Whatever you do over the next 6 weeks, go and visit pop-up supremo Jimmy Garcia’s winter lodge on the river on London’s Southbank to experience some of the best food and drink around not just South of the river.

(Click on images to enlarge)

Sponsored by Martin Miller’s Gin, and with Jimmy’s delicious dishes, this is the place to go for after work drinks, dates, celebrations and even an exclusive New Year’s Eve party with some of the best views of the fireworks around.

There are four parts to the pop-up: The Refuge Lodge, the Igloos and the Hot Cocktail Bar & Street Food Lodge Grill.

The idea of the lodge comes from the time when Jimmy and his friends worked in Courchevel in the French Alps during the winter as chefs, chalet hosts or ski boot fitters and they would all go up the mountain to the Refuge Lodge at the end of the season to celebrate, eat and drink before skiing down the mountain at sunrise.

You won’t be able to ski down a mountain on the Southbank, but you can definitely recreate the food and drinks bit of the experience.

Whether you book yourself a table in the rustic Refuge Lodge (sitting up to 30 people) or book one of the cosy igloos overshadowed by colourful trees mimicking the Northern Lights (requires 6-10 people, £600 minimum spend), the menu is short but delicious and the mains made for sharing. Start your meal with the Home Cured Salmon, the ‘Double Duck’ (smoked breast and confit leg) or the French Mountain Onion Soup, then get ready for the main attraction: Alpine Cheese Fondue with s plate of charcuterie and new potatoes or a sharer steak (600g flat iron or 800g rib eye) on a hot stone so you can cook it to your own perfection or the Ultimate Winter Feast, a whole baked Mont d’Or cheese, steak and wild boar and apple sausages. Whatever you do, leave room for the dessert, Mulled Wine Poached Pear with hot chocolate sauce, crumbled shortbread and crème fraiche. The three courses menu cost £45.00. If you have never had a proper Alpine cheese fondue, I urge you to go. This is the real deal.

The Hot Cocktail Bar serves all kind of hot and cold drinks, with old favourites like mulled wine and cider, new discoveries like Hot Apple Mojitos and an excellent selection of cocktails made with Martin Miller’s gin, like the Hot Gin Toddy and the Winter Brambles. There is comfy seating and you can watch life on the river go by. Perfect.

The street food outlet next door serves more wonderful food – if you love cheeseburgers, the Raclette Burger is the next step up, the steak baguette is fantastic, the wild boar hot dog delicious and who can say no to baked camembert? There is more but go and have a look for yourselves.

Southbank Centre

Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX

The Hot Cocktail Bar and Street Food Lodge Grill are open Mon to Sun, 12 noon – 11pm

You must make bookings for both the Refuge Lodge & the igloos. Please visit Jimmy’s website to find out more.

https://www.jimmyspopup.com/jimmys-lodge-1

Refuge Lodge sittings:

November: Mon – Fri 8pm, Sat & Sun 12.30pm & 8pm

December: Mon – Sun 12.30pm & 8pm

Igloos sittings:

November & December: 12.30pm, 4.30pm & 8pm

While we have your attention, can I also recommend that you have a look at this beauty:

The multi award-winning gin, made in the UK with 100% Icelandic spring water, have teamed up with another award winner, night sky photographer and the founder of The World at Night program, Babak Tafreshi, to produce this stunning limited-edition gift edition featuring a photo of the Aurora Borealis as the light show apears above the iconic Kirkjufell mountain and waterfalls on Iceland’s Western coastline.

Babak Tafreshi says, “I am delighted to have partnered with Martin Miller’s Gin to create this gift box, which celebrates the home of its pure spring water. The image we used captures the most colourful aurora I have ever seen, which coloured the Icelandic landscape in these stunning pastel hues, making this box truly unique.”

Perfect for the gin loving friend in your life or for your yourself. Or both

The box will be available in selected Waitrose, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s stores from November to December 2019, with a recommended retail price of £28 for a 70cl bottle.

http://www.martinmillersgin.com/

We would like to thank Jimmy Garcia’s Pop-up, Martin Millar Gin and Cultural Communications PR for a fantastic evening of food & drink, meeting old and making new friends.