With Mother’s Day just around the corner, it’s time to get those reservations ready and treat the leading lady in your life to something delicious.
From out of this world afternoon teas to fine dining in the sky, we have rounded up our top picks for celebrating Mother’s Day.
FOR A SPOT OF AFTERNOON TEA
Patisserie Valerie, Nationwide
Toast with your teacup and treat your leading lady to Patisserie Valerie’s decadent Afternoon Tea in-store experience. Lovingly handcrafted by skilled master bakers, Madame Valerie’s Afternoon Tea for Two (£32.95) features all your favourite patisserie in miniature form, from strawberry and black forest gateaux to chocolate eclairs, jam doughnuts and fluffy choux buns. Sweet treats are served alongside plain and fruit scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam, dainty artisan sandwiches and refillable tea. The Madame Valerie Afternoon Tea can be enjoyed at its 43 café locations across the UK, from London to Glasgow, Bristol to Belfast and everything in between.
Gin & Jam at Hush Mayfair, Mayfair
This Mother’s Day, the hugely popular Gin & Jam afternoon tea returns to Hush Mayfair, one of London’s most popular (and Instagrammable) dining destinations. Head down to Mayfair and experience an innovative menu which pairs traditional afternoon tea treats with an array of gorgeous gin cocktails. Enjoy a host of delights including gin cured salmon and chive cream cheese sandwiches; warm scones with raspberry jam and clotted cream, and pork and fennel sausage rolls, alongside honey-soaked madeleines, lemon meringue tarts and chocolate eclairs. Sit back and sip away on paired gin cocktails including the T N Tea, a citrusy mix of Tanqueray, Savoia bitter, nectarine, gunpowder tea and Fever-Tree Soda Water; and the Roses from a Stranger, a blend of Stranger and Sons Gin, strawberry liqueur, chamomile, citric peach and carbonated rose pouchong tea.
Santosh Shah at The Cinnamon Club, Westminster
Treat mum to a unique modern-Nepalese afternoon tea curated by Santosh Shah, the former Head Chef of Cinnamon Kitchen City and MasterChef: The Professionals 2020 finalist, at The Cinnamon Club on Sunday 27th March. With two sittings taking place at 12:30pm and 4pm, the afternoon tea menu (priced from £60pp) will feature an unlimited selection of delicious savoury and sweet treats, inspired by Santosh’s birth town in Nepal. Highlights on the savoury menu include chicken fried momo – savoury chicken dumplings – and pulled lamb masala pie, with sweet delights including chocolate yomari – a delicacy of Nepal – orange and polenta cake, and a refreshing mango lassi. Tickets can be purchased here.
The other three restaurants in the collection – Cinnamon Kitchen City, Cinnamon Kitchen Battersea and Cinnamon Bazaar – will be serving special Mothering Sunday menus featuring a selection of some of Cinnamon’s favourite dishes for all to enjoy.
FOR A TASTING MENU TREAT
Fenchurch Restaurant, Sky Garden
Spoil mum with a sky-high dining experience at Fenchurch, located on level 37 of London’s Sky Garden. Available on 27th March exclusively, and priced at £85pp (£47pp supplementary charge for wine pairing), Head Chef Michael Carr’s five-course tasting menu features exquisitely flavoured and playfully presented dishes. Dishes include roast spiced Norfolk quail with squash and nasturtium drizzled with a teriyaki glaze; and seasonal tomatoes and smoked ricotta with linseed and hot mustard dressing. For mains, indulge in Aynehoe Park venison with quince, black pudding, crapaudine beetroot and peppercorn sauce, as well as aged sirloin with stuffed Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings. Finish with the famed Fenchurch chocolate bar with salted almond ice cream.
All mums are stars, so this Mother’s Day treat her to a Michelin-starred tasting menu in the heart of Mayfair. Benares will be opening its doors specially on Mothering Sunday to celebrate leading ladies with an eight-course Tasting Menu, perfect for an indulgent Sunday lunch. Enjoy delicious starters such as the Benaresi Chaat before tucking into a Gilawait Kebab Platter with paneer and quail, and catching up over Benares’ special Thali Experience with an assortment of lamb, chicken, fish and shellfish dishes with accompaniments. Top the experience off with a sweet traditional Rasmali and Petit Fours. The Tasting Menu (£99pp / vegetarian £89pp) is available from 12pm on Sunday 27th March for bookings up to eight people, with last seating at 4pm.
