The Petersham

On Tuesday 18th May, The Petersham in Covent Garden will re-open its doors and invite guests back to its elegant dining room once again. The Italian-inspired restaurant from Petersham Nurseries will welcome diners for dining throughout the day and a new afternoon tea to raise funds for the Nurseries’ partnership with the Elephant Family charity, drawing on the spices and aromatics of India. Visitors can opt to sit at well-spaced tables inside the airy, refined dining room that draws influence from the Boglione family’s connections to Italy, or simply enjoy the warm spring weather by dining al fresco on the terrace surrounded by verdant planting.

An oasis of calm in the heart of the city, guests visiting The Petersham to dine can expect a new A La Carte menu showcasing the best Italian and British produce at the peak of its spring season. To begin, there will be appetisers such as Cornish Cuttlefish with Oyster Leaf, Snow Peas & Sesame Seeds, and Scallop Carpione with Peas, Chilli & Nasturtiums. Starters will make the most of Italian regional traditions, with plates such as Cacio e Pepe Bottoni with Broad Beans & Mint and Asparagus with Egg Yolk & Parmesan. For the main event, diners can take their pick from dishes such as Fillet of Haye Farm Beef with Catalogna, Confit Garlic Sauce & Chickling Peas, and Monkfish with Vinegar, Hazelnuts & Artichokes. To finish, desserts will include a Gariguette Strawberry Pavlova, or Islands Chocolate with Zisola Olive Oil Ice Cream & Honeycomb.

The Elephant Family Afternoon Tea, served from 3pm every Thursday to Sunday, will get off to a sparkling start, beginning with hibiscus Bellini or alternatively a non-alcoholic hibiscus cocktail. First, a selection of savouries incorporates both the heady spices of the Indian sub-continent and the fresh flavours of spring, emphasising the Elephant Family’s new Co-Existence campaign and Petersham Nurseries’ sponsorship of a herd of Indian elephants. Carefully arranged on a hand-blown Florentine cake stand will be Spring Pea & Potato Samosas, Coronation Chicken Flatbreads and Mushroom Idli, a pillowy rice and lentil cake topped with wild mushrooms. Drawing on Southern India’s abundant seafood traditions, there will be crisp Pani Puri dough balls filled with Portland crab, while the Scotch Egg is reimagined as a delicately flavoured Kedgeree Scotch Quail Egg. Next, traditional Plain and Fruit Scones with be served with clotted cream and Petersham’s own jams, to be followed by a selection of cakes and pastries: there will be Rum Babas studded with dried fruit and soaked in hot rum syrup, and Earl Grey Tea Cake. Patisserie will also incorporate the sun-soaked flavours of India’s abundant tropical fruits: there will be Banana & Turmeric Macarons; Mango Layered Slices; and Coconut Eclairs. £10 from each Elephant Family Afternoon Tea will be donated to the charity’s Co-Existence campaign, which supports India’s innovative efforts to facilitate human coexistence with species such as elephants and aims to apply these solutions globally.

To draw awareness to the new Co-Existence campaign and celebrate its sponsorship of an Indian elephant herd, Petersham Nurseries will display two of the charity’s impressive life size Tuskers in Richmond and a further matriarch, adolescent and two calves in Covent Garden. While anyone is welcome to come and view the installations, donations can be made by diners in all restaurants to help raise funds for this important cause.