Beating the heat: UK restaurants spotlight cooling ingredients for July

Restaurants across the UK are helping diners beat the heat by building their July menus around crisp, cool seasonal produce. Think tomatoes, stone fruit, summer berries, raw fish – and ice cream, of course, as it’s also National Ice Cream Month.

Tomatoes feature prominently on this summer’s menus, with eateries working hard to source the most flavourful specimens. The quality of a tomato is largely determined by its growing conditions, with soil-grown, sun-ripened fruit watered sparingly generally regarded as superior to hydroponically grown varieties that are picked early and artificially ripened. They say scarring on the skin is a sign that a plant has developed higher levels of phytonutrients, the compounds associated with flavour, colour and aroma.

All Roads in Brixton has a Torched Mackerel dish that’s served on fried milk bread with a a tart confit tomato jam. Meanwhile in West London, Notting Hill’s The Barbary has a tomato salad incorporating several varieties, topped with a burnt tomato dressing and ricotta salata. The Duke Organic in Islington presents Burrata Murgia and Marmonde Tomatoes with Pesto, while Mayfair’s DakaDaka pairs king tiger prawns with datterini tomatoes and ajika chilli crisp in its Kreveti. There’s even a cocktail in Queens Park, where Don’t Tell Dad have added a Tomato Martinez to their drinks list.

Stone fruit and summer berries are making an appearance across a variety of savoury and sweet dishes. Bistro and wine bar Elsa, in Fitzrovia, is cooking up a Greek classic, Cherry Clafoutis, and back north at The Duke Organic there’s sweet and sour Rasparita on the rocks, as well as and a Basque Cheesecake with Blueberry Compote. Meanwhile, The Porter’s Table at the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Covent Garden has taken a savoury approach, pairing grilled asparagus with apricots, yoghurt and hazelnuts.

Raw fish is another chilled focus. The Culpeper in East London is serving a punchy Seabass Crudo with Ajo Blanco and Pickled Kumquats, Bristol’s Caper & Cure is using sustainably sourced fish, caught on the day, with datterini tomatoes, fennel and aioli, and The Barbary is offering Yellowtail Sashimi with Brown Butter Sauce and Pistachio.

During a heatwave, dessert is a dish best served cold, and several establishments are rolling out brand-new flavours for National Ice Cream Month. Pinch, the café at Maple Farm in Suffolk, is selling blackcurrant and apricot sorbets, while the Open Gate Brewery has turned Guinness into ice cream, as well as mixing up a frozen Lemon Sorbet IPA that combines beer with limoncello and fresh lemon. Further afield, Caper & Cure excel again with innovative flavours including Carrot Cake, Aperol Spritz Sorbet and a Passion Fruit Ripple created by head chef Matty Grove.

No doubt there’s more to explore in the capital while the pavements burn. Check out our coverage on the latest and greatest food and drink this summer. From cold noodles to terrace barbecues and rooftop tipples, there’s something for everyone.

Food Desk