A city as old as London has its fair share of ghosts and horror stories, which of course means there are few places better for being utterly terrified at Halloween. It is Square Meal’s duty to point out however, that being scared out of your wits is hungry and thirsty work. Luckily there are endless ways to solve this problem in London and almost as many with a spooky twist this weekend. Have no fear (or do -it’s Halloween) with our guide to doom-ridden dining and drinks.
Scared in Chelsea
Bluebird on Chelsea’s King’s Road is really getting into the spirit of things with a pumpkin patch on the terrace and a themed afternoon tea, available every day until Sunday. The tea includes toffee apple cakes, marshmallows in the shape of witch hats and pumpkin-orange macaroons.
Minced innocents in MayfairMews of Mayfair has done away with Bambi just in time for the horror season. Its new Bambi Burger contains venison, gin and redcurrant chutney and gherkins. Delight in the spoils of the hunt for £16 (including triple-cooked chips), from now until Christmas.
Doom-filled bakesLondoners looking for cookies and cakes that bite back are spoilt for choice this year: shelves of horror await at Gail’s, including almond disembodied fingers (pictured) and ghostly meringues. Regent Street’s
Hotel Café Royal is stocking a range of scary cupcakes in the Café, while Mayfair’s
Mount Street Deli has a range including caramel pumpkin pies and these skeletal gingerbread fellows.
Hallow-Easy
The Big Easy prides itself in celebrating all that’s sinful, so the restaurant is the perfect place to celebrate the devil: the
Covent Garden branch will host the horrors, from a pumpkin patch to a Scarlet O’Horror cocktail with bourbon, cranberry and lime. Get your fancy dress on and enter the on-site twitter competition to win a meal for two.
Buried alive in rum
If you wish to dress as a zombie this year but can’t find the props, you could just head to The Red Bar at Bam-Bou, Fitzrovia, and order a Living Dead Cocktail. A hefty and ghoulish take on a Zombie with absinthe, Angostura bitters and cherry liqueur, this may be all you need for red eyes and a drooling demeanour.
Foggy frightsThe old-school quirk of Mr Fogg’s bar in Mayfair has come over all Frankenstein this week. Expect an immersive drinking experience with a scattering of brains, eyeballs and themed cocktails until Friday –if you are wondering just how ‘immersive’ things will get, this hearse will be parked up outside. You have been warned…
Drinking In The Dark
Spoom yourself silly in the pitch black at Vinopolis, where the lights will be turned firmly off to provide a chilling drinking in the dark experience. Face your fears and you might just find your other senses are thrown into hyperdrive and you’ll get the most out of your wine experience. Just listen out for the ghosts of London Bridge… or is that just a train? Tickets cost £35.
Shriek at The Shed
Creep over to Kensington’s The Shed for a splattering of Halloween-inspired dishes this Friday, including devilled beef heart, green sludge soup and black gnocchi.