7 Exciting Things To Eat & Do In November

The heated blanket has been de-moth balled and the windows aren’t being cracked open again until we can feel our feet. But just because it started getting dark at 6pm, doesn’t mean November has to be a write off. Quite the opposite. There’s a festival of lights, fireworks, Christmas displays, and lots of other shiny ways to celebrate that no man’s land between Halloween and Christmas. Here are 7 of the best things to do to make this month feel a little less blah.

If you're planning ahead for December, take a look at our suggestions for places to have a big group pre-Christmas get-together and spots for New Year's Eve where you'll actually have a good time.

Initiate Your SOS Christmas Light Turn-On Plan

photo credit: Hoppers

For some reason you thought it would be a good idea to watch the Oxford Street Christmas lights get turned on. Maybe you forgot the near fracture incident of last year where a selfie stick lodged itself into your ribs, or maybe you actually enjoy the image of a string of limp stars framing an H&M. Either way, at some point you’re going to want to escape to somewhere warm, with great food. Hoppers is that place. The Sri Lankan spot wraps you up in mustard-yellow walls and steams your face with fragrant, bone marrow curry. After mopping up gravy with their namesake hopper, you’ll feel ready to face the crowds once more. Catch the Oxford Street and Carnaby Street light displays on 2nd November.

Go To The Ultimate Día De Muertos Event

photo credit: Corrochio's

If you only go to one Día de Muertos celebration this year, make it Corrochio’s. The basement Mexican restaurant in Stoke Newington is going all out with tortas ahogadas, tacos dorados, and carne en su jugo on the menu, as well as pan de muerto—a traditional Day of the Dead bread. Diners are welcome to add to the ofrenda (an altar covered in marigolds to honour loved ones) with photos, and perhaps a mezcal or two. Plus, there’ll be a DJ playing cumbia—a type of folk dance music from Colombia.

Get Strategic This Diwali & Hit As Many Special Menus As Possible

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Diwali—the Hindu festival of light—is one of India’s most important festivals, and big festivals call for big feasts. The Tamil Prince is Islington’s hottest, perma-booked Indian restaurant in a chic, converted pub. Stop by on 12th November for a 16-item banana leaf thali with dishes like mutton masala and butter salted, fried chilli. Tick off Mayfair restaurant Gymkhana’s Diwali tasting menu from 6th-12th November. Expect wild muntjac biryani, bengali prawn curry, and a seriously strained waistband. Finally, swing by Brigadiers from 6th-12th November for the whisky vending machine and pool room fun, but with the addition of a Diwali menu.

Have A Boujie Bonfire Night Celebration

photo credit: Battersea Park

There’s nothing quite like standing around in a cold field, sipping tepid mulled wine to celebrate a treasonous plot gone wrong. But Battersea Park has the right idea. On 4th November they’re elevating bonfire night with a pop-up Bonfire Village, obligatory fireworks, but also a DJ and drinks stalls. If you want to really stick it to Mr Fawkes, stop by Noci beforehand. The Italian restaurant inside Battersea Power Station is a 10-minute walk away, and serves brown butter cacio e pepe and a coffee and tequila cheesecake.

Stop By An Unmissable Brewery-Restaurant Collab

photo credit: 40FT Brewery X St. John

What happens when one of London’s best restaurants and favourite breweries come together? For a certain meat-eating, beer-drinker, it’s Christmas come early. Every year 40FT Brewery and St. John team up to create the Eccles Cake Stout, and every year the two have a launch party at Dalston’s 40FT to celebrate. But this year that party is getting taken up a notch. Not only will there be the special stout on tap, but St. John will also be cooking dishes to pair with your beer. The event takes place on 5th November and booking is advised because, well, it’s St. John on the grill.

Eat Sandwiches & Be Thankful

photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch

Even if you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, we can all agree that leftover sandwiches are a reason to be grateful. In this case they come from the mind of Max, of Max’s Sandwich Shop, and will be stuffed with turkey schnitzel, sauerkraut, stuffing, sausage, bourbon glaze bacon crumb, a bourbon gravy mustard mayo. Oh, and a fried egg. The Thanksgiving special will be available on 24th November from the Finsbury Park spot and every order gets a free Wild Turkey 101 bourbon Old Fashioned. You will need many napkins.

Fuel Up Before Watching A Film

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Ealing is the west London borough with a better agent than Dwayne Johnson. Thanks to its famous studios, films like Bridget Jones, Notting Hill, Black Mirror, and Kind Hearts and Coronets have been shot here. But in recent years it’s been without a cinema of its own. That all changed at the end of October when a state-of-the-art, eight-screen cinema was finally installed. November promises a packed roster of blockbusters. We recommend book-ending your visit with a trip to Kanenas for Turkish eggs in the morning and Park’s Kitchen in the evening—post-four hour Scorsese sesh—for a bowl of bibimbap.