Will you be our galentine? Call up your closest girlfriends and have a scroll through these London-based Galentine’s Day ideas, including buzzy restaurants and creative activities.
Date nights are seeing us through the short days this winter, and London has no shortage of spots to enjoy, day-to-night, from vinyl-clad small-plate restaurants to film seasons at the BFI. It goes without saying that date night is for the girls too, and so here’s how to celebrate your favourite galentines this month in London.
Lunch & Dinner Dates
A Spot For Lunch: Canteen, Notting Hill
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Canteen in Notting Hill is undoubtedly one of London’s hottest tables at the moment, offering a casual setting to enjoy very good food. The award-winning team from the Pelican (with ex-River Café Jessica Filbey leading the kitchen as head chef) serve an informal menu that’s re-thought and switched up every few weeks (so there’s always a reason to return). Though recently opened, Canteen is already making noise in London’s busy food scene. Catch up over Italian plates of leek pizza or duck ragu on one of the restaurant’s canteen-style booths. It’s not a girls’ dinner (or lunch) without dessert to finish it all off, and the chocolate mousse doused in olive oil and flakey sea salt is a real crowd pleaser.
Stylish Fare: Gold, Notting Hill
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Girls’ nights are all about enjoying London’s impressive portfolio of stylish spots, and a stellar example is Gold in Notting Hill. Set across four floors including the leafy green Attic Terrace space (it’s covered, so no rain check required) the interiors are sleek: complete with light wood finishings, fresh flowers, cushioned booth seating, and of course, subtle gold detailing in tune with the restaurant’s name. Seasonality and over-fire cooking reigns supreme across the dishes here, including the wood roasted sweet potatoes and chargrilled squid, each cooked slowly to ensure maximum flavour. Everything at Gold from the thinly sliced steam trout ceviche doused in chilli and coriander to the fresh pink Paloma cocktails with lightly salted rims is very photogenic.
Meet For An Aperitif And Stay For Dinner: Broadwick Soho
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Finish an afternoon of shopping around central London – or convene after the work day ends – at Broadwick Soho. Inside, the funky interiors designed by Martin Brudniziki provide a very photogenic background for catching up with girlfriends. From the menu to the aesthetic, this flamboyant party pad was transformed by a group of five friends who know exactly what an excellent evening of catching-up needs: a long wine list, great menu, a bar right next door to the signature restaurant, and intimate booth-style seating for a night of gossiping. Start at Bar Jackie, who takes ‘the art of aperitivo’ as seriously as we do, with a complimentary Pinsa Romana Margherita served with each bottle of wine or order of two cocktails. Next door, the signature restaurant, Dear Jackie, serves modern Italian cuisine to the tune of delica squash orecchiette and mushroom agnolotti to enjoy over a fun conversation.
Movie Night Or A Trip To The Theatre
Laugh And Cry: Bridget Jones
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You’ll laugh, you’ll cry – perhaps both at the same time – the reviews we have heard for the fourth Bridget Jones film, titled Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, have been nothing short of raving. Out in cinemas on Valentine’s Day, this Friday, this soon-to-be classic rom-com movie narrates Bridget Jones navigating life as a widow, after losing her husband, Mark Darcy previously played by Colin Firth, and the modern realms of dating. Cosy up with close friends on the plush, velvet sofas at Electric Cinema in Notting Hill with an order of cocktails in hand, and enjoy. Just don’t forget the tissues.
Girl Boss: The Devil Wears Prada
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You may have already seen this theatre production across the majority of your Instagram homepage, as while only a few months in, The Devil Wears Prada show is proving just as successful as both the book and film. Although fictitious, Miranda Priestly has managed to become one of the most renowned magazine editor names thanks to the success of the movie. Narrating the story of aspiring journalist Andy and her early career as an assistant to Miranda Priestly – although apparently it’s rival assistant Emily who really steals the show – a fashionable tale of success, stress, and style is taking London’s Dominion Theatre by storm this winter. Popular even amongst fashion’s favourites, this show is selling out fast so get a date in the diary soon.
Flirty And Fun: Magic Mike
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Do we really need to elaborate? A night at the live performances of Magic Mike aren’t just for hen parties; a good dance and a lot of laughter is just what the doctor has ordered to keep us going this February, and that so happens to look like a night watching the outrageous Magic Mike performers at the Hippodrome. Tickets are available to book last minute (subject to availability) as well as in groups of six to nine people, if this is looking like the whole group chat kind of night.
Art And Intellect: Chantal Ackerman At The BFI
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Famously saying “I want people to experience film in their body,” Belgian film director, screenwriter, artist, and film professor, Chantal Akerman reconfigured the role of the personal in cinema, often appearing in her own films, and also helped explore feminism in film. Regularly looking at the public via the private, or the political through the personal, especially through her most well-recognised Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, there’s always so much to talk about after watching one of her movies. Book a viewing at the BFI’s Chantal Akerman: Adventures in Perception season, and a bar nearby to debrief after the showing.
