Looking for things to do in London in March? You’re in plenty of time to book tickets to the best events in London, from theatre shows to art exhibitions, and there are always pop-ups opening across the city, but our handy guide features the best of what’s on in London in March so you won’t miss a thing. There’s a lot to celebrate in March, from religious holidays like Holi and Ramadan to the women in your life with Mother’s Day and International Women’s Day – don’t miss Women of the World Festival. You’ve got some good eating and drinking on the cards too with British Pie Week, St Patrick’s Day (get ready for all things Guinness, including the ultimate Guinness chocolate creation from Crosstown), the opening of new hot donut and dessert shop Treats Club, a six-chef Pepper Party at Spiritland, a Thai fried chicken shop from Smoking Goat and NYC’s Ha’s Dac Biet popping up at Oranj in Shoreditch. Bring it on.
1. Try the Smoking Goat Chicken Shop
For four weeks, cult Thai spot Smoking Goat will turn into a fried chicken joint, serving up a menu of dishes inspired by a recent trip to Bangkok (check out our own fried chicken recs for Bangkok here). Among them will be fried chicken, marinated in fish sauce & coriander root and served with heaps of crispy garlic, Thai shallots & dipping sauces; street food gem kaitiao khua kai; tom yum nam sai made with makrut lime leaves and velvet crab; and fish sauce caramel soft serve ice cream for dessert. As for drinks, expect a new list of cocktails that’ll include neon ice Thai teas with salted foam, refreshing lychee margaritas and mango negronis. They’ve also made their own low abv Piquette in collaboration with Phillippe Weiss of La Petite Baigneusemade from the marc (the remains of grapes left after pressing) and foraged herbs
3rd March – 2nd April, 2023
64 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6JJ
smokinggoatbar.com
2. Check out Ha’s Đặc Biệt at Oranj
NYC natives and pop-up experts Ha’s Đặc Biệt are the latest to take up residency in the kitchen at Shoreditch wine bar Oranj. Created by couple Anthony Ha and Sadie Mae Burns, Ha’s Đặc Biệt is a residency-based Vietnamese concept that began with the pair serving their food from a small pushcart at Manhattan’s outdoor markets and the gardens of Brooklyn’s bars. They made a name for themselves as they went and have since been travelling the world, bringing their menus to an international audience. Most recently, they were in Paris for three months, cooking at Le 6 Paul Bert, and now they’re coming to London to spend a whole month at Oranj. Expect a cuisine described as “Vietnamese bistro” and, as always, plenty of natural wine.
Fri 3rd – end of March 2023
14 Bacon St, London E1 6LF, UK
oranj.co.uk
3. Take Part in the London Walk for Homelessness
If you reckon you could walk 10km or more in a day, you could help the London Homeless Collective raise their goal of £250,000 for London-based homeless charities. Following on from a successful edition in March 2022, the LHC is bringing The London Walk back for 2023 – this time bigger and better than ever. The walk takes place at night, starting and ending at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church and taking Londoners on either a 10km, half marathon or full marathon route which will simultaneously raise funds and give participants the chance to reflect on the experience of people who are homeless.
Fri 10th March 2023
St Martin-in-the-Fields Church, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ
londonhomelesscollective.org
4. Play Holi at Cinnamon Kitchen
Vivek Singh is going big for Holi this year with a whole host of events at the City branch of Cinnamon Kitchen. The House of Holi Paint Pod will be popping up for the entire week, giving you a space to be showered in coloured paint. On 7th March, the restaurant will be hosting a Holi Supper Club, featuring dishes like Bengali steamed fish with coconut, mustard and chilli; chickpea gnocchi with yoghurt and spinach sauce; Kolkata style rich lamb curry; and gulab jamun cheesecake with malpua and banana ice cream, and if you want to learn to cook like that for yourself, Vivek will be hosting a Holi Cooking Masterclass on 11th March. If you can’t make it down to the City restaurant, all Cinnamon Collection locations will be serving up special Holi menus throughout March too, so you’ll still be able to get in on the celebrations.
