail selection and an event called 50 Tastes of Gin.
Restaurant Festival masterclasses allow participants to develop practical culinary skills.
Cocktail making is among the subjects covered at The Alligator Bar, while pizza making features at Napoli on the Road.
Guided food tours form another part of the programme, taking in areas including the newly added Olympia and the established Marylebone Lane.
The Top Ten Cuisines initiative will present four-course menus for one night only at ten restaurants, with each venue representing a different region of the world.
Chefs responsible for the festival menus will also be available for meetings and interaction with diners.
Chris Wright, managing partner of London Restaurant Festival, said the event would again showcase London’s dining scene.
The organisation is partnering with ALL Accor for October, highlighting restaurants and bars within the group’s hotels across the capital.
Participating venues include Mercure London Bankside, Novotel London Canary Wharf, Pullman London St Pancras, The Hoxton Shoreditch and House of Louie.
Special menus and offers remain available throughout October at these and other participating restaurants.
The festival is presented in partnership with American Express, whose cardmembers can obtain early access to tickets and exclusive events.
London Restaurant Month continues until October 31.