Creative
Flower Arranging Classes: McQueens Flowers
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Few florists can claim the prowess and plumage that McQueens Flowers has decorated London with since 1991. Sculptural and seasonal, these bouquets always hit the mark. Want to learn how it’s done? Alongside the prestigious Flower School, McQueens Flowers hosts more casual workshops and courses to accommodate all levels of commitment, from a relaxed half or full day class on how to perfect a luscious bouquet, up to a week-long fast-track commitment for celebrations and events. Petersham Nurseries also host wonderful seasonal flower arranging classes (as well as pot-to-plate gardening sessions) so keep an eye out on their website.
Learn To Hand-Throw: Studio Pottery London
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This light-filled studio is a calming space in which to embark on a new (or maybe familiar?) hobby with a group of your closest friends. The classes range in skill level, from absolute beginners (how do we even turn on a pottery wheel?) to a Demi Moore in the movie Ghost level of expertise (and naturally, everywhere in between). The three-hour introductory taster classes are a good place to start, and if you and your girlfriends decide February is the month to kick start a new hobby, move on to the foundation classes which offer five two-hour sessions to build on your skill. Studio Pottery London is right around the corner from Eccleston Yards too, so pop round after your session finishes to catch up over a cocktail at Belgravia’s buzzy Wild By Tart.
Candle Making: Earl of East
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What was once a market stall in East London is now a stylish lifestyle brand that occupies four stores across London, spanning from Regent Street to Kings Cross to Redchurch Street and Spitalfields. Founded by Niko Dafkos and Paul Firmin 11 years ago, stepping into an Earl of East store is akin to walking into your favourite perfumery: incredible smells from the brand’s acclaimed candle range wafts around the sleek, minimalist spaces. Now, Earl of East’s Regent Street store is hosting candle making workshops, where one of the brand’s candle experts will guide you through each step, including how to mix up your own bespoke scent. This is such a calming activity to catch up with friends over, plus all attendees receive a 20 per cent discount to spend in store – retail therapy always wins.
Creativity And Community: Art4Space
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With spots like Art4Space on our doorstep in London, it’s easy to find your creative flair with friends, while still giving back to local communities in some way. The centre runs a packed programme of art classes, from textiles workshops to make or mend pieces (a great idea if you and your friends are looking to improve your fashion footprint) and mosaic classes. The clever art of Kintsugi (the Japanese practice of breathing new life into smashed objects by fusing them with gold, silver, or platinum urushi lacquer) is also a popular class on offer here.
Girls’ Night Out
Make The Most Of The Long Evenings: Caia, Notting Hill
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Short days and longer nights call for early evening meet ups with your closest friends, and Caia is where you’ll want to be. Tucked away in London’s trendy neighbourhood of Notting Hill, this vinyl-clad bar and small plates restaurant offers a long wine list, and bartenders who understand the importance of a *really* good dirty martini. The food menu of smoked burratina, oysters, and monkfish is designed to share, so your best friends are the perfect guests to bring. After a good peruse of all the menus have to offer, sit back and catch up to the background tunes of vintage jazz and funk, as the early evening fades into the night.
A Rooftop Party: Decimo
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Heading to the 10th floor of London’s The Standard Hotel and straight to Decimo is perhaps the very definition of a “go big or go home” type of night. The restaurant is helmed by chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias, whose menu heroes Spanish-slash-Mexican dishes of tostadas, black cod, and fresh ceviche cooked over open fires in the kitchen. Sip on a Decimo 75 made with gin, pink grapefruit and vanilla or one of the bar’s three mezcal martinis with the backdrop of 360 degree views, as the DJ starts a set that will carry you through to the early hours.
The Anti-Valentine: Oriole
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You never need an excuse for an excellent night out with the girls. However, if you’re feeling extra anti-Valentine this year, then Oriole is where you’ll want to head to see Friday night through. Not only because the cocktail bar has an incredible menu of drinks, from the Jungle Bird with tequila, guava, and cachaca to the Calypso with gin and elderflower, but because Oriole’s ground-floor Bamboo Bar is offering a special cocktail served with an oyster – both on the house – for groups of three this Friday. Cheekily named the ménage-à-trois, this fruity cocktail made with vodka and topped off with sparkling rosé wine is sure to get the night going.
The Date Night Package: Swingers Crazy Golf
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Sometimes, nothing says “galentine” quite like a night spent playing mini golf with your closest girlfriends. Forget a good aim, all you really need here is a good sense of humour as you hit balls between tees, from one big wheel-themed course to the next. Until 15 February, Swingers is offering a Date Night Package including a round of crazy golf, street food to choose from (including heart-shaped pizzas by Pizza Pilgrims) and a special cocktail menu – the Italicus Spritz is calling our name. This style of date night is reserved for the girls.
Lead image credit: Caia by Steven Joyce
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