In celebration of All Hallows’ Eve, Balthazar is hosting a selection of seasonably spooky events as part of a three-day extravaganza. Fantasy food, poison-fuelled cocktails and the thrilling Le Bon Tong await those that dare to enter.
As dawn breaks on Friday, the restaurant’s entrance will be transformed into a cave of petrifying pumpkins, perfect for #balthoween Instagramming. Inside, gothic floral displays will jump out at every turn. The boulangerie will be styled with spooky skulls and spine-chilling skeletons, and the menu will be peppered with tributes to the Halloween season including bat cookies, iced pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, apple and cinnamon doughnuts, s’mores, large pumpkin tarts and pecan pies in 2 sizes.
Pastry Chef, Régis and his team have been cackling over the cauldron and have concocted a witches dessert that will put the fear into the most intrepid diner; the appropriately named Witches Hat Parfait, complete with witches hat, is a beautifully crafted praline parfait on a bed of hazelnut sponge with chocolate cremeux grave and pistachio soil. This will be available for the Halloween period ie lunch and dinner from Friday, 28 to Monday, 31 October inclusive.
Lest we forget, silver fox and legend of the London bar scene – Brian Silva, Balthazar’s Bar Manager has also put together a Corpse Reviver N°2 cocktail for the occasion, inspired by the 1930s Savoy Cocktail book and balanced in the Balthazar style. This will join the ranks of his gruesome twosome “Blood and Sand” and “Off with her Head”. These, too, will be available throughout the Halloween period. Then on Saturday, from 1pm to 2.30pm, Silva will be conducting a Balthoween “Pick your Poison” Master Class to learn the art of cocktail making, particularly focusing on the aforementioned Halloween cocktails, and there will be obligatory tastings of the finished drinks!
On Sunday evening in the restaurant, gothic and glamourous glad-rags are encouraged as there will be a cracking DJ set from 7pm by Le Bon Tong (Amber Le Bon and Becky Tong) to accompany the A La Carte dinner service. This is bound to rattle the odd bone.