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Best picnic hampers in London
By Stephanie Hirschmiller 11.06.09
Tasty: grab a mezze picnic from Comptoir Libanais
Delicious: enjoy a french picnic from Bord’eaux
Soggy cheese rolls, flat lemonade and squashed cakes — the great British picnic can be a letdown, so why not raise your game with some international fare?
London's multicultural restaurants are stepping up to the mark with fantastic ready-to-go picnics.
From super-posh French hampers to bargain basement Japanese, jet-set picnics have arrived. Here's our pick of the best...
Go Tuscany on Thames
Theo Randall has taken his trademark rustic Italian fare into the sunshine.
Dishes include fresh Devon crab, rocket and fennel salad; poached langoustine with Sicilian lemons and aïoli; seared Aberdeen Angus fillet, rocket, parmesan and toasted pine nuts; smoked eel with samphire and Sicilian lemon and his signature Amalfi lemon tart.
Hampers come in returnable cooler bags with paper boxes ready-packed with cutlery, plates and napkins.
Add some Italian wine chosen by Theo's sommelier, give 48 hours' notice and pick up en route to your picnic spot.
Prices are per person and range from £32.50 (five dishes) to £55 (nine dishes).
Theo Randall at The InterContinental, 1 Hamilton Place, W1 (020 7318 8747)
Turning Japanese
The original Japanese conveyor-belt chain has a suitably ergonomic answer to the picnic dilemma and its YO!
Picnic boxes lend themselves perfectly to the occasion.
Choose from fish or vegetarian options (£5 and £6) each containing three pieces of nigiri, two of maki, three sashimi (or additional maki), kaiso seaweed salad and a dessert of melon, grapes and pineapple.
Plates and chopsticks are included — as is a limited-edition Yo! Sushi frisbee that's perfect for letting off steam after lunch.
YO! Sushi, see yosushi.com for details of participating restaurants.
Middle Eastern promise
Get a taste for the Middle East with Comptoir Libanais's mobile Lebanese feast.
Start with a mezze selection (£5.95 per person) of cheese samboussek (feta with fresh mint and cinnamon wrapped in pastry and deep-fried); hummus; stuffed vine leaves; pickles; yogurt and mint dip; baba ghanuj (smoked aubergine tahina with lemon and pomegranate seeds); tabbouleh; falafel and pitta bread.
And don't forget the strawberry-flavoured Fanta (£1.40 — so wrong but so right!) Choose from standard packaging or a gorgeous handcrafted bag from Marrakech (from £24.50). Be sure to order in advance when it's busy.
Comptoir Libanais, 65 Wigmore St, W1 (020 7935 1110, lecomptoir.co.uk)
Picnic à la Provence
Bored with Britain and dreaming of the Med?
Chef Ollie Couillaud's pick of Provence for his Hyde Park Picnic (£95) is geared towards the summer festival season and features smoked salmon, freshly baked breads, cheeses, a chef's salad, fruit salad and a bottle of Bordeaux to wash it all down.
Each hamper even comes with a corkscrew. It's not the cheapest of the bunch but it's still a lot less than a posh meal at the restaurant.
The old-fashioned picnic hamper is yours to keep and it also comes with a checked blanket.
You'll need to give 24 hours' notice before collecting your hamper.
Bord'eaux, 86-90 Park Lane, W1(020 7399 8460, bord-eaux.com)
Scandinavian specials
Scandinavian kitchen has come up with the Topless picnic, but it's not as naughty as it sounds — only the “Scan-wiches” go topless.
We love the smoked Norwegian salmon with caviar and lemon on sourdough, two kinds of Scandinavian cheese with rosehip marmalade served with hand-made Swedish crispbread and biscuits, a bottle of carbon-footprintless Belu water (beer, wine and Aquavit are also available) and a piece of Kladdkaka choccy cake.
It all comes wrapped up in a folding and eminently recyclable cardboard box with useful carry handles, together with plastic cutlery, paper plates and napkins.
All for £10.95 per person, minimum order four people. Call ahead to beat the queues.
The Scandinavian Kitchen, 61 Great Titchfield St, W1 (020 7580 7161, scandikitchen.co.uk)
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Reader views (1)
I beg to differ. In my experience, the great British picnic IS truly great!
I recently ordered a picnic hamper from Finns, a lovely little deli on Chelsea Green, and it was delicious. My friends and I feasted on potted shrimps, roast beef and chocolate brownies. Not a soggy cheese roll in sight!
Sue x
- Sue Denim, London