The new creative and modern fusion concept created by the critically acclaimed Chef Padam Raj Rai is pulling out all the stops this Mother’s Day with an extravagant 10-course tasting menu featuring some of the finest ingredients from Japan and around the world. Priced at £250pp, guests can expect unique flavour combinations such as mango and pineapple with 38-year-old soy sauce; eel maki with cream cheese and koshihikari rice; and Scottish salmon tartare with 60-months aged Organic Parmigiano Reggiano. For dessert, delight your tastebuds with pumpkin, plum wine and coconut ice cream with yuzu foam, or opt for the chef’s signature 40% fat wagyu chocolate.
London’s favourite yakitori hotspot will be offering a lunchtime omakase tasting menu (£50pp) designed for families to enjoy together from 25th-27th March,. From perfectly grilled yakitori skewers to traditional donburi rice dishes topped with meat, egg and vegetables, the meal will take guests on a culinary journey which celebrates some of Japan’s most revered ingredients and flavours. And, because no celebration is complete without bubbles, Junsei will also be treating mothers to a complimentary glass of champagne or bellini across the weekend.
FOR A MAGIC MOTHER’S DAY MENU
Carluccio’s is celebrating festa della mamma with a delicious limited-edition three course menu showcasing quality ingredients from across Italy, with dishes such as Pugliese burrata with 24-month aged Parma ham, pea purée, lemon and mint marinated edamame beans and lemon chicken and artichoke risotto. Priced at £34pp, the three-course meal will kick off with a glass of Bole sparkling Italian wine and nibbles of pesto nuts and olives.
FishWorks, (Marylebone, Covent Garden, Mayfair)
FishWorks are offering a specially created menu (£37.50pp) showcasing the freshest British fish and seafood. Available across all three restaurants – Marylebone, Covent Garden and on Mayfair’s Swallow Street – guests can choose from starters of lightly seared king scallops or fresh Jersey oysters accompanied with sourdough bread, homemade aioli and salsa verde. Mains of filleted sea bream and grilled whole lobster are followed by a choice of desserts including a warm chocolate brownie and a zingy lemon zest tart.
Aquavit London, St James’s Market
This year, treat your mum to a stunning Scandinavian feast at Aquavit London. Head down to St James’s Market where you can enjoy a three course lunch for £45 between 12-3pm on 26th March. Created by Head Chef Jonas Karlsson, choose from a selection of spectacular starters including langoustine soup and matjes herring with soft boiled egg and brown butter vinaigrette. Mains include roasted cod served in a silky saffron butter sauce, with mussels and samphire, or duck Rydberg with caramelised onion purée and 63 degree egg. For a suitably sweet end to your meal, enjoy desserts including a crepe-style pancake with blueberry compote and whipped vanilla cream and the Scandi dessert, Ris à la Malta, with roasted pineapple and fresh berries. Book a table and view the full menu here.
Plum + Spilt Milk, Great Northern Hotel, King’s Cross
Celebrate Mother’s Day at the Great Northern Hotel with a special two (£40pp) or three (£45pp) course set menu at Plum + Spilt Milk, with mothers being offered a complimentary glass of Champagne. Striking interiors are met with a menu championing British cuisine, creatively prepared using the finest local ingredients. Choose from delicious dishes such as crab salad, cucumber and pickled radish or asparagus, truffle dressing and Little Hereford cheese to start; followed by roast sirloin with Yorkshire pudding and red wine jus; lemon sole with purple broccoli, seaweed and shrimp velouté, or verde risotto. Finish with a sweet choice of rhubarb trifle or a deconstructed black forest gateau.
FOR A SPECIAL SUNDAY ROAST
Enjoy quality time with your mum over a decadent roast dinner this Mother’s Day at Ganymede, Belgravia’s newest hotspot. Take your pick from dishes like crispy suckling pork belly with parsnip purée and turnips; roast sirloin of beef with green beans, caramelised shallots, roast potatoes, fiery horseradish and a Yorkshire pudding; and fillet of Cornish hake served with white bean purée, roast salsify, burnt caper and lemon dressing. As an extra special treat, all mums will also be offered a glass of complimentary fizz when dining. If you can’t secure your space in Ganymede, head to sister site The Hunter’s Moon in South Kensington for an equally wonderful roast.
Treat your mum to an indulgent Sunday roast with champagne as the prestigious 116 Pall Mall opens its doors for lunch on 27th March. Set within the opulent Carlton brasserie, raise a glass with your mum over a special two or three-course Sunday roast menu with dishes including starters of pickled beetroot salad with roast hazelnuts, blue cheese and sorrel, followed by the main event of a sirloin, beef or chicken roast complete with cauliflower cheese, seasonal vegetables, roasted potatoes and all the gravy. Priced from £40 per person and paired with a glass of Searcys Selected Cuvée Rosé Champagne, bookings are now available here.
