A new take on the traditional Burns Night trappings at Albannach
January 25 is Burns Night: here are some suggestions for the best whisky, haggis and cranachan to be had in the capital, along with the obligatory piper and self-conscious poetry reciting
A new take on the traditional Burns Night trappings at Albannach
Other Burns Night events in London
‘Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!’
No, not the words of Rab C Nesbitt, but of Scotland’s other great bard, Robert Burns. January 25 is the night when homesick Scots congregate to do something that would never occur to them to do back home, namely eat, drink, and jig about to Scottish country dance music. Oh, and recite poetry. All you need to know, if you’ve not been to a Burns Night before, is that you should wear your dancing shoes, and make sure you’re not the one they carry out on a stretcher. Here are a few of the more civilised Burns Night dinners.
Albannach
Celebrate the birthday of Roberts Burns on January 25 with Albannach’s sumptuous six-course feast, made with the finest Scottish ingredients. Bagpipes, whisky, and of course haggis and cranachan will feature through the night, which costs £125 per person.
Albannach, 66 Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DS (020 7930 0066/www.albannach.co.uk) Leicester Square tube or Charing Cross tube/rail. Six-course menu: £125 per person.
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| Cosy dining at Boisdale |
Boisdale
Scottish restaurant Boisdale is taking bookings for Burns parties of eight or more diners to be held from now until January 26. At the Belgravia branch, a live jazz band will be performing from 10pm each evening.
Boisdale, 15 Eccleston St, SW1W 9LX (020 7730 6992/www.boisdale.co.uk) Victoria tube/rail. Branch at 202 Bishopsgate, EC2M 4NR (020 7283 1763) Liverpool St tube/rail. Three-course menu: £47.50 per person, plus £4-£8 per person for piper and speaker depending on size of party (Eccleston St).
The Cow
On January 25, Anton Doherty (a Highland piper) will be performing with Gaz Mayall's band The Trojans – two sets, starting at 9pm. There will also be a poetry recital of Robbie Burns’ 'Ode to the Haggis', a Scottish menu, and drams of whisky. Dishes in the dining room above the bar will include: Galloway beef with girolles, Scottish langoustines with aioli, haggis neeps and tatties, kedgeree, Dundee cake and more besides.
The Cow, 89 Westbourne Park Rd, W2 5QH (bar 020 7221 5400/dining room 020 7221 0021/thecowlondon.co.uk) Royal Oak or Westbourne Park tube.
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| Quality Scottish produce and whisky tasting at Prism |
Prism
From January 21-25, one of our
favourite City restaurants will be celebrating Burns by highlighting
top-quality Scottish produce at its private parties, as well as
offering traditional Scottish breakfasts. On January 23 only there will
be a special sensory whisky tasting held in conjunction with
Glenmorangie.
Prism,
147 Leadenhall St, EC3V 4QT (020 7256 3877/www.harveynichols.com)
Monument tube or Bank tube/DLR. Four-course menu, dram and host: £80
per person. Whisky tasting with canapés: £35 per person.
So what have the Scots ever done for us? Apart from inventing television, tarmac, anaesthetic, golf, the syringe, the steam engine, penicillin, the refrigerator and the telephone, the Scots have also produced a good line in prime ministers, celebrity chefs, Radio 4 presenters and call centre operatives...
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