How To Spend Thanksgiving In London

Get your Thanksgiving fix, British style, with this wonderful itinerary for Thanksgiving in London

Whether you’re a homesick American expat or happen to be in the British capital over Thanksgiving, we’ve got the perfect day for you with this impeccable itinerary. From USA-themed cultural explorations to a delicious fine-dining dinner, this is the best way to spend Thanksgiving in London.

Morning

Start your day with a spot of retail therapy. Head to Fortnum & Mason’s, where you can pick up some celebratory Champagne and one of their covetable Harvest Hampers stuffed with seasonal preserves, pickles and honeys. Afterwards, head over to Covent Garden to Benjamin Franklin House, a former home of the esteemed Founding Father. Today, the historical Craven Street house is a well-preserved museum dedicated to its famous former occupant who lived and worked there for sixteen years before the American Revolution. For a light lunch, pop into Dominique Ansell’s gorgeous Belgravia bakery for s’mores, pecan pie and pumpkin soup. Famed for his creation of the ‘cronut’, Dominique Ansell puts a seriously creative and indulgent spin on pastries and sugary treats. This Thanksgiving, they’re serving up a trifecta of limited edition pies: Bourbon Pecan Pumpkin, Salted Apple Caramel and Extra Silky Pumpkin. You can buy them whole or by the slice throughout November.

Afternoon

For a feast of the visual kind, head to Staging Jackson Pollock at the Whitechapel Gallery. Step back in time to 1948 when Pollock’s work was first exhibited in the UK (at the Whitechapel Gallery) and learn the explosive effect the visionary show had at the time. You’ll also get to see rare material from the archive, and see Pollock’s masterpiece Summertime 9A return to the gallery for the first time in six decades. Then, why not jump back on the tube to Southbank, and sample some of the delights in the pop-up food markets before heading across the river for a spot of outdoor ice skating at Somerset House?

Staging Jackson Pollock is on at The Whitechapel Gallery until 24th March 2019

Evening

For a refined take on the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, Corinthia London’s The Northall restaurant is presenting a sublime three-course dinner with a glass of Champagne. You can expect a fine-dining flourish to all-American classics like Portland Lobster, pumpkin soup and sweetcorn fritter. Free Range Norfolk Bronze Turkey will be served with all manner of tasty trimmings; Brussels sprouts, crispy bacon & hazelnuts, maple glazed parsnips – topped off with a dollop of bourbon butter.

For a Thanksgiving nightcap, venture east after dinner to Nightjar, a glamorous, prohibition-inspired bar serving ultra-inventive cocktails. The subterranean space has chic, speakeasy vibes in abundance alongside live jazz to soundtrack your evening. Sample one of their beautiful signature house cocktails or raid their archives, picking from rare vintage, pre-prohibition ryes and bourbons.