We don’t mention Battersea as much as other areas, but we like the sound of this: the return of its seven-day face-filling festie.
Yes, all week – starting yesterday – you can munch your way up St John’s Hill for its fourth annual food and drink festival. The cost? Just £15 per menu at each participating joint.
So you could plump for, say, pan-fried chicken breast with fondant potato and wild nettle sauce in the quirky surroundings of Powder Keg; or two courses at FishClub, potted Dorset crab, and grey mullet with Jersey Royals and peas.
Meanwhile, oenophiles might prefer Bar 366, where a cheese or charcuterie board and a carafe of wine (Rioja or Chardonnay) will set you back the same, as will a similar offer (but with two glasses of wine) at the Urban Gourmet.
The main hoopla, however, is this Saturday, 23rd May, when local bank holiday revellers can really get stuck into a bun fight. All manner of live food and drink events will fill the hill, from civilised affairs like a green curry demo at Kaosarn to a (we hope) rowdier gin vs vodka comp at Ben’s Canteen. Expect arty cocktails, ice cream, hog roasts, an oyster and champagne bar, and a ton of other things to get you in da holiday mood.
And inevitably – for where is a community event without one these days? – there’s the Great Battersea Bake Off with culinary guide Jennifer Earle judging proceedings. Just drop your creation off to the stall between 11am and 4pm.
Phew. (And if you need to work that all that excess weight gain off on Sunday, why not take a sunny cycle ride along the Thames?)