9 of the best things to do in London this weekend for National Pizza Day

Welcome backmost to The Slice!

We’re marrying pizza and Valentine’s successful this week’s issue. So whether you’re truthful excited astir Love Day you conscionable person to observe it early, oregon you’re wholly besotted with pizza, you’ll privation to work on. 

Dining astatine Marceline volition springiness you a Slice of 1 of the astir romanticist cities successful the satellite without adjacent having to committee the Eurostar. We archer you which dishes to bid that shriek romance (like the ultra-fresh oysters and a dinky small two-sip martini). 

We also had to spell large for National Pizza Week. Find retired our favourite picks this year, including a Nunhead residency by a cook who volition effort putting conscionable astir thing connected a pizza (like herb condiment with tequila and cream). Plus: we fto you cognize however to get immoderate FREE cheesy goodness.

And don’t hide to instrumentality a look astatine our Metro x Time Out Deals of the week wherever we’ve got an exclusive woody conscionable for you. 

Read connected for a full scope of recommendations for February 8 and 9, handpicked arsenic ever by The Slice.

The Slice’s Pick

1. Exciting plates battalion a immense punch astatine Thai spot Kolae

By Martina Andretta

In lawsuit you haven’t noticed, Thai nutrient is blistery successful London close present – pun intended. The epoch of watery, bland curries is good and genuinely over, the Big Smoke is acceptable for Thai spices. Kolae is by the aforesaid squad down the palmy Spitalfields associated Som Saa, which was astatine the apical of our hype-busting list.

Seafood is simply a cardinal constituent of Southern Thai food. For this reason, I tested a pescatarian enactment (but determination is plentifulness for meat-loving readers too). Begin with the biryani atom crackers, a deceptively unassuming starter that exceeded expectations with its satisfying texture. The spice punch comes aboriginal successful the signifier of achromatic crab, prawn, samphire and kee nu chilli bites (I had to instrumentality a interruption to constitute myself). 

The succulent kolae tiger prawns with a zesty burst of calamansi lime is the existent star. Simply presented, dressed successful a saccharine coconut marinade, and grilled implicit unfastened flames, these are a regular connected the regularly shifting paper (no surprise).

Honourable notation for the cocktails: Kolae’s Golden Hour, a bourbon-based portion with hints of honey, grapefruit and banana, is dangerously delicious. As for the work – it started well, with a knowledgeable walk-through of the menu, but turned chaotic aboriginal successful the nighttime with immoderate mishaps (though the squad was punctual to close and apologise).

Still, with its affordable pricing and breathtaking enactment of plates, I look guardant to visiting Kolae again.

Smaller plates from £5; larger plates from £8. 6 Park Street, Borough, SE1 9AB. Book here.

2. Go for cosiness and indulgence astatine Rockwell Bistro & Wine Bar

By Anushka Suharu

Rockwell Bistro & Wine Bar is the eventual spot for a cosy yet indulgent Valentine’s date. Tucked wrong Trafalgar St. James hotel, its plush seating, affluent colour palette, and softly glowing ambience make the cleanable romanticist backdrop. Sip connected expertly curated wines portion sharing deli-style plates and originative tiny bites – we’re loving the saccharine and savoury murphy terrine, which pairs beautifully with irresistibly creamy ham croquetas and melt-in-your-mouth beef bao buns.

For Valentine’s Day, they’re offering a Set Menu for Two, with the accidental for 1 fortunate impermanent to uncover a hidden ‘Love Card’ and triumph a luxurious overnight enactment astatine the Trafalgar St. James Hotel successful 2025. Whether it’s your archetypal Valentine’s unneurotic oregon 1 of many, this chic hideaway volition marque it unforgettable.

Small plates from £5; Valentine’s Day Set Menu for Two, £72. 2 Spring Gardens, Trafalgar St. James hotel, SW1A 2TS. Book here

3. Tapas spot Camino is expanding its family

Much loved Spanish tapas spot Camino has 2 marque caller branches. The archetypal opened successful Farringdon successful January, and the 2nd opens successful Victoria’s Zig Zag Building successful aboriginal March.

Both sites volition besides spot extended vino lists showcasing wines from notable bodegas! 

4. London’s highest edifice has conscionable opened

Gordon Ramsay is taking implicit the apical 3 floors of entity precocious 22 Bishopsgate, with three caller restaurants, a must-visit barroom and a Gordon Ramsay x Hexclad academy.

For undoubtedly beauteous views of the London skyline, including Tower Bridge, The Shard and St Paul’s Cathedral, you’ll beryllium successful the cleanable place. Look retired for our Slice reappraisal to perceive our verdict! 

5. Get a sensation of the astir romanticist metropolis successful the satellite astatine Marceline

By Sophie Laughton

When you deliberation of romance, Canary Wharf isn’t the archetypal spot that springs to mind. But for large brownie points from your spouse – oregon an casual travel from your Canary Wharf bureau – Marceline is the one. Housed successful a gleaming solid container floating successful the centre of Wood Wharf, this Parisian-style brasserie isn’t reinventing the instrumentality with its paper of French classics, but it’s precisely what you privation from a romanticist meal for two: an ice-filled platter of ultra caller oysters, steak frites; and a creamy choux dessert truthful indulgent it indispensable beryllium shared betwixt 2 spoons.

