London Weekend Guide | 6th – 8th September 2024
Well, it looks like we all get one last hurrah in the sun this weekend, before the weather does a kind of record scratch and the nation’s thermometers remember that it’s supposed to be September.
So best make it count.
And count it shall, thanks to the likes of some building-sized artworks; a chance to get down at a genuine barn dance and watch a classic musical western at an outdoor cinema; hear from some very Loud Women; visit the Batcave; eat one of the city’s best steak sandwiches; and basically set your mouth on fire…
The Best Things To Do On FRIDAY 6th September
1) TT Rooftop | Complimentary Wine For Nudge Members
When you’re already one of the best cocktail bars in London, how do you top that? With a rooftop restaurant, apparently.
Because that’s exactly what the folks at TT (formerly known as TT Liquor) have done, crowning their superlative drinking den with a live fire restaurant led by the highly talented Sam Lone, (ex-head chef at Oren). It’s an idea that’s proved popular. In fact, they’ve just started serving lunch here too, from Wednesday – Sunday – and Nudge Members (+3) are getting a bottle of wine on the house, at lunch or dinner, if they pop by from 4th September – 4th November.
Details: 4th September – 4th November | 17b Kingsland Road, London E2 8AA
–
2) Lightroom Live: Yuja Wang x Hockney | A virtuoso pianist meets an immersive art show
Here’s one to file under ‘woah’. For three days this week Yuja Wang – one of the most acclaimed & revered classical pianists in the world – will play a series of live concerts in the extraordinary Lightroom, surrounded by David Hockney’s awe-inspiring exhibition of large scale immersive art. Basically, both your eyes and your ears are going to be competing to see which of them is more blown away by the whole affair.
Details: 5th, 6th & 7th September | Lightroom, 12 Lewis Cubitt Square, N1C 4DY | £19.50
–
3) London Podcast Festival | Put a face to the voice
The London Podcast Festival is returning for its ninth audio rodeo, to be held once again at Kings Place – in King’s Cross – over a week and a half starting this week (from the 5th-15th). As is the norm, the organisers have rounded up some of the most acclaimed names from both the UK and US podcast scenes, giving you the chance to finally put faces to the voices on the other end of your headphones that have kept you company during those long Tube commutes.
Details: 5th-15th September | King’s Place | £12+
–
4) London Mural Festival | Wall-to-wall fun
It’s the return of the London Mural Festival! That means that for most of the month, we’ll all be out painting the town red. Some more literally than others. And those ‘some’ are the 100+ international artists set to take part, with over 100 new large-scale murals planned for across the city.
Details: 5th – 29th of September | Across London
–
5) Cocktails in the City | It’s back
The liquor-laced weekender is rolling its bottle-clinking wagon back into town for one last warm-weather hurrah this weekend, setting up an al fresco pop-up cocktail festival in Bedford Square Gardens, and bringing together 20 of the finest bars in London (and, by extension, the world) for tastings, masterclasses, and, well, a lot of cocktails.
Details: 5th-7th September | Bedford Square | From £22 – Nudge readers get 25% off
–
–
The Best Things To Do On SATURDAY 31st August
–
6) A Barn Dance & A Movie | See Calamity Jane, cowboy style
Popcorn in one hand, lassos in the other, this Saturday the people at Stow Films in Walthamstow will be putting on a screening of westerner musical classic Calamity Jane (1953, starring Doris Day) preceded by a good ol’ barn dance. It’ll all be led by the aptly named professional Ted Barnes, and it sounds like a whole lotta’ fun.
Details: 7th September | East Lawn, Fellowship Square, Waltham Forest Town Hall, E17 4JF | £12
–
7) The Magician’s Table | Cocktails & closeup magic
Allow us to present to you The Magician’s Table – a delightful-sounding experience which is popping up in a secret London Bridge location for two months as of this week, and in which you’ll get live music, cocktails, and the the chance to see some top-shelf magicians perform the kind of close-up magic tricks that would, not too long ago, have inspired the local townsfolk to start a new religion/bonfire.
