With the latest restrictions lifted, the rule of six is back in place.
If you are sick of your own cooking (us included), a carefully curated picnic is a great alternative, with minimal washing up! One thing Brits do very well is a quintessential picnic; it’s somehow synonymous with the Great British Summer, come rain or shine.
A simple raid of the food-to-go section of your local supermarket simply won’t do – posh picnics are trending. Some of our most-loved restaurants, hotels, and delis are curating hampers packed to the gills with sumptuous delicacies. So wrap up warm (it’s only April don’t forget), grab your favourite blanket, and get ready to hit the park with one of these luxury hampers perfect for picnics.
Purveyors of the best organic fanfare, Daylesford brings a taste of the farm to your locale with the Antipasti Hamper. Packed in a lightweight reusable cool bag, this hamper is perfect for those after a light nibble. Expect smoked houmous, organic garlic, and olives, and a moreish cheddar from their creamery, which pairs nicely with the accompanying butternut squash chutney, manuka honey, and oat biscuits. A bottle of Rosé Frizzante is the perfect tipple to while away a spring afternoon, whilst the sparkling apple juice provides a welcome dose of fizz as a non-alcoholic option.
Oh how we miss trips to Bocco di Lupo, one of London’s best Italian spots. Thankfully the Soho restaurant’s Picnic Feast will tide us over until we meet again, with all you need for authentic Italian al-fresco dining. There’s Sardinian flatbreads, a decadent pecorino cream for dipping, various cured meats, and a generous portion of smoked ricotta with grilled aubergines and roast tomatoes. Dessert lovers will be pleased with the house-made marbled ricotta and chocolate cake, coupled with frozen blood oranges for a zesty hit. This is all washed down with a bottle of Gelupo prosecco. They’ve even thrown in eco-friendly cutlery, glasses, and napkins – how nice.
Available across London postcodes. Order before 3PM for next day delivery before midday.
Mayfair hotel, Dukes, is perfectly positioned by Green Park and St James’s Park and offers a picnic hamper catered to everyone in your group (including children and dogs). Particularly appealing is the Afternoon Tea Picnic: a wicker hamper filled with classic sandwiches, scones, handmade patisseries, and a cake of the day. Removing all the faff, the hamper comes complete with blanket, cutlery, and glassware, so you just need to show up. If you’re willing to pay a little extra, Dukes can set up the picnic for you, and even book a butler service to make the occasion extra decadent. Picnics don’t come much posher than this.
No round up of picnic hampers would be complete without the Grand Dame of hampers: Fortnum & Mason. Where F&M are concerned there truly is a hamper to cater to every whim. The Piccadilly Platter is our personal favourite, capturing the best of the store's iconic food counter, it's the perfect choic for cheese lovers, packed with a duo of triple-cream cheese and waxed cheddar truckle (to be eaten with crackers and stilton straws). Antipasti items like cornichons, green olives, and charcuterie meats are to be savoured, and their famous scotch eggs won’t disappoint either. A bottle of Pouilly-Fumé and Beaujolais have been thrown in for good measure – because who can enjoy cheese without wine?
The Brindisa Luxury Hamper brings a taste of southern Spain to proceedings. Bursting with some of the finest products Spain has to offer, there’s a veritable feast to tuck into from tuna belly and Iberico ham, to venison paté and a healthy wedge of manchego, rounded off with a bottle of cava. There’s plenty to add to your pantry too from Torres truffle crisps – if you can resist gobbling them up – jars of quince paste, pitted olives, and orange blossom honey.
The popular floating seafood restaurant, London Shell Co, is offering a tempting selection of seafood for an Easter picnic until 11 April. Available for pick up from The Grand Duchess, each box guarantees the same high-quality seafood, brought in daily from day boats in Cornwall, as that served at their two restaurants. Suitable for two people, the hamper contains a whole smoked trout, cold-smoked salmon, pepper-cured char, and crevettes, accompanied by pickles and a generous hunk of soda bread. The box also comes with a bottle of Grand Duchess: the restaurant’s house sparkling wine.
Located on Piccadilly, Le Deli Robuchon offers a bespoke hamper service, translating the casual, vibrant all-day dining vibe customers have come to love into covetable picnic hampers, complete with a selection of wines. Take your pick from anything on the menu: freshly baked pastries and viennoiseries, a large selection of fresh salads, sandwiches, quiches, and cheeses. Decisions, decisions.
If you happen to find yourself in bucolic Stow-on-the-Wold (lucky you) you must collect a picnic from D’Ambrosi Fine Foods. It's the perfect feast to sate your appetite after a beautiful country walk around the Cotswolds. Offering restaurant-quality food to go, expect a delicious rotation of dishes such as kale caesar salad with parmesan dressing (a firm favourite), roasted carrots with honey and coriander, and a southern potato salad with smoked paprika and jalapeño dressing.
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