Their drinks database is adjacent sexier – classical cocktails, a superb enactment of reasonably priced wine, and champion of all, a dinky small two-sip martini (served dirty, of course). 

For the large time itself, Marceline are putting connected a peculiar Valentine’s meal for £75pp. The luxurious sharing repast involves oysters, the one-night-only instrumentality of their buttery lobster frites, and Mon Amour for dessert, an appropriately pinkish patisserie instauration brimming with strawberry mousse and tempered chocolate. Ooh la la!

Valentine’s Day menu, £75. 5 Water Street, Canary Wharf, E14 5GX. Book here.

6. Try London’s champion pizza for National Pizza Day

Dough Hands

Best for: blow your caput flavour combinations

They’ve done pop-ups, they’ve done pub takeovers, and they’ve sold retired pizzas. Now, Dough Hands are opening a 2nd imperishable residency astatine The Old Nun’s Head pub. Chef Hannah Drye serves up a mash up of antithetic influences – combos similar stracciatella and Calabrian chili thin toward classical Italian, portion pepperoni and jalapeño are much NYC… each served connected a light, crispy base. 

Dough Hands accidental determination are fewer ingredients they wouldn’t enactment connected a pizza (they’ve done pickled scotch bonnet, herb condiment with tequila and pick before), and their committedness to you is consistently crispy, saucy, and straight-up pizza. Come and effort it for yourself. 

Pizza from £8. The Old Nun’s Head, 15 Nunhead Green, Nunhead. Dough Hands joins connected 13 February. Book here. 

Happy Face Pizza

Best for: getting lucky

We emotion escaped worldly astatine The Slice – and escaped pizza is ever great. Happy Face Pizza takes its dough seriously, with a 72 hr fermentation play ensuring a lighter, fluffier crust to rival Naples’ finest. Choose from pizzas similar the Sebastiano with artichoke, mozzarella and anchovies; the Porchetta with mozzarella, smoked scamorza and roasted potato; the Pepperoni with (you guessed it) tomato, mozzarella and pepperoni and more. 

This week successful assistance of National Pizza Day, here’s however you tin get immoderate pizza connected the house: Just rotation a fortunate six connected the dice astatine 1 of the Happy Face Pizza branches and transverse your fingers for immoderate other bully luck.

Pizza from £10.50. King’s Cross and Brent Cross. Book here.

Berberè

Best for: shareable, pre-cut slices

Berberè has a pretty good estimation for its sourdough pizza (pizze). But it isn’t conscionable the pizza that volition marque you privation to travel back. The unit are lukewarm and welcoming too. Berberè has already had occurrence northbound and southbound of the river, but you tin present find their beauteous pizzas successful their Tottenham Court Road subdivision which opened precocious past year. Berberè besides has stores crossed Italy (a bully motion of immoderate sourdough).

Pizza connected the paper includes smoked margherita, burrata and ‘nduja, falafel (vegan) and antipasti similar the heavy fried dough balls. The dough balls person each sorts of amusive toppings (try the chromatic and grated aged smoked ricotta). 

Pizze from £7.90; antipasti from £3. Tottenham Court Road, Kentish Town and Clapham. Book here. 

7. Get Valentine’s Day acquisition inspo

Valentine’s Day gift? Sorted. Pop down to Leadenhall Market from 12-5pm connected 8 February for SoLo Craft Fair, wherever you’ll find handmade jewellery, artwork, location accessories and more.

Plus, escaped emotion tarot readings wherever you tin find retired what lies up for your emotion life…

8. Skip the meal day and larn however to marque sushi with that peculiar someone

Want to larn however to rotation similar a pro? YO! Sushi School is present to amusement you the way. For a Valentine’s Day that skips the meal date, this is the cleanable alternate – whether you’re taking your mate on oregon Your Person, it’s a large mode to observe emotion and tasty sushi.

As good arsenic getting to instrumentality portion successful sushi-making, you’ll get a invited drink, edamame and gyoza, positive an exclusive ‘Lover’s Roll’. Tickets from £34.95. Book here. 

9. Watch Second Best astatine Riverside Studios

★★★★

By Hugh Montgomery

The premise of a amusement is sometimes truthful intriguing, you’re sold connected it earlier you’ve adjacent entered the auditorium. Such is the lawsuit with this caller one-man piece, based connected a 2023 caller by David Foenkinos and starring Sex Education’s Asa Butterfield. It imagines the beingness of Martin Hill, a erstwhile kid histrion who was down to the past 2 to play Harry Potter, lone to beryllium pipped astatine the station by Daniel Radcliffe – and ne'er enactment again.

As vocation disappointments go, it’s thing if not uniquely excruciating. But the quality of Barney Norris’s writing, which navigates a deft enactment betwixt sitcom humour and acheronian psychodrama, is that helium makes specified a singular concern consciousness relatable. 

You can’t archer that this is Asa Butterfield’s theatre debut: helium has a earthy bid of the stark achromatic stage, hooking the assemblage into Martin’s beingness communicative similar a self-assured stand-up comic, portion besides being wholly convincing erstwhile required to unfurl the choler and symptom simmering beneath his character’s genial exterior.

The ending suffers from being a small simplistic, but it’s a insignificant gripe successful a accumulation that surely deserves a West End transportation aft this shortish run.

Tickets from £35. Riverside Studios. Until 22 February. Book here. 

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