Oyster & Chapel Down Bar
ETM Group’s The Botanist is to run a pop-up oyster and Chapel Down bar at Sloane Square for one weekend next month with pricing options to suit all budgets. Popping up from 16-18 September, the bar will offer West Mersea pearls, Brown Sea Island Dorset Rocks and Duchy native oysters from £2 each with a glass of Chapel Down’s Kentish sparkling wine for £6. Alternatively guests can enjoy half a dozen oysters and a bottle of wine for £39.50. A selection of seafood fresh from Billingsgate market will also be served, with options such as whole dressed Dorset crab and Atlantic prawn cocktail with avocado. Daily performances will feature from a solo saxophonist.
Sky-high Secret Garden Lunch
With fingers crossed for a sunny Bank Holiday Monday this 29 August, The Roof Gardens in Kensington is throwing a Secret Garden Lunch 100ft above the Kensington High Street. Guests can enjoy a three-course barbecue lunch complete with a complimentary drink while entertainment is provided by a garden DJ. Guests looking to enjoy drinks only are also invited to visit the Spanish gardens atop the roof. The Secret Garden Lunch is priced at £45 per person and £22.50 for children.
Beer-flavoured ice cream
The Otley Brewing Company’s Pontypridd gastropub The Bunch of Grapes has made the most of its heritage and created a range of beer-flavoured ice creams: O’Garden sorbet, Thai-Bo sorbet and Dark O-ripple ice cream. While other chefs may experiment with beer in and ale in food matching events, head chef Sebastian Vanoni has been trialling the beer ice-creams and currently sells 40 portions per week. They have now been made a permanent fixture on the menu.
Children’s concierge
Two Millennium & Copthorne hotels in London are to launch the group’s first children’s concierge service, Ask Alfred. Priced at £10 per child (excl VAT), the concierge package includes a complimentary Hamleys teddy bear, a Wisdom toothbrush, Organic Children shampoo and a bathrobe and slippers for the duration of the stay. While children will also be handed an ice cream on arrival, parents will be given an Ask Alfred London Survival Guide with tips to keep the children entertained. The concierge team is also able to arrange babysitting for parents looking for a little alone time. The service is available at the Millennium Hotel London Mayfair and the Millennium Hotel London Knightsbridge.