Tues 7th – Sun 12th March 2023
9 Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4YL
cinnamon-kitchen.com
5. Be a Part of the Women of The World Festival 2023
WOW Festival has announced its 2023 headliners, with some exciting names making an appearance. Roxanne Gay (author of Bad Feminist) will be speaking about all things modern feminism, from politics to reality TV; sexpert, relationship advisor and author of The Big O, Oloni will be joined by Tolani Shoneye and Jordan Stephens (of Rizzle Kicks) to debunk taboos and take a dive into sex positivity; and Jane Garvey and Fi Glover will unpack some of the big news of the day with a live edition of their podcast Off Air… with Jane and Fi. The list doesn’t end there, with even more speakers and events covering everything from climate justice to equal education to mental health.
Fri 10th – Sun 12th March 2023
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1
thewowfoundation.com
6. Catch Screenings at the Science Fiction Film Festival
Following the launch of its blockbuster Science Fiction exhibition, the Science Museum is introducing its first-ever Science Fiction Film Festival. Over five days in March, a curated programme of sci-fi classics, from 2001: A Space Odyssey to WALL-E, will be shown at the IMAX alongside a series of panel talks from scientists, legendary filmmakers and actors who appeared in favourites from the genre. Expect appearances from the likes of Danny Boyle, Joe Cornish, Professor Lucie Green, Shameik Moore and Alex Winter to accompany unmissable screenings that include some European premieres.
Wed 8th – Sun 12th March 2023
Various locations
sciencemuseum.org.uk
7. Check Out This Hot Donut and Dessert Shop in Shoreditch
The female-founded and Black-owned Treats Club had been slinging sweet treats from a shop inside Netil Market but now Lungi Mhlanga is taking things up a notch by opening a hot donut and dessert shop in Shoreditch where, in a London first, every donut on the menu will be cooked to order. As well as donuts fresh out of the fryer, Treats Club will also be serving a range of hot desserts and puddings, including the UK’s first Donut French Toast, served with maple syrup, salted butter & cereal milk ice cream; Un-baked Alaska served with hot chocolate “crack” sauce; and Deep-fried Oreo donuts.
Opens Weds 8th March 2023
8 Hackney Road, London, E2 7NS
@thetreatsclub
8. Join the Six-Chef Pepper Party
It’s a regular feature on almost every dining table across the country yet pepper – both black and white – is often overlooked in terms of its variety and uses in the kitchen. Writer and academic Anna Sulan Masing is here to change that with a Pepper Party, featuring six of her fave London food people, who all also featured in her Taste of Place podcast that was all about pepper. The pepper-packed dinner, taking place at Spiritland in King’s Cross, will be cooked by Mandy Yin of Sambal Shiok, Motherland author Melissa Thompson, Tomas Heale of Näifs; Jenny Lau of platform Celestial Peach, and pastry chef Chloe-Rose Crabtree. Dishes include smoked lentil pâté plate with kimi fig jam & pickles, and herbal pork rib soup, with each cook sharing the story of their dish and their relationship with pepper. Spiritland will be curating the drinks list, and yes there’ll be pepper in those too, with cocktails like a pink & green peppercorn gimlet, on offer alongside craft beers and wine.
Mon 20th March 2023
Spiritland, 9 – 10 Stable St, London, N1C 4AB
spiritland.com
9. Explore This Huge Exhibition at the Beams
As a club, Beams has hosted shows from the likes of Honey Dijon, Skream, Maceo Plex and Skepta, and now the venue is adding exhibitions to its roster of events with the launch of Thin Air. The show will bring together the work of seven contemporary artists who use light, sound and experimental media to explore the boundary between art and technology, presenting them on a huge scale in the Beams’ interconnecting environments. The installations include a piece by Matthew Schreiber in which hundreds of lasers interact with light and haze in the space, Robert Henke’s work where rays of ultraviolet light paint temporary landscapes onto phosphorus dust, and sounds played at a specific frequency to encourage trance states and heightened imagination. Each offers a direct response to the massive warehouse setting, so it’s really going to be one to get lost in.
Fri 17th March – Sun 4th June 2023
Factory Rd, London E16 2HB
thebeamslondon.com
10. Try Crosstown’s Guinness & Baileys Doughnut
Crosstown is bringing its much-loved St Patrick’s Day Guinness & Baileys doughnut back for 2023 and with an improved recipe, it’s even better than ever. The fluffy Guinness cake dough is sandwiched with Baileys and chocolate ganache, dipped in Baileys chocolate glaze, and finished with chocolate curls. These sell out every year, so you’ll want to grab one as soon as you can.
Available 1st – 19th March 2023
All Crosstown locations
crosstown.co.uk