Things to do in London and Kent: Meatopia tix, Beer and BBQ Festival, Tube Station parties

Good things and happenings in London and outside of Thanet.

Meatopia, the popular meat-focussed festival returns to Tobacco Dock for its 11th year. A go to event for lovers of fire-cooking and good red meat, this year’s chefs include Andrew Corbin of Drunken Prawn, Anna Higham of Quince, Anna Sogaard from Bistro Freddie, Elliot Cunningham from Lagom, Ottolenghi’s Christos Karetsos and Benedict Quinn from Woodfire Canteen, as well as a slew of other fine chefs. Tickets, from £36.38, always sell out so head to meatopia.co.uk if keen. On August 29 - September 1.

For the herbivores and those who just want a good restaurant up their sleeve when in central London, Rishim Sachdeva, the fella behind delicious Tendril (a mostly vegan kitchen) is opening a second restaurant, this one in Somerset House. Continuing with his plant-based cooking, Cafe Petiole is a casual affair, serving the likes of salted piquillo peppers with coriander salsa, grilled aubergine sabich and pineapple, chilli and lime galette across breakfast and lunch, dine in or takeaway. It’s opening Tuesday, May 21 in the South Wing, at Somerset House, The Strand, WC2R 1LA. Find them on Instagram.

More food, closer to home, Macknade in Faversham is hosting the free Beer and BBQ festival July 6. The new summer festival will be loaded up with craft beers, BBQ demos and live music. Similar to Meatopia, it features some of the best fire-cooking chefs around, including Andrew Clarke from the glorious Acme Fire Cult in Dalston. Look out for the brewing masterclasses, activities for the kids and for the opportunity to indulge in buying a Big Green Egg while pleasantly sozzled. Head to Macknade’s paddock from 12pm to 8pm. It’s free, but book macknade.com

SXSW is coming to London next year, in the Texan festival’s European debut. For a week next summer, the festival SXSW London will take over east London venues with music, tech, gaming and screen events. More details, like who, where, when, to come. 

Another great plant-based restaurant, Holy Carrot, is opening their first stand alone restaurant. Originally found near Harrods way in a health spa, Holy Carrot will open a 60-cover restaurant in Notting Hill this summer. Low-waste, and focusing on “fire and ferments”, chef Daniel Watkins, also from the glorious Acme Fire Cult, joins the team as executive chef so expect flavour-laden dishes with heft. The restaurant will also have a cocktail bar, done in collaboration with Dalston bar that regularly pops up in the various Top 50/Best of lists, A Bar With Shapes For A Name. Coming soon on Portobello Road. holycarrot.co.uk

Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, David LaChappelle, and Robert Mapplethorpe works all feature in this exhibition filled with the big names of 20th and 21st century photography. Opening this weekend on May 18, Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection hangs more than 300 works from over 140 photographers on the walls of the V&A, the majority of which have never been seen before. Tickets £20. vam.ac.uk

Not just for Tube rats, abandoned London Tube stations can now be hired for parties. This includes the historic Grade II listed Aldwych station, stations along the Jubilee line and the Waterloo and City line platforms at Bank. Interested? Visit tfl.gov.uk

Bike-riding exhibitionists, this one’s for you. World Naked Bike Ride comes to London June 8. Why? To demonstrate the vulnerability of cyclists on city streets while protesting  against oil dependency and car culture. Also, to celebrate yourself and others in all your natural glory. It’s free, and you don’t need to sign up, but more info at cyclinguk.org