First, some organisation. This weekend list rarely counts theatre on it, as shows so often are sold out far in advance. So, take a moment to book ahead while you can. One of the biggest openings of the year is surely set to be the first major revival of My Fair Lady, taking over the Coliseum — the cast includes Stephen K Amos, Amara Okereke, Harry Hadden-Paton, the great Vanessa Redgrave, and Malcolm Sinclair. More information can be found here.
Food lovers looking to fill up their week should also get booking before its too late — Chinatown favourite Hovarda is launching its new guest chef series from April 19. It’ll run each Tuesday throughout spring, and promises, they say, upcoming chefs alongside some of the world’s most established names. Those on the bill so far includes the acclaimed Luke French of Joro, Jackson Bistrow of Cornwall’s Nancarrow and Ana Da Costa and Emily Yeoh from Two Hot Asians. There’s more information on this page.
But that’s quite enough about what’s to come over the coming months. There’s a weekend to get going with — here’s what to get up to.
The restaurant: Otto’s
Is Otto’s new? No. Does that matter? Not a jot. A gem in an unlikely part of town, Otto’s is somewhere I’ll never tire of recommenting. It is gloriously old-school and yet, paradoxically, is right on trend. Otto’s reintroduced to London the duck press, which is now being imitated (to great effect, it must be said) at the Ritz, while its wonderful pommes soufflées have received so much attention that the notoriously tricky dish is putting in appearances on menus across town, including at Gordon Ramsay’s terrific new restaurant in the Savoy, 1890. Otto’s is a room of magic, with Otto himself a wizard attending to his flaming pans, making potions of port, brandy and Pernod, mixing sauces with an insouciant flourish. Elin, meanwhile, keeps the show on the road, stage managing the entire performance. They are a dream. While, as mentioned, the duck press is the thing, now they have pressed pigeon on the menu. It too is extraordinary. The whole place is.
182 Grays Inn Rd, WC1X 8EW, ottos-restaurant.com
The bar: Le Magritte
This is not a bar — this is a paragraph about a bar — but Le Magritte is. Named for the surrealist Belgian, it is an archetypal “American bar”, and rather a dreamy one to boot. It is all polished wood, leather, velvet. Comfort is its thing, but so too is it sleek, stylish, tempting. The drinks list indicates bar staff not short on inspiration or ambition, and classics are deftly done. Come, dress up or don’t, and sink into somewhere that is hard to tear away from.
The Beaumont, 8 Balderton St, W1K 6TF, thebeaumont.com
The exhibition: Raphael
Compared to Christ at the time of his death aged just 37, Raphael — boundlessly gifted artist, top shagger — left behind an astonishing body of work, one that changed the course of Western art. In this remarkable exhibition, curators have managed to gather one of the largest collections of his paintings, drawings and tapestries ever seen in this country. Be among the first to see it this weekend.
National Gallery, WC2N 5DN, April 9 to July 31, nationalgallery.org.uk
The event: Risen
It’s hard to remember the last time the announcement of a new festival made so much of a splash as Risen. The one-day dance music extravaganza, landing in Hackney Wick this weekend, has totally eschewed the male-dominated norms of the industry with a line-up “centred around the divine feminine” — in other words, it will run with a programme made up exclusively of women, trans and non-binary artists. Men can attend, but not perform. The trailblazing line-up is spread across 10 indoor and outdoor venues in east London — don’t miss something truly visionary.
Across Hackney Wick, Saturday, ra.co
The club night: Jax Jones
Riding high on the success of hit Where Did You Go? (which features a star turn by MNEK) — which is presently banging along in the top 10 — expect DJ Jax Jones to be on sterling form as he takes to the Ministry of Sound. Judging from his recent posts on social media, he looks ready to blow the roof off the legendary club.
