Halloween is fast approaching and if you’re anything like me, it's probably just dawned on you that you've nothing sorted. You’re made to feel like not going out on Halloween is like not eating cake on your birthday. (Even though it’s just like any night out except all girls dress as cats and guys get to splatter a white T-shirt with red paint and become a zombie.)
Going out and getting completely trashed with your friends, dressed as a half-hearted
Donald Trump, is so last year. Why not try something different this Halloween? Like one of the devilish dishes served at some of London’s hottest hangouts.
Testicles at Testi
Testi gives you the chance to compete in your very own bush tucker trial this Halloween with the famed testicle eating round. If that hasn’t been on your bucket list for years, you should probably reevaluate! These nuts are of the lamb variety and come served skinned, skewered and grilled at this traditional Turkish grill. Eating at Testi is probably the only time it’s acceptable to play with your balls at dinner.
Century Eggs with Pig's Trotter Nuggets at BAO
While the rest of BAO’s menu is fairly standard, this dish has definitely turned a few heads and stomachs. Definitely worth a try if you’re up for it. Chinese cuisine uses an offal lot of offal (offally sorry) and while we may turn up our snouts, trotter nuggets are on the up.
Garlic Locusts at Archipelago
Garlic locusts are one of many spooky dishes that are permanent fixtures on Archipelago’s menu. Pan fried with garlic and chilli, these crispy, crunchy mouthfuls are actually quite nice. A sort of Halloween inspired tempura?
Nose to tail at St John
Dining nose to tail is not a new thing. But there’s no denying that going the whole hog and chowing down on a pig's eye or kneecap is not for the faint hearted.... making it the ideal dining experience for London’s Halloween lovers! There’s something very Addams Family about this meal. I’m envisioning a huge banquet table and people ripping whole legs from the pig's body, devouring them and chucking the remains over their shoulders. Waste not, want not and all that.
Brains Masala at Tayyabs
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last however many years, you’ve probably had some sort of masala by now. But have you ever had a brains masala? No, didn’t think so. Well this Halloween your prayers have been answered. At Tayyabs, you and your date can pick each other’s brains over dinner, literally. Unfortunately, this delicacy will need to be requested ahead, but at least that way you’ll have plenty of time to psych yourself up.
Ducks’ tongues at Viajante
Served alongside a portion of an equally obscure looking Brill (fish), this dish is fit for any daring diner. Although intrigued, I think this might be one of those ‘chefy’ things that, in actual fact, is a bit pointless. Surely there can’t be much meat on a duck's tongue.They’re pretty small? And maybe I’m wrong but I can’t imagine the tiny morsel being all that worth it. The whole thing sounds a bit quackers to me. Ba-dum-dum-cha *physically cringes at own pun*.
Blood and chocolate pâté at Bocca Di Lupo
Designed with London’s chocoholic vampires in mind, this dessert combining a sweet pâté of pig's blood and chocolate is in fact a Calabrian delicacy. Served with sourdough. you could almost be tricked into believing this was the norm. But it's notIt's a chocolate pud featuring some not entirely welcome pigs blood. I wonder what Edward Cullen and his clan would have made of this one?
Whatever you decide to wear this year, it's definitely worth investigating these dishes further. Why not challenge your friends to one of these fantastic feasts to decide who is the bravest Halloween fanatic of them all.
