What To Do This Weekend 02.11.22

Carousel operates a rotating chef concept that sees different chefs take over the kitchen for a week or two’s residency to create new dishes and drinks. Today until Sunday 6th November, Argentinian chef Facundo Gallardo will cook dishes using a suitcase full of foraged food from the Patagonian town of El Bolsón. A great chance to try South American flavours, the menu features wild mushrooms with rosehip sriracha and Chilean myrtle; dry-aged beef with pine nuts and smoked bread miso; and peaches with cultured cream and caramel.

19-23 Charlotte Street, Covent Garden, W1T 1RL

Visit Carousel-London.com

BBQ kingpin From The Ashes has opened a three-month pop-up at Gipsy Hill Taproom in Crystal Palace. Open until January, there’s a weekly changing menu of BBQ bites and smoked meats on Wednesday to Sundays, including the team’s signature ‘Del Piero’ pork doughnuts. Other dishes include smoked beef buns with mayo and chilli pickles, smoked pork ribs with burnt pineapple slaw and BBQ sauce, and barbecued cauliflower with romesco sauce. You can also order a sharing platter with a selection of all three, plus Gipsy Hill beers on draught. Next month, the taproom will screen various World Cup matches if you need any more of an excuse.

Unit 5, 160 Hamilton Road, Crystal Palace, SE27 9SF

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Somerset House has opened an exhibition on horror and its cultural impact in Britain over the last 50 years. ‘The Horror Show!’ features over 200 artworks and artefacts from some of the country’s most provocative artists and cultural figures like David Shrigley, Don Letts, Marisa Carnesky and even Noel Fielding. The exhibition is split into three sections dedicated to monsters, ghosts and witches, exploring how each has been portrayed in music, fashion, TV and film, and art. Look out for the creepy sculptures by British artist Tai Shani.

Strand, Covent Garden, WC2R 1LA; until 19th February 2023

Visit SomersetHouse.org.uk

South Korea is having a cultural moment – thanks to numerous award-winning films and series (including Parasite, Squid Game and Drive My Car) plus an excellent exhibition dedicated to the ‘Korean Wave’ at the V&A. This weekend, London’s Korean Film Festival celebrates the country’s cinematic success with the biggest programme of Korean screenings outside the country itself – from this year’s box-office hits to independent films and documentaries. Films will be screened at several cinemas around the capital including Picturehouse Central and Rio Cinema in Hackney. Look out for sci-fi blockbuster Alienoid and Broker, starring Song Kang-ho (Parasite). Tickets start from £7.

Various sites

Visit KoreanFilm.co.uk

Already tipped to clean up at awards season, critics are praising Bill Nighy’s performance in Living, a story of an ordinary man who at the eleventh hour makes a supreme effort to turn his dull life into something incredible. It’s 1950s London, and the city is still recovering from World War 2. Williams (Nighy) is a veteran civil servant, an important cog within the city’s bureaucracy as it struggles to rebuild. Buried under paperwork at the office, lonely at home, his life has long felt empty and meaningless. Then a shattering medical diagnosis forces him to take stock – and to try and grasp fulfilment before it’s too late. He finds himself drawn to a vivacious young woman (Aimee Lou Wood) who once worked under his supervision and is now determined to spread her wings. With the help of a new recruit in his department, the trio set about creating a legacy for the next generation.

In cinemas on Friday 4th November

Visit Picturehouses.com 

Created by sommelier Cameron Dewar and chef Josh Dallaway, Retan is a travelling supper club that brings French-inspired cuisine to restaurants around the capital. Until the end of the year, diners can visit Louie Louie in Elephant & Castle where Retan has a three-month residency before it opens a permanent site next year. Ideal for a relaxed date, diners can tuck into a snack and three-course meal for £45. Menu highlights include aged beef tartare with seaweed relish, cured yolk and prawn crackers; salted pollock with kohlrabi, buttermilk and horseradish; and chocolate crèmeux with sherry caramel and smoked cream. Every Tuesday, there’s a changing ‘hot pot’ menu with two minimal-waste dishes for just £12.45 – and dessert for an extra £5.

347 Walworth Road, Elephant & Castle, SE17 2AL

Visit LouieLouie.London

How To Academy hosts lectures and talks with world-renowned experts and top industry names. On Friday 4th November, actor Richard E Grant will discuss his new biography, A Pocketful of Happiness, in an online talk with the platform. In this talk, he’ll discuss his career highlights from four decades in showbiz and the recent passing of his wife Joan after nearly 40 years together. Just before her death she set him a challenge – to find a pocketful of happiness in every day. Subscriptions to How to Acadamy start from £9.99 a month, including access to live streams and archived videos from its library.

Visit HowToAcademy.com