If you have been a reader of this blog for quite sometime, you will know that I am always up for a festival especially if the festival revolves around food. So the fact that the Taste of London was on a mere two weeks after I moved back to London seemed very serendipitous indeed. Taste of London is one of the highlights of the foodie calendar. Every June, over 50,000 people flock to London’s Regent’s Park for an alfresco summer feast like no other. While it started on Wednesday the festival is on until Sunday so there is still plenty of time to buy tickets and head down to stuff your face.
After picking up our press tickets, we headed in to the festival and quickly found our first stop. The Laurent Perrier tent looked so glamorous that we couldn’t resist popping in for a glass of champs. We each ordered a glass of La Cuvee £11, which also came with a delightfully wrapped package of Lotus Chips, which we snacked upon while we drank. It was the perfect start to the day.
After a glass of bubbly we meandered around the stalls looking for delicious treats to try. There was a real eclectic mix of foods and drinks, and we soon came across plenty of booze companies giving away free samples. We tried a lot of different beers and even a few cocktails, just keep an eye out for people walking around with trays.
After quite a few drinks on an empty stomach we thought we better have something to eat. We were given two free tickets for food and were eager to use them. Our first dish of the day came in the form of Steak & Chips £10 from Gaucho. The perfectly cooked slices of steak were accompanied by chips, chimichurri and a tiny glass of Malbec. This was from their signature range meaning it needed to be paid for separately, however they did have three small dishes that we could have used our ticket on instead. Although it was small, the steak was divine and the chips perfectly crisp, the tiny dish certainly left me wanting more.
After having a little sustenance to keep us going, we figured it was time to have another drink. The Tanqueray Ten Tent had the tunes pumping and looked so fun that we couldn’t help but pop in for a drink. They had a nice variety of cocktails on the menu and after much debate I ordered the Grapefriut Collins £8. It was an absolute delight, very refreshing and just perfect for summer. I also appreciated the fact that they used of the high end Tanqeray 10. My partner in crime opted for the Gimlet £8, which she didn’t enjoy as much as mine, probably since it was half the size.
After a little gin, we decided to check out a few more of the restaurants. We headed to Chai Wu, and used our tickets to get ourselves a bowl of Szechuan Chicken Noodles £7. Just as we were tucking into these sweet and spicy noodles, along came a photographer who wanted to get a few shots of us eating. Never one to turn down the opportunity and we sucked and slurped our little hearts out.
After our noodles, we once again found ourselves in yet another bar. The cocktails at Moose were just too pretty to resist. Moose is a unique botanical spirit made in The Alps that I had never tried before. I went for their version of a Moscow Mule £8 while my bestie tried their take on a Clover Club £8. Again they had a gorgeous seating area to chill out in and soak up the festival vibes.
We figured it was time for dessert, so headed to the Halo Top stand. We were lured in by their absolutely adorable and girly decor. Not only did they have the cutest lilac telephone box, and pink velvet carpet to welcome you but they were handing out Free Ice Cream in decadent flavours such a Red Velvet, Birthday Cake, and Cookie Dough! If free ice cream wasn’t enough we also found out that the ice cream is practically calorie free with an entire pint only clocking in at 280 calories. I don’t know what wizardry these amazing people do to make such a decadent low calorie treat but it is amazing.
As we finished our ice creams we heard a bell ringing in the distance as stall holders started to call last orders for the day. We figured it would be rude not to have one more so headed to the Edinburgh Gin caravan for one last tipple. This little van actually offers the cheapest drinks at the festival at a mere £5 for a Gin Fizz. I opted for the Raspberry, while my companion went for the Elderflower. There is also yet another delightful little seating area, I shall certainly be heading there again on Sunday.
Overall we had a wonderful time at Taste of London Festival, even if we ended up doing more drinking than eating. There was a huge variety of different restaurants selling food, as well as stalls selling food to take home. We found plenty of bars to drink at, and there were a lot of interactive experiences for you to take part in such as gin tasting, cocktail making, and cooking classes. For full details on all of the experiences you can take part in, or to book tickets for this weekend, please visit the Taste of London website.
The Taste of London Festival is running until Sunday 23rd of June in Regents Park. The nearest train station to the exit is Great Portland Street (Circle & Hammersmith Line). For more information about the festival please see the Taste of London website.