Night in
Things to do at home
A night in doesn't have to mean the same takeaway and a scroll. London's best restaurants and bars have shared their recipes, its theatres stream their shows, and its studios post kits through the letterbox.
Everything here is something you can do from your sofa or your kitchen this week, with a link to the recipe, the stream or the kit.
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Stir The Connaught Bar's perfect vodka martiniAgo Perrone's martini from the Mayfair bar often ranked the world's best: very cold vodka and a whisper of dry vermouth. Chill the glasses first.
Throw a Bubala meze night for four with a delivered feast kitSpitalfields' all-vegetarian Middle Eastern restaurant sends a sharing feast for four: shawarma-spiced cauliflower, laffa bread and its signature sides and dips.
Stream a National Theatre production on a night inNational Theatre at Home streams filmed productions from the NT's stages and the West End, with new plays added monthly; rent a single play or subscribe and do a proper theatre night at home.
Cook Ikoyi chef Jeremy Chan's fiery crab jollof riceThe two-Michelin-starred Ikoyi chef's take on jollof: rice cooked in a smoky, charred tomato sauce, finished with crab and a Cantonese-style garlic, ginger and chilli paste.
Make pottery for two at home with a London studio's air-dry clay date-night kitLondon Wildflower's couples kit posts air-dry clay, tools and an instruction booklet so you can sculpt pots, dishes and decorations together at the kitchen table, no kiln needed.
Throw a taco night with El Pastor's Mexican feast kitEl Pastor's Taco Fiesta box serves four: totopos and guacamole, beef short rib with pickled onions and beer-brined chicken, delivered to finish at home.
Make Hawksmoor's award-winning Anti-Fig Matic (ants optional)Ali Reynolds' signature vodka cocktail from Hawksmoor Spitalfields, which won him UK Bartender of the Year: fig-leaf syrup (the bar infuses it with ants) and crème de cacao.
Cook Caribe's curry goat with rice and peasA Sunday-pot classic from the owner of Caribe', the Caribbean restaurant at Pop Brixton: lemon-washed goat slow-cooked in a toasted curry base, served with rice and peas.
Draw each other on a night in with a Royal Drawing School exerciseA free exercise from the London drawing school's Living Library: one person sits, the other draws their pose from observation, then turns it into a self-portrait. Swap and compare. You need only paper, a pencil and someone to draw.
Steam BAO's classic Taiwanese pork bao from scratch at homeBAO's own recipe for its most iconic dish: soy-braised pork belly, tangy mustard greens and peanut powder stuffed into fluffy gua bao you make and steam yourself.
Rent a Globe production for a Shakespeare night on the sofaGlobe Player streams filmed productions from Shakespeare's Globe; rent a single show such as Emma Rice's Twelfth Night or subscribe for the full archive.
Flambé The Ritz's century-old crêpes suzette at homeThe Ritz London's crêpes suzette, on its menu for more than a century: thin crêpes in orange-butter sauce, set alight at the end for a bit of theatre.
Cook Andi Oliver's Caribbean curry supper kit at homeA chef-made meal kit from the Great British Menu presenter and Wadadli Kitchen founder: a Caribbean curry supper for two delivered chilled, finished in your kitchen.
Learn to stitch with a monthly mini embroidery kit through the letterboxThe Make Arcade's Stitch Mail posts a small cross-stitch or embroidery project each month with everything you need, so you build a new craft habit a little at a time.
Cook Sarap chef Budgie Montoya's Filipino chicken adoboThe Filipino classic of chicken braised in vinegar, soy, garlic and pepper, from a chef at the front of London's Filipino food scene. Marinate it overnight; it's even better the next day.
Cocktail mixing at homeDifford's Guide free recipes; learn 5 base cocktails with minimal kit
Stream Sadler's Wells dance films and workshops at home, freeSadler's Wells' Digital Stage hosts dance films made for the screen, filmed live performances, documentaries and workshops you can follow along with, all free.
Wine & paint night (at home)Host your own; follow a free paint-along with a glass of wine
Throw a pasta party with three recipes from PophamsLondon Fields bakery Pophams shares three pasta dishes, including pea gnocchi with pistachio pesto and hand-rolled semolina pasta: make one or cook all three for friends.
Build Bentley's proper English shellfish cocktailRichard Corrigan's favourite from Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill: crab, prawns and lobster in a cocktail sauce you keep tasting until it's right. Serve with soda bread and Irish butter.
Fold Xu's mushroom dumplings and spoon over red chilli oilHand-make the dough and a shiitake filling for Taiwanese restaurant Xu's boiled vegetarian dumplings, then make the chilli oil. A good two-person project.
Cook Mestizo's mole poblano for a Mexican dinner partyThe Mexican restaurant's mole: chilli, cumin, cinnamon, raisins and chocolate cooked down into a dark, glossy sauce for chicken. A slow, satisfying Sunday project.
Mix East London Liquor Company's black cherry rum punchThe Bow distillery's head bartender updates rum punch with its Demerara rum, tart black cherry juice and fennel-pear liqueur.
Take an on-demand dance class in your living room with Rambert's dancersRambert Plus streams hundreds of online dance classes taught by dancers from the South Bank contemporary company, across 20 styles and all levels; start with the free trial.
Wine-making / brewing at homeBeginner kits for wine, beer, cider & mead + how-to guides
Pair mezcal cocktails with KOL's Mexican snacks at homeMichelin-starred KOL's head bartender matches each antojito (little snack) to a mezcal cocktail, from a langoustine ceviche to a quesadilla; recreate one pairing or the full set.
Latte art / home baristaJames Hoffmann's free brewing & latte-art guides; cheap milk frother
Coffee home-brewing (V60 etc.)Free expert YouTube; upgrade mornings
Learn to singFree vocal warm-ups & technique resources
Learn to cook one cuisine properlyPick a cuisine & cook through it; free recipes & techniques
Shake Arabica's pomegranate margarita with a salt-and-pepper rimThe Levantine restaurant's sharp, sour take on a margarita with tequila, Aperol and vanilla, served with a salt-and-pepper rim.
Moth trapping / garden wildlife surveyCitizen-science from home
Flip Hoppers' crisp Sri Lankan egg hoppers in your own kitchenThe Soho restaurant's recipe for its signature bowl-shaped plain, egg and milk hoppers: make the fermented batter the night before, then swirl them in a small wok and serve with curry and sambol.
Polymer clay / miniaturesSculpey free project guides; make charms & trinkets, bake in a home oven
Master Barrafina's oozing tortilla at homeThe tapas bar's famous tortilla: golden outside, runny in the middle. It's all in the flip, so expect a practice run.
Soapmaking / bath bombsBramble Berry's Soap Queen free recipes & tutorials; great giftsQuestions people ask
- What can you do at home on a night in?
- Cook a dish from one of London's best restaurants (Dishoom's bacon naan, Ikoyi's crab jollof, Caribe's curry goat), make a bar's signature cocktail, stream a National Theatre or Globe production, or post-order a kit: pottery for two, embroidery, a chef's taco night.
- What are good things to do at home as a couple?
- Make pottery together with an air-dry clay date kit, draw each other with a Royal Drawing School exercise, or cook a three-course restaurant menu from recipes the chefs have published, with a cocktail from a London bar to start.
- Can you get London restaurant food kits delivered?
- Yes. Several London restaurants sell finish-at-home kits (Bubala's meze, El Pastor's tacos, Andi Oliver's Caribbean supper), and each quest here links to the kit itself.
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