What To Do This Weekend 16.07.20

FOR BOOZE WITH A VIEW: SUNSET SESSIONS AT BAR ELBA

On a rooftop in Waterloo, Bar Elba has reopened and restarted its Sunset Sessions. For £50 a head, you get unlimited beer and cocktails over a two-hour period between 8pm and 11pm on Saturday evenings. Book online to secure your spot, then settle in to watch the sun set over the city.
 
Visit Bar-Elba.co.uk

STREAM SOMETHING SPECIAL: THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA

The Wire, The Corner, Generation Kill – David Simon and Ed Burns have written some of this century’s greatest TV shows. Now they’ve turned their pens to a mini-series that dropped on Sky Atlantic this week. Based on Philip Roth’s classic novel, The Plot Against America traces an alternative history of the States that begins in World War 2, as aviation pioneer – and avowed fascist – Charles Lindbergh becomes president…
 
Visit NowTV.com

ADD SOME SIZZLE TO YOUR SATURDAY: HAWKSMOOR AT HOME

For the next few weekends only, London’s pre-eminent steakhouse group Hawksmoor is running a nationwide delivery service. Its Hawksmoor At Home boxes (£120) serve two, covering everything from the pre-dinner martini to a Malbec that pairs beautifully with the 35-day dry-aged porterhouse steak, and its accompanying Koffmann roast potatoes with beef dripping.
 
Visit TheHawksmoor.com

KEEP COOL IN COAL DROPS YARD: BLACK COW X TOM DIXON

High-end British vodka brand Black Cow has teamed up with Tom Dixon’s Coal Office restaurant to open a pop-up bar in Coal Drops Yard, close to King’s Cross station. Outside Dixon’s place, you’ll find ice-cold espresso martinis on tap. Enjoy them on the banks of the canal from 12pm to 7pm, Thursday to Sunday.
 
Visit CoalOffice.com

GET LOST IN THIS BIG-NAME BOOK: UTOPIA AVENUE BY DAVID MITCHELL

A new David Mitchell novel is something to get excited about. The latest work from the author of Cloud Atlas was released this week. Utopia Avenue tells the story of a psych rock band who rise to fame in the 60s. From riots to revolutions, it captures the madness and spirit of the decade, as well as the ups and downs of fame. 
 
Visit Waterstones.com

A NEW SUMMER SOUNDTRACK: LIANNE LA HAVAS

Singer and guitarist Lianne La Havas drops her first studio album in five years tomorrow. Featuring ten soulful tracks, the self-titled album is the perfect soundtrack to a summer BBQ or garden party. She released one of the singles, Paper Thin, earlier this month, which was created in collaboration with drummer Homer Steinweiss.
 
Visit LianneLaHavas.com
 

MIX UP YOUR FITNESS ROUTINE: SEVEN APP

This app is filled with more than 200 on-demand workouts, each lasting just seven minutes. Registered users can create a personal training plan, which the app will use to generate varied daily workouts based on your fitness targets.
 
Visit Seven.app

BASK IN SOME BEETHOVEN: BBC PROMS 2020

This year was all set to be the 125th anniversary of the Proms. Covid-19 has forced a rethink and, for the next six weeks, the Beeb is streaming classic live performances from the archive – look out for Sunday’s airing of Beethoveniana, which includes reworkings of all nine of the great man’s symphonies. And stay tuned: for the final two weeks of the eight-week Prom season, there will be real live performances from the Royal Albert Hall.
 
Visit BBC.co.uk

TASTE THE MED: BRINDISA X GIN MARE APERITIVO BOX

Spanish food specialist Brindisa has joined forces with compatriot Gin Mare to launch an Aperitivo Box. Made for summer nights in, the ready-to-serve contents of the £25 box include an array of Perelló olives and snacks, a 100ml bottle of Gin Mare and some 1724 tonic water. Delivery is nationwide.
 
Visit Brindisa.com

HIT UP AN EXHIBITION: MUSHROOMS: THE ART, DESIGN AND FUTURE OF FUNGI

Somerset House reopens to the public today. Tickets for its intriguing summer exhibition, ‘Mushrooms: The art, design and future of fungi’, are still available to book for this weekend. During lockdown, the exhibition went virtual; now’s the time to catch it IRL, as it was meant to be seen.
 
Visit SomersetHouse.org.uk