A quick glance at the weather app shows that 2017's Taste of London has four days of sunshine lined up, which in all the years we've been going is almost unprecedented. We popped along for opening night last night to check out this year's crop of restaurants and other things to do. There were some awards dished out - we think Jose Pizarro picked up a gong as did Jamavar and Les 110 De Taillevent. But we were mainly there to dash around and try as many dishes as we'd identified as must-try from a preview of the event menus.
We did think that prices had relaxed a little this year, with plenty to be had under the £5 mark. Here's a selection of the best things we had on the night.
Jose Pizarro: Squid ink croquetas, gooey little things that are unmissable - £6
Trom the Taste Makers of London, the confit duck kibbeh from the #CookforSyria recipe book by The Good Egg: £8
Great dumplings from Dumplings Legend: A choice of dumplings - Pork xiao long bao, spicy prawn wonton and Sichuan duck, prawn har gau and spinach prawn £4
From Neil Rankin's Temper: Mutton Roll - smoked whole mutton, spiced and rolled in panko crumb with gochujang sauce - £4
From the Action Against Hunger stand - this is Rick Stein's fish taco - £5
A fine looking dessert from Balls & Co: Brownie ice cream and Persian fairy floss profiteroles (V) - £3
And - our personal best in show - Portland's whipped cod’s roe with Grelot onions and chervil - £5. Alas this is only available on the day we went but keep an eye out for the Daily Special restaurants as there are some great places appearing each day.
Far from the madding crowd
All the champagnes at the Laurent Perrier masterclass
If you're looking for somewhere to sit down and take stock when you're there, we can easily recommend the Laurent-Perrier Masterclasses. They last half an hour and the one we attended, ran by Master of Wine David Hesketh, was a brilliant introduction to their brand new La Cuvée which launches this summer as well as taking us through the champagne house's entire range of fizz from Ultra Brut, Vintage 2007, Grand Siècle, Cuvée Rosé to the Alexandra Rosé 2004 and Demi-Sec. Entry comes as part of a VIP ticket to Taste ranging from £72-£85.
Other dishes to try
There are more dishes that we wanted to try but ran out of time - here are the ones that caught our eye...
Oldroyd's Icon dish - Rare breed pork tonnato - smoked anchovies, oregano. Paired with Pecorino Offida wine - £11
Bubbledogs' Truffle Shuffle with Bubbledogs rosé Champagne - smoked beef frankfurter, steamed roll, truffled mac & cheese, truffle, bacon crumb - £9
Club Gascon's Duck foie gras doughnut - £7
Bao's Fried Horlicks Ice Cream Bao - £6 (Friday only)
More about Taste of London
Where is it? Regent's Park, Chester Rd, London NW1 4NR
When does it open? 14-18 June 2017
How do I book? On their website
Find out more: Visit their @tasteoflondon or follow them on Twitter @tasteoflondon
