We Review St. Patrick’s Day Specials In London
For any Irish person, spending St. Patrick’s Day abroad is a mixed experience. You’ll encounter some stereotyping (to be expected) and have to endure it being referred to as “St. Patty’s Day”. But it’s also a great chance to celebrate how Irish culture has spread throughout the world, and experience its relationship with other cultures.
In London, that means a lot of food and drink experiments. There are special dishes popping up all over the city, Guinness is being used in ways never seen before, and I’ve gone out to try some of the weird and wonderful creations to see how St. Patrick’s Day is being celebrated. From a ‘Guinnamisu’ and a Tayto martini to Ireland’s next big foodie export, here’s our review of the Irish specials you can get on the big day.
I’ve gone out to try some of the weird and wonderful creations to see how St. Patrick’s Day is being celebrated.
Pastaio – Guinness Tiramisu
The concept: The ‘Guinnamisu’ seems like a combo that was meant to be. The colour palette matches, and both are a source of national pride and identity. Pastaio is known for its tiramisu spin-offs
We originally thought this was going to be a traditional tiramisu with some Guinness added to the mixture at some point. Actually, it was more like a Guinness cake with a mascarpone, tiramisu topping, soaked in Irish whiskey and caramel.
Verdict: This is an excellent Guinness cake – full marks. But I couldn’t get the concept I originally pictured out of my head. The mascarpone topping didn’t quite satiate my need for a full-on Guinness tiramisu. Is it possible this doesn’t work as well? Yes, probable even. But I need to find out for myself.
Dickie’s Bar – Tayto martini
The concept: Richard Corrigan is probably Ireland’s most famous culinary export in London (we’ve lost count of how many places he has in the city), so you know he’s going to do something unique for St. Patrick’s Day.
The result, a martini made to taste like a packet of Tayto cheese and onion crisps (Taytini? Martayto?), is a particularly nuts concept. The problem is, it’s one thing getting it to taste like Tayto, and another to actually make that drinkable.
Verdict: Fair play, they’ve actually done both. Made with parmesan-infused vodka and homemade onion brine, it does taste like cheese and onion. Do we recommend? Definitely. Could we drink more than one? The onion was beginning to come on really strong by the end, so doubtful, but two martinis aren’t a great idea at the best of times.
Nancy Spains – Baby Murphy’s
The concept: For those in the know, this seems like a sneaky bit of branding. Murphys, which Nancy Spains serves instead of Guinness, is a lesser-known Irish stout from Cork and rarely seen in London. Of course, there’s no actual Guinness in a baby Guinness, so the renaming seems entirely moot. But is it?
Verdict: Unfortunately, this one is just branding, but Nancy Spain’s is one of the only pubs in London that serve Murphys that is actually good, so it’s well worth ordering the double. Guinness is set to hit saturation point when its Covent Garden brewery and culture hub lands later this year, and we predict London’s edgiest will pivot to Ireland’s other most famous stouts, so best to get in on the ground floor.
Scaldy’s – Spice Bag
The concept: At this point, whenever I go to the pub in London nowadays, people always want to talk to me about Guinness and Tayto. Their ubiquity in Ireland has spread. But the spice bag, as of yet, has not. Coming from Chinese takeaways on the island, it’s a mix of chips, chicken, vegetables and spices all mixed into a bag, and despite only really gaining popularity in the last 15 years, is now the stuff of legend.
Verdict: The word on the street was that Scaldy’s do the best in London and, in an admittedly uncompetitive market, they were right. This is as good as you’d get in Dublin. As of now, it remains a hidden gem, but we’re about one video of Paul Mescal trying some away from it being the next big thing.
Albert Schloss – Guinness Sticky Toffee Pudding
The concept: Germany and Ireland isn’t the most obvious combination, but we do share a few things in common; namely, Michael Fassbender, celebrating when England gets knocked out of the World Cup, and a passion for beer.
The Bavarian chain has created an entire Irish menu in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, with Guinness on tap helping to wash down a cow and Guinness pie for mains, and a Guinness and ginger sticky toffee pudding.
Verdict: Sticky toffee pudding – a very British dessert – is a strange choice for a Germanic-Irish combo, but taste-wise, you can see the logic. The Guinness definitely adds some richness, and the dessert is quite nice, but it won’t cure homesickness.
