[updated 18/3/13 with extended run time]
Toasting marshmallows over open fires, scoffing warming beef stew and hunkering down in a tipi strewn with fairy lights to nuzzle a hot chocolate…as the weather in London turns distinctly nippy - yep, childhood comforts rate highly. WigWamBam at the Queen of Hoxton offers one of cosiest experiences you can have on the roof of a pub, as it puts up its tipi for a second year and invites frosty Londoners inside to wrap their hands around a hot drink and warm themselves over the fire.
The wintery drinks menu from the inside tipi bar give you a choice from options like hot whiskey fudge, spiced cider with a shot of Sailor Jerry’s, hot chocolate spiked with absinthe or hot buttered rum with smoky black pepper and aniseed (our personal favourite). Head onto the terrace, and there’s more traditional alcoholic options at the second bar, where you can enjoy cover from whatever the weather has to throw at you under canvas, kept toasty warm by heated lamps.
Don’t worry about showing up with an empty stomach – smoky aromas from barbecuing meat wafted alluring from the impressive-looking German shkwentgrill in the centre over the open fire pit. Each night of the week there’s something different on offer, like pulled pork, lamb, venison, or boar sausages, all served on a tasty wholemeal bap (£5). If you’re still hungry, delicious steaming beef and veggie stews (£5) are served out of chipped enamel mugs.
There also promises to be a suitably Shoreditch-friendly selection of quirky events, – this week sees WigWamBam hosting a pumpkin carving contest, but also in the works is an origami workshop, the screening of a cheesy horror film, and a fireworks viewing party on the 5th November.
And once you’re fed, watered and properly insulated against the bracing cold, grab a packet of s’mores and toast your marshmallows over one of the many outdoor fires that dot the rooftop, while taking in the magical rooftop views over the City.
The WigWamBam is now around unti 20 April 2013, Queen of Hoxton, 1 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, EC2A 3JX, Tue 5pm-10pm, Tuesday-Saturday.
