Butler’s Wharf Blackout

D&D London celebrates the Dark River for the Thames Festival

“The name of the river ‘Thames’ itself is said to “derive from the Sanskrit term for ‘dark’ and it has often been known as the dark river.”
Peter Ackroyd

D&D London is delighted to announce the launch of the Butler’s Wharf Blackout as part of the Thames Festival celebration from 6th – 15th September 2013.

D&D London’s collective of iconic riverside restaurants at Butler’s Wharf – Le Pont de La Tour, Cantina del Ponte, Blueprint Café and Butler’s Wharf Chophouse - will be literally ‘blacking out’ electricity in all four restaurants from 8.30pm every evening throughout the 10 days of the festival. Free from the light pollution of modern London, diners will have the unique opportunity to savour spectacular views of the Thames and experience the unspoilt beauty of the river by darkness and subtle candlelight.

For the duration of Butler’s Wharf Blackout, guests will enjoy candlelight dining and late night drinking sessions at each venue alongside a calendar of special events from Blind Wine Tasting, to Ghost Bus Tours, to a Fire and Flambé night.

Echoing the central purpose of the Thames Festival, each of these sensory experiences will celebrate the history and beauty of the Thames, its ancient mystery and the changing modern landscape. The events will encourage diners to engage with the unparalleled views from the riverside vantage points and are designed to inspire respect and appreciation for London’s greatest natural asset.

A highlight will be the ‘Blackout Banquet’, a pop-up 40 metre, 140 seat banqueting table spanning the riverbank, starting from British dining institution Butler’s Wharf Chophouse, to classic French restaurant Le Pont de La Tour, and ending alongside Italian trattoria Cantina del Ponte. Diners will feast on a rotating menu of dishes showcasing each of the restaurants.

The candlelit culinary journey through each cuisine will occur every evening throughout the festival period and at lunchtimes on Saturdays and Sundays. The banqueting table will work in all weathers with a clear cover to allow riverside views come rain or shine.

With food and drink events designed to heighten the sensory experience of darkness by the river, including blind wine tastings, blindfold dinners, fire menus, and innovative and futuristic activity which will light the darkness with neon, LED and laser lighting – the Butler’s Wharf Blackout will showcase The Thames in all its glory.

Each restaurant will serve a different three course, fixed price special ‘Blackout Menu’ over the ten days. Blueprint Café’s ‘Black Menu’ will feature dishes such as Black Lentils with Sour Cream, Sweet Tamarind & Dock Spices, Blackened Orchard Farm Pork with Black Potatoes and Liquorice Parfait. (£25 for 3 courses)

La Pont de La Tour will focus on locally sourced ingredients, with dishes such as London Cure Salmon, Navarin of Foulness Island Lamb, Roast Pumpkin & Beetroot and Assiette of English Blackberries. (£30 for 3 courses)

Butler’s Wharf Chophouse will be featuring British dishes such as Roast Thames valley wood pigeon, black pudding, braised beetroot & turnips as well as Kentish bramble syllabub, short bread. (£25 for 3 courses)

Cantina Del Ponte celebrates Italian cooking by candlelight with Pumpkin, gorgonzola, baby lamb lettuce & almonds and Pannacotta with wild berry compote. (£25 for three courses)

Each venue has created a bespoke cocktail menu, featuring Ketel One Espresso Martinis, Tanqueray Swim & Tonics, refreshing Don Julio cocktails and spiced Zacapa Daiquiris / elderflower whisky sour with Johnnie Walker.

Meals at the ‘Blackout Banquet’ banqueting table are priced at £35 per head for three courses including an arrival drink and coffee. Reservations can be made via 0207 940 1833.

BUTLER’S WHARF CHOPHOUSE
(chophouse-restaurant.co.uk, booking line 0207 4033403)
12/09/2013- Legendary British restaurant showcases its traditional menu with a candle-lit Victorian feast. A late-night Ghost Bus Tour of the docks with dark stories about the river is included after the meal. (£55pp for 3 courses, drink and ghost tour)

LE PONT DE LA TOUR
(lepontdelatour.co.uk, booking line 0207 4038403)
11/09/2013 –Showcasing the restaurant’s innovative French cooking, a Fire and Flambé night will light up the darkness with special flambé dishes. (Rump of Beef Flambé with Brandy £27.50, Crepes Suzette £5.50)
14/09/2013 -The restaurant’s famous wine cellar, which stocks over 1,000 wines from around the globe, will play host to a Blind Wine Tasting event using blacked out wineglasses, designed to delight, educate and surprise. (£35pp)

CANTINA DEL PONTE
(cantinadelponte.co.uk, booking line 0207 4035403)
13/09/2013 -To celebrate Italian amore, Cantina del Ponte will host ‘Love is Blind’, a blindfold banquet where guests will delight on the food of love, including dishes such as Pio Tosini Parma Ham & Fig Sorbet and Risotto with Crayfish & Pumpkin. Guests will be entertained with opera singers by starlight as they dine. (£35pp for four courses and opera entertainment)

BLUEPRINT CAFÉ
(blueprintcafe.co.uk, booking line 0207 3787031)
Situated on the first floor of the Design Museum, Blueprint Café serves innovative modern British cuisine. Throughout the Butler’s Wharf Blackout, this area will host silent discos, cinema screenings and much more.
6/09/2013 “Neon Noir”, a spectacular neon food fight in the area outside the restaurant 9pm
8/09/2013 and 11/09/13 Silent Cinema 6-10pm
0/12/13 Blue Monday: an evening of burgers, beers & beats. Handmade burger with 28 day aged mince beef chuck, beef tomato, lettuce, jalapeno mayonnaise, slow fried onion ring, homemade sesame seed bun. Beer from Camden Brewery, beats from resident band “Body & Soul” (£13.50 per person, includes burger, beer and beats)
12/09/13 Silent Disco 6-10pm
13/09/13 DJ & Silent Disco 6-10pm, flashmob at 9pm
14/09/13 Kids’ entertainment 11am-2pm. BBQ 12-3pm. Silent Disco 6-10pm
15/09/13 Kids’ entertainment and pop-up Sunday Roast 11am-2pm. Chill out session silent disco 6-10pm
(Silent disco: £6 for headsets, plus £10 refundable deposit)