Glorious Twelfth: Best Restaurants For Game Season 2024
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3 weeks ago
London's best grouse dishes
The Glorious Twelfth, which falls on 12 August each year, marks the beginning of game season in the UK. That means over the next few months, you’ll start to see game meat popping up on restaurant menus across the country – first grouse, and into the autumn: partridge, pheasant and more. So where are the best spots in London to get your game fix? These are London’s best restaurants for game in 2024.
Where To Eat Grouse In London
Ekstedt at the Yard
Swedish chef Niklas Ekstedt and his team are giving traditional game meat a Nordic spin at Westminster restaurant Ekstedt at the Yard. Part of Great Scotland Yard hotel, the eatery focuses on live fire cooking techniques and the best of British ingredients. Here, grouse is smoked over juniper wood, then served with smoked celeriac purée, grilled blackberries, girolle mushrooms and a port wine jus.
Available 14 – 21 August 2024, 3-5 Great Scotland Yard, London SW1A 2HN, ekstedtattheyard.com
The Cinnamon Club
Vivek Singh’s fine dining Indian restaurant The Cinnamon Club always gets involved with game season. This year, visitors can enjoy a Rajasthani spiced tandoori grouse breast spiced with cumin and garlic – available alongside an array of curries, grills, rotis and more. Enjoy amid the eatery’s majestic surroundings, set within the Grade II listed Westminster Library.
Available from 12 August 2024, The Old Westminster Library, Great Smith St, London SW1P 3BU, cinnamonclub.com
Highroad Social
Greenwich’s latest foodie opening Highroad Social will soon be adding red grouse to its menu from the Yorkshire moors, supplied via Rarebreed Meat Company. Head chef Fionnan Flood will be kicking off game season with a grouse breast alongside a large sourdough baked crouton, smooth cauliflower purée, butter-cooked girolle mushrooms, pickled blackberries, and a red wine jus. Pair with a glass of Thirst Cinsault from South Africa for the perfect start to game season.
Available from 14 August, 178 Greenwich High Rd, London SE10 8NN, highroadsocial.com
La Poule au Pot
The signature grouse dish at French institution La Poule au Pot has been on the menu for over four decades, barely changing over the years. Here, grouse is sourced from The Yorkshire Dales National Park, then wrapped in bacon and served with vegetables, celeriac mash and a rich game sauce. In September, the restaurant will add red partridge to the menu, followed by pheasant and hare in October.
Available from 14 August, 231 Ebury St, London SW1W 8UT, pouleaupot.co.uk
The Connaught Grill
With its stylish interior, open kitchen and menu of elevated British classics, a trip to The Connaught Grill is always a treat, but game lovers have even more reason to visit this season. Over the next few months, chef Ramiro Lafuente Martinez and his team will be cooking up dishes like smoked squash pigeon potato tartlet, guinea fowl consommé, beetroot ravioli with black truffle, and venison and foie gras pithivier, served with truffled mash potatoes. Accompany with a bottle of wine from The Connaught’s extensive wine cellar, or a signature cocktail like the Tommy Simmons or the Cherry Manhattan.
The Connaught, 16 Carlos Pl, London W1K 2AL, the-connaught.co.uk
The Jugged Hare
The clue’s in the name: game is a central part of The Jugged Hare, a gastropub on Vauxhall Bridge Road. Each year, the restaurant adds a number of grouse dishes to the menu – last year, that included things like Norfolk squirrel croquette, Suffolk hare loin with king oyster mushroom wellington; and smoked Yorkshire grouse breast with confit grouse leg. We’re waiting to hear what the 2024 game specials will be, but this is a safe bet for game fans over the autumn.
49 Chiswell St, London EC1Y 4SB, juggedharevictoria.co.uk
