Saturday 12 August (aka the Glorious Twelfth) will see the re-commencement of the red grouse shooting season across England and Scotland and that means grouse will be returning to London's restaurants once the first day’s shoot is over. Here's where you'll be able to find it in London.
The Jugged Hare
City
Always one of the first London restaurants to have grouse on the menu, The Jugged Hare has game as a speciality so it's always a good place to try during the season. This year it'll be red grouse from Eggleston Moor in Yorkshire, served traditionally garnished with Savoy cabbage, bacon, game chips, liver pâté en croûte, bread sauce and red wine jus (£45).
Wiltons
55 Jermyn St, St. James's, London SW1Y 6LX
Of course, somewhere like Wiltons will have grouse on the menu. They serve it old school, roasted and served with game crisps, bread sauce, breadcrumbs, grouse sauce, grouse liver pate and of course watercress.
Kitchen W8
11-13 Abingdon Rd, London W8 6AH
Phil Howard's Kensington restaurant is always a great place to find game on the menu and grouse season is no exception. Chef Mark Kempson's dish of roast Yorkshire grouse is served with ancient grains, smoked bacon and hedgerow jelly and on from 16 August
The Quality Chop House
92-94 Farringdon Rd, London EC1R 3EA
Everyone's favourite London chophouse is serving up a particularly lovely-sounding grouse dish this season. It's roasted crown, dripping toast, game chips and bread sauce, leg pie with parmesan sauce, parfait, and cherry plum jam. You'll find it on the menu from 16 August at £55.
Rules
34-35 Maiden Ln, London WC2E 7LB
With its own estate in the high Pennines, Rules prides itself on being one of the first places in London to offer grouse each season, although it does urge you to call before to check availability. Here, it's the traditional grouse serving - roasted with game chips and costs £39.95.
Local & Wild restaurants
Chelsea, Notting Hill, Soho, Richmond, Wimbledon
All of the Gladwin Brothers' restaurants in London will be putting on a grouse dish at the start of the season. The whole red Yorkshire grouse in brandy jus, liver pate, served with blackberries, trompette mushrooms, crispy game chips and bread sauce. It's on from 15 August at £45.
Cinnamon Club
The Old Westminster Library, Great Smith St, Westminster, London SW1P 3BU
Chef Vivek Singh will be marrying the flavours of the subcontinent with British game for this season, serving up a dish of chargrilled grouse breast with ‘Achari’ spices, Tawa mince with fenugreek and mustard greens (£35).
La Poule au Pot and Maggie Jones
231 Ebury St, Belgravia, London SW1W 8UT and
Sister restaurants Maggie Jones’s and La Poule au Pot may normally focus on British and French dishes respectively but they'll both be adding grouse to their menus for the season, serving it roasted in bacon with vegetables and a game sauce (£39.50). It's available from 14 August.
Boisdale
Belgravia and Canary Wharf
For Scottish grouse, you should head to Boisdale this game season where both their restaurants will be serving the bird up from 15 August. It's served traditional style and for £48.50 you also get a glass of Claret with it.
Also look for...
- Elystan Street (Chelsea) - They'll have grouse on the menu from 24 August, with potato galettes, celeriac purée, elderberries and bacon and it’ll cost £55.
- 20 Berkeley (Mayfair) - The new addition to Mayfair will be serving Roasted Grouse with Confit Leg Agnolotti, Beetroot Soubise, Pickled Cherry’s & Blackberries
- Yaatra (Westminster) - they'll be serving up a special grouse menu from 12-26 August - the grouse leg is served up with a grouse croquette and topped with spiced coconut sauce.
- Ganymede (Belgravia) is holding a Grouse supplier supper club on 17 August with dishes paired with Dalmore whisky (£75 per person). They'll also be serving up grouse for a week from 13-20 August at Ganymede, The Hunter's Moon and The Apollo Arms.
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