Details: 5th September – 31st October | A secret location | £47.50+
–
8) Loud Women Festival | A female-only music fest
Loud Women labels itself as the “antidote to male heavy festival lineups”, and traffics exclusively in female & non-binary artists who are – as advertised – not content with being quiet. Some of the acts lined up include great names like Murder Club, Piss Kitty, and Desert Sharks –
Details: 7th September | Rich Mix Shoreditch | £6+
–
9) Batman Unmasked | Visit The Batcave and see some cool props
Batman turns 85 this year, but seems as ruggedly muscular as ever (proving once again that billions of dollars make do the best anti-aging cream). And in honour of the masked vigilante’s birthday, there’s a new show coming to town called Batman Unmasked, opening this Saturday. You’ll get to step into 9 themed rooms (a Batcave, Arkham maze, Wayne manor library, etc) and see props & costumes from several decades of movies. Should be fun.
Details: From 6th September | 45 Wellington Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 7BN | £21+
–
10) Charles Bryant x Café Pier | Steak frites by Albert Bridge
Café Pier is a tiny, 17sq ft former cabmen’s shelter at the foot of Albert Bridge that now serves up some lovely lunch fare. And this Saturday, they’re handing the keys to chef Charles Bryant to cook up his steak sarnies, which sound insane. We’re talking ultra-light Catalan sourdough, HG Walter steaks, roasted bone marrow, beef fat hollandaise, Sunday-style gravy, aioli, and Koffman fries.
Details: 7th September | Café Pier, Chelsea Embankment, Albert Bridge Gardens, SW3 5RJ | £19
–
London Pole Championships | Gravity is just a suggestion
Pole dancing has come a long way. Thanks to its well-toned athletic prowess, it’s managed to shake off its seedy reputation quite effectively – to whit, you can now go and see some of the world’s finest pole dancers duke it out to see which of them is the best at defying gravity this weekend.
Details: 7th September | Pentland Theatre, 5 Nether St, N12 0GA | £35
–
Things to do on SUNDAY 1st September
–
11) Chilli Fest | For people who hate their tongues and wish to punish them
It’s going to be hot in Fulham Palace Gardens this weekend. And it’s mostly because of the fiery tongue rodeo that is the Chilli Festival. Expect napalm-level peppers, drinks to douse the flames, live music, salsa dancing, and a chilli eating competition.
Details: 8th September | Fulham Palace Gardens | Free (suggested donation £3)
–
12) Farang’s Spicy Gai Tod Sundays | A Sunday Roast, Thai style
Farang, run by the talented Londoner Seb Holmes, is one of the best Thai restaurants in the city. And this Sunday, he’s putting on a kind of roast-style feast, consisting of tamarind & caramel chicken wings; crispy fried chicken with fresh herbs & burnt green chilli; spicy papaya salad; roast chicken & garlic roti, and more.
Details: 8th September | Farang, 72 Highbury Park, N5 2XE | £65+
–
13) Underbelly Festival | Final weekend
For its final weekend in Cavendish Square, the Underbelly Festival is going to entertain us all with the likes of the Bitten Peach, The Beatbox Collective, and something worryingly called the YUCK Circus…
Details: Until 8th September | Cavendish Square
–
14) Walthamstow-On-Sea | A pop up beach outside a beer hall
You know what they say, life’s a beach and then you find one in the sunny alfresco space outside the country’s biggest beer hall, complete with tons of sand, beach huts, deck chairs, fish & chips, penny sweets, and more. Take advantage while you can…
Details: Until 8th September | Big Penny Social | £4
–
15) Greenwich & Docklands International Festival | Final weekend
It’s the last weekend of The Greenwich & Docklands International Festival (or ‘GDIF’ to anyone who wants to save precious syllables). And as finale, they’re putting on an immersive storytelling event, a huge alfresco dance show, and an amazing street performance that involves a virtuoso figure skater on roller-skates backed up by live cello music. And as usual, it’s all completely free.
Details: Ends 8th September 2024 | Across Greenwich | Free
–
–––
Fancy escaping the capital? Check out our pick of amazing day trips from London