London’s best pop-ups

Transport yourself to Austria this Shrove Tuesday by paying a visit to Marylebone Village joint Fischer’s. They’ll be serving up a Viennese take on pancakes with a customisable crepe menu. Plain crepes are £7, with a whole range of sweet and savoury toppings – think chocolate sauce, toffee caramel, feta cheese, bacon and more – priced between 50p and £2 to adapt the dish to suit your tastebuds.

40FT brewery is teaming up with neighbouring ‘live fire’ restaurant Acme Fire Cult for a proper Irish knees-up this St Paddy’s Day. The Dalston brewers will be launching their Nitro Deep Stout for the occasion, with boozy Jameson Boilermaker cocktails also on offer. On the food menu? Spice bags! For anyone unacquainted, these are an Irish takeaway staple, featuring chips, fried chicken and peppers all shaken up in a paper bag with loads of spices. Chef Andrew Clarke’s take on them will feature grilled, herb-fed chicken, chicken fat potatoes, peppers, onions and chicken skin doused in a special Acme Vadouvan curry sauce. And there’ll also be DJs on from 7.30pm. 

Afternoon tea is a classic Mother’s Day activity, so you can’t go wrong with this offering from Biscuiteers, available at both its Notting Hill and Belgravia cafés for a month from March 8. The spread will include Biscuiteers’ signature hand-iced biscuits, Tregothnan tea, plus the mini sandwiches (with fillings like cheese and fig, ham and truffle and smoked salmon and cream cheese), patisserie (think coconut and mango mousse cake and strawberry and champagne macarons) and freshly baked scones crucial to any good afternoon tea. If you’re willing to spend a little extra on mumsie, you can add a glass of bubbly or a DIY biscuit icing session. There’s also a complimentary (undisclosed) gift included for the woman of the hour.

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!

London’s a global city when it comes to the cuisines on offer, but it can feel like there’s just too many to choose from. Thankfully, Café KOKO has launched a dining experience battle between two of our favourites, to make your decision about where to eat a little easier. Every Friday night, Don KOKO will feature limited edition Mexican and Italian dishes from rotating guest chefs, all curated by KOKO Electronic’s DJ roster. Opening night will see singer and producer SG Lewis’s pepperoni, hot honey, burrata and red onion pizza slice battle food content creator @whatwillycook’s shredded chicken and crushed scampi fries taco, but the reasonable menu is jam-packed with juicy options, plus margaritas, spritzes and palomas, too.

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.