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Hello there.
Sunday scaries. School nights. September resets. I’ve long been intrigued by the way that the rhythms, routines and language of the academic year have seeped out into the everyday vernacular we use to parse adulthood. Your mileage on this may vary (personally, I will absolutely take it over the surge in people using Linkedin-coded terms like “Q3” semi-ironically). Yet one aspect of the scholastic calendar that I think deserves to be adopted by people who are neither parents of schoolchildren nor educators is the autumn half term getaway: a late-October opportunity for an escape from the city and a catching of the breath between the hectic whirl of late summer and the social exertions of deepest, tinsel-decked winter.
I think there’s a lot to be said for a bolstering food-centric trip beyond the bounds of the M25 at this time of year. So where should you head? Well, I spend a possibly concerning amount of time down internet rabbit holes looking for acclaimed seaside restaurants, perfect country pubs, bougie spa hotels, and all the other components that make for a perfect city getaway. Whether you take it this half term or after some other, distant figurative semester, here’s where I think you should head.
For temporary DFLs looking for a Margate alternative … Deal
I imagine there’s very little that annoys the denizens of reinvigorated Kentish coastal towns more than being awkwardly tagged as “the new Margate”. But still. If you have been paying any attention at all to what’s been happening in Deal over the last few years, it is hard to shake the sense that it is an area on an especially exciting gastronomic and cultural trajectory. Inventive contemporary Japanese at The Blue Pelican and atmospheric beachside pints at the Zetland Arms. Characterful wines and small plates at Le Pinardier. A category-defying riff on the service station cafe at The Green Garage in nearby Walmer. Deal has that alluring mix of slightly ragged seaside charm and singular, high-quality businesses founded by a well-established cohort of design-savvy Down From Londons. And Updown Farmhouse – Ruth Leigh and chef Oli Brown’s transfixing art-filled boutique hotel and restaurant – might just be the shimmering jewel in its crown.
For farm-to-table ultras grieving the end of Frieze week … Bruton
I’d not long arrived in Bruton for a recent weekend away when I spotted its mythical cheese vending machine – a hulking black box at the edge of a carpark that operates 24 hours and caters for all those times when you need an emergency £49 truckle of organic cheddar. As an object, it’s a neat encapsulation of the occasionally preposterous levels of schmanciness packed into every corner of this tiny, legitimately cool creative enclave in Somerset. A meal at Osip – Merlin Labron-Johnson’s sensational Michelin-starred farm-to-table restaurant in a converted pub at the edge of town – should be your final boss. But you should also make time for a bimble along the high street (fitting in freshly baked croissants from At the Chapel and a small plate pitstop at The Old Pharmacy or Briar); a cyder and gelato-fuelled trip to the breathtaking grounds of The Newt; and a walk to the rural contemporary art gallery Hauser & Wirth.
For wild sauna and fresh seafood aficionados … Battle and St Leonards
Crafted at Powdermills – a so-called “life-friendly” hotel and club near Battle in rural East Sussex – is by no means the first revamped country house hotel to attempt a spin on a sprawling Soho Farmhouse-style complex in the past few years. But where some of those Cotswoldian rustic-luxe retreats can feel a little overloading and intense, there’s something appealingly easy-going, small-scale and wild about the waterside site here. You can chase a morning of padel with sharply crisped squash tempura and chilli mayo in the onsite pub; follow a steam in the lakeside sauna and a bracing dip with Negronis beside a crackling fire pit on the terrace. And if you are staying in the area you could do worse than heading to St Leonards to hit up Heist Market food hall (think everything from modern Nepali Chinese to exuberant Mexican) and legendary oyster shack The Selkie.
For adventurous eaters with lots of holiday allowance … Edinburgh
Look, I’m not going to pretend that a five-hour train ride north of the border exactly screams “convenient weekend getaway”. But if you are a London-based restaurant enthusiast with at least three days or so to spare, then I think you owe it to yourself to experience the crackling ambition, palpable creativity and sheer, grin-inducing deliciousness that has turned the Scottish capital into one of Britain’s most exciting dining cities. Pilgrimage-worthy pastries at Lannan bakery. Intensely satisfying Irish soul food at Norah. Detonative, genre-blurring contemporary Caledonian at Dogstar, plus playful, Malaysian-inflected Mexican dishes at Tacos Lah. Wandering around Leith and Stockbridge earlier this year I had the sense of having crossed over into a kind of gastronomic utopia with real quality and craft at every level and price point. Get yourself up there. And don’t be surprised if you end up booking a return trip.
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