London’s best pop-ups

Presented by Michelin-starred chef and longtime Great British Menu judge Tom Kerridge, Pub in the Park is a touring food and music festival that aims to bring a convivial public house atmosphere to the great outdoors with loads of delicious pub grub alongside live music. After five years at Chiswick House and Gardens, the London edition of the festival is upping sticks in 2025, moving to Gunnersbury Park for this year’s edition from May 30 - June 1. The line-up is shaping up very nicely, with plenty of celebrated London restaurants featuring, including viral Desi gastropub The Tamil Prince, Highgate’s Bull & Last, celebrated French bistro Bouchon Racine and The Brave, the new venue from Great British Menu winner (and Time Out’s own Hottest Chef finalist) James Cochran. The musical line-up celebrates the 30-year anniversary of the Battle of Brit Pop as tribute acts Blur2 and Noases go head to head, alongside radio presenter Chris Moyles’s 90s Hangover DJ Set, veteran selector Norman Jay, Soul II Soul Soundsystem and the Jay Rayner Sextet (if you didn’t already know that The Guardian's celebrated food critic also moonlights as a jazz pianist, now you do!) Can’t make the London date? The festival will also be popping up in nearby Marlow (May 15-18), Reigate (Jul 11-13) and St Albans (Sept 5-7) if you fancy planning a foodie road trip over the summer. Check out the full line-ups here!

There are some distinct signs of summer almost being here: the days get longer, the crucial final fixtures of the football season approach, and beer festivals start to take over our fair city. Crystal Palace Beer Festival combines two of the above for its 13th edition, taking place one day before Crystal Palace FC’s final game of the 2024/25 season at the club’s Selhurst Park ground. Celebrate by sampling the hundreds of beers and ciders on offer – from local breweries and beyond – while there’ll be plenty of entertainment, food and other refreshments to really ramp up that festival feeling. Tickets include two half-pint drink vouchers and a beer glass. Drinks tokens are £3.50. 

Munch your way through dishes from the great and the good of the capital’s restaurant scene at this sprawling culinary festival in the picturesque surroundings of central London’s Regent’s Park. Guy Ritchie’s gastropub Lore of the Land, Japanese-Korean joint Akira Back, masters of Pan-Pacific cuisine Los Mochis and cool Hackney wine bar Bambi are among the restaurants peddling plates and appearing at the event for the first time this year. If you’re not in a food coma by the end, there’ll also be kitchen masterclasses, chef talks and tastings to get involved with. Our advice? Have some Rennies on hand. 

Feeling thirsty? Desperate for a funky sour, cheeky saison or a fruity IPA? You’re in luck. The Capital’s biggest beer celebration is back for 2025, taking place at events warehouse Magazine London, for four-hour sessions of non-stop-beer-drinking bliss. Set over two days, you’ll get to sample London’s best beers as well as some international standouts, including our faves Gipsy Hill, Verdant, Deya and more. Hungry? The food line up is pretty serious too, this year featuring Meltdown Cheeseburgers, Bone Daddies and Chick N’ Sours. A £64.50 ticket gets you a four-hour session and access to more than 800 beers from over 100 brewers, and there are group discounts available too. All the beer is included in the ticket price. Happy drinking, folks. 

It might have had a makeover a couple of years ago, but Jeremy Lee’s Quo Vardis still oozes old-school Soho and has been rustling up some of the capital’s finest food since 2012. Now it’s collaborating with its favourite producers and suppliers for a programme of tasty-sounding culinary events.  Announced so far is a celebration of caviar and vodka on February 19, a supper focussing on quality British meat from famous butcher Swaledale on March 19, Basque cooking from Tomos Parry on April 23, a menu paired with Journey’s End’s wines from the West Cape of the Stellenbosch on May 7 and a supper from four of London’s most interesting wine-focused restaurants – 40 Maltby Street, Planque, Camille and Cadet – in June. They’ll be sure to sell out fast, so keep an eye out for ticket releases for each event by signing up to the Quo Vadis Rocket newsletter.