10 Things To Do This Galentine’s Weekend

Soak up the season of love at the NO ORDINARY LOVE pop-up

To celebrate the month of love, One Hundred Shoreditch and The Old Bank Vault have teamed up once again to curate a pop-up centred all around self-love. 

Running from 11th February to 8th March, NO ORDINARY LOVE will be hosting a series of talks and workshops, including a self-pleasure workshop led by intimacy expert Natalie Lee. 

Other events include a Flower Crown Workshop with Sophie Powell AKA Unidentified Floral Object; and wellbeing expert Becki Douglas’ I AM LOVE workshop focusing on self-love rituals.

Taste Studio Ghibli inspired treats

Celebrating the adorable collabroation between LOEWE x Howl’s Moving Castle, Selfridge’s LOEWE outpost will be serving up a multi-sensory food experience. French culinary and events studio Balbosté has taken over Dolly’s Café this month, serving intricate dishes inspired by scenes and characters from the Studio Ghibli film. 

Head over to enjoy their playful English afternoon tea, featuring dishes such as meadow-inspired sandwiches, vermicelli broomsticks, macarons, cakes, cloud terrines and a twist on Alsatian specialties, nodding to the film’s setting in Colmar, Alsace. Each dish is almost too cute to eat.

Catch this all-new immersive exhibition

Enormous inflatable rat sculptures might not sound the most appealing, but artist Jenkin van Zyl makes this the pinnacle of their latest exhibition at Edel Assanti. 

On display until March, the exhibition, titled Surrender, sees viewers entering via the gaping jaws of the giant rat, leading through to the fleshy innards into ‘love hotel’. Cacooned with a canopy of bunting, you’ll find four beds mirroring one of the scenes from van Zyl’s film serving as a viewing platform for the projection. 

Exploring the power of role-play and fantasy, the film “melds together the 20th century phenomenon of dance marathons – gruelling endurance competitions wherein couples participated in non-stop dancing for hundreds of hours – with the cryptid lore of the “rat king””. 

Spoil your pals with a Valentine’s meal

Whether you’re celebrating early this weekend or you’re searching for that perfect destination, we’ve got you covered with our edit of the best Valentine’s menus to try this February. 

From dreamy desserts and rosy red cocktails to seductive set menus everyone’s raving about, here are 41 of our favourite Valentine’s Day restaurants

Donate & shop at this charity supermarket pop-up

Whether you’re looking for somewhere to donate your old items or want to rummage through bundles of clothes to find a lost treasure, Brent Cross’ pop-up Charity Super.Mkt is well worth the visit. 

Housing multiple charities under one roof, the shop boasts a curated collection of fashion and accessories to pursue and shop. Contributing charities includes TRAID, Havens Hospice, Barnardo’s, Shelter, Cancer Research, Age UK, Marie Curie, Emmaus, SCT and All Aboard.

Celebrate International Margarita Day early

International Margarita Day might not be taking place until February 22nd, but that isn’t stopping PATRÓN tequila from starting off celebrations early. 

Taking over London’s best cocktail bars including One Hundred Shoreditch, Satan’s Whiskers and Silverleaf at Pan Pacific London, ‘La Cantina de Margarita’ will ensure guests experience a set of complimentary ‘Botanas’ – traditional small plates of Mexican delicacies, all paired perfectly with PATRÓN Margaritas. 

Hand-crafted in collaboration with two Michelin starred chef Tom Sellers, the menu will feature the likes of fresh corn tacos with lobster and PATRÓn silver gel and sweet potato and orange camotes. 

Dates include Wednesday 15th at Silverleaf at Pan Pacific London; Thursday 16th at The Rooftop, One Hundred Shoreditch; and Februrary 20th at Satan’s Whiskers.

Book in for the ultimate Galentine’s dining experience

Get in losers, we’re going dining… Grab your girls for the hottest ticket in town and book in for The Refinery’s Galentine’s Day festivities. 

Created in partnership with Taste Film, the restaurant will celebrate with an immersive ‘eat what you see’ experience of the cult-classic Mean Girls. Look forward to six courses packed with dishes and drinks inspired by references in the show. Think pineapple whisky cocktail with a Sahara sugar rim referencing “So it was goodbye Africa and hello high school”; baked goats cheese with Queen Bee honey and burnt chilli ‘can’t spell’ orange referencing “She’s the Queen Bee, the star, the other two are just her little workers”; and chicken Kyiv with potato dauphinoise and thyme butter broccoli referencing “Is butter a carb?”. 

Screenings will take place on the 11th, 12th, 18th and 19th of February.

For more Galentine’s celebrations, check out our Galentine’s events round-up.

Get your wonton fix at this pop-up

This month sees renowned Chinese restaurant family Poon’s team up with No.23 Charlotte Street to launch a three-month residency dedicated to their signature handmade wontons. 

Taking over Carousel’s restaurant incubator space, Amy Poon has created a bespoke menu for Wontoneria. There’ll be a few options to choose from: pork and bamboo shoots; chicken thigh with woodear mushroom, water chestnut and ginger; prawn with bamboo shoots; and jackfruit and tofu with carrot, woodear mushroom and water chestnut. 

These will all feature alongside a daily lunch special – the wonton noodle bowl, featuring a smaller portion of wontons with egg noodles and greens.

Book ahead: Valentine’s Pilates 

Put yourself first this Valentine’s Day and book a no-strings-attached date at South Place Hotel. The hotel will be hosting an energising Pilates breakfast event with Virgin Active’s Pilates lead, Lydia Melmeth and breakfast in the Secret Garden. 

The morning will kick off with a feel-good Pilates class, focusing on deep core muscles, improving posture and muscular imbalances, and increasing joint mobility. 

The 45-minute class will be followed by a table in the hotel’s Secret Garden, filled with fruit, granola, pastries, eggs, full English brekkies and coffee. 

Show your nails some love for Valentine’s Day

If you haven’t had a love heart manicure where have you been? Young LDN in Notting Hill are masters in all things nail art, and offer the perfect finishing touches to your V-Day looks. From cute cupids to love heart french tips, these swoon-worthy nails are too good to miss.

Offering sheallac manis and pedis, it’s the perfect place to get the girls together for a pamper day and spend a Galentine’s Day to remember.

Nail art not your thing? Their array of facials and beauty treatments are sure to take your fancy.