Parakeet to host the UK’s best gastropub the Unruly Pig on 4 June

Two of the UK’s leading gastropubs will join forces in North London for a one-off collaborative dinner on Wednesday 4^th June. The Parakeet, a Kentish Town pub and dining room led by head chef Ben Allen, will host Dave Wall, chef patron of The Unruly Pig in Suffolk, for an eight-course menu that blends their respective culinary approaches. The event will take place at The Parakeet, with seatings available from 6pm, and tickets priced at £95 per person.

The collaboration brings together two chefs from acclaimed pubs. The Parakeet, which opened in March 2023, has received critical praise for its contemporary dishes cooked over flