London Restaurant Festival 2016

Angela Hartnett, Michel Roux, Richard Corrigan, Theo Randall, Yotam Ottolenghi, James Lowe

Now in its eighth year, London Restaurant Festival (LRF), in partnership with American Express®, is the capital’s original restaurant festival - featuring bespoke restaurant experiences and events starring London’s top chefs. New events for 2016 include The Ultimate Gastronomic Weekend, London’s Longest Lunch - and special menus held in over 250 of the most influential restaurants. October is the month for eating out.

This year’s line-up already includes: Angela Hartnett, Michel Roux, Richard Corrigan, Theo Randall, Yotam Ottolenghi, James Lowe, Skye Gyngell, Nathan Outlaw, Anton Mossiman, Jeremy Lee, Philip Howard, Tom Aitkens, Brunswick House Cafe, Kitty Fisher’s, Taberna do Mercado, Pitt Cue, Andaz, Noble Rot, Nuno Mendes, The Shard…. and hundreds more.

“LRF has always been about shining a spotlight on London’s diverse and dynamic restaurant scene - and encouraging people to discover it in a fun and affordable way,” says founder Simon Davis. “Such initiatives are even more vital today in supporting the restaurant industry and providing value to the customer,” he adds. “That such a high calibre of chefs, restaurants and sponsors choose to engage with the festival and its significant audience is also extremely encouraging.”

The festival has two elements: the unique Festival Menus programme and the exclusive LRF Restaurant Experiences

A) Festival Menus

Similar to the famous New York Restaurant Week, the LRF Festival Menu enables diners to try a great value, bespoke menu at a vast range of London’s leading restaurants – from the Michelin-starred to the neighbourhood hotspots. Working with Bookatable – making reservations ‘one-click’ easy - menus range from £15-£50 and are created exclusively for LRF, making October the month to eat out. Over 250 restaurants take part including Heddon Street Kitchen, Cinnamon Club, Osteria, Tredwell’s, Hakkasan, Yauatcha, Marco Pierre White and Roux at The Landau.

B) Restaurant Experiences

1) The Ultimate Gastronomic Weekend. New for 2016 and something that those lucky enough to get tickets are unlikely to ever forget. Guests will enjoy a Veuve Clicquot Champagne Gourmet Odyssey, visiting three top restaurants in one day, a wine tasting hosted by a bevy of winemakers from across the globe, and overnight stay at the 5-Star Andaz London hotel. On Sunday, they’ll enjoy a lunch hosted by Michel Roux at The Landau, followed by a VIP tour of the Royal food hall at Fortnum & Mason.

2) London’s Longest Lunch. Again, new for 2016, this extraordinary one-off six-course lunch features pop-ups at two of the most exciting Thames developments: three-courses by Richard Corrigan at Embassy Gardens and then three from Kitty Fisher’s Tomos Parry. Through LRF’s inaugural partnership with Enotria&Coe and Great Western Wine, over 30 wine producers are being flown to London during the festival and hosting many events across the month with partner restaurants. For London’s Longest Lunch the sommeliers are wine producers themselves - serving their wine. 


3) Veuve Clicquot Gourmet Odyssey is LRF’s annual sell-out gastronomic road trip aboard a red Routemaster bus. Opening with a Veuve Cliquot reception followed by a starter, main course and dessert in three of London’s leading restaurants, including The Manor, Noble Rot and Morito Hackney. Champagne is served with every course.

4) Chef-Hosted Lunches and Dinners. Headline sponsor American Express is offering its Cardmembers exclusive access to join ten of London’s greatest chefs: Anton Mossiman, Nuno Mendes, Yotam Ottolenghi, Skye Gyngell, Jeremy Lee, Angela Hartnett, Theo Randall, Philip Howard, Tom Aikens and Nathan Outlaw to enjoy a menu inspired by their favourite places in the world.

5) Tasting Menus. Another addition for 2016. A selection of restaurants will serve tasting menus ranging from four to ten courses. All are paired with wines selected by Enotria&Coe winemakers, who will be there on the night, or spirits such as the 16-course kaiseki menu at Tokimeitē paired with Suntory Japanese whisky. Restaurants taking part include Tokimeitē, Santa Maria, Barrafina, Republic Pop-Up, Dickie Fitz and Osteria.

6) Restaurant-Hopping Tours. An LRF classic. This year sees a focus on specific cuisine such as Tapas, Cicchetti and Sushi or culinary hotspots such as Heddon St and Devonshire Square. Each tour features a tasting plate in five different restaurants with drinks too. Devonshire Square, Soho Tour and Cicchetti Trail will be hosted by Enotria&Coe wine producers.

7) Eat Film will screen legendary films about food including Babette’s Feast, Big Night, Sideways and Eat Drink Man Woman in the wonderful Temple Cinema in the 5-Star Andaz hotel. Moviegoers have dinner before, or after, the film as well as gourmet popcorn and drinks throughout.

8) Restaurant Wine Tasting
Learn more about the best wine to order and drink in restaurants, in the beautiful surroundings of the Andaz Studio. In conjunction with our Wine Partner Enotria&Coe and Great Western Wine, exciting and iconic producers have flown in from across the globe, so you can learn from them what makes their wines so special. Fantastic value at £15: less than the price of a bottle of wine in a restaurant!**

This year also features a strong line-up of distinguished sponsors including American Express, in their seventh year as headline, along with London’s premium wine and spirits distributor Enotria&Coe (with their retail arm Great Western Wine), Andaz (Hyatt), Veuve Clicquot (LVMH), Ballymore, Fortnum & Mason, The Crown Estate, Birra Moretti (Heineken), Suntory Whisky and Sipsmith.

Event tickets are available to buy at Ticketmaster from 26th July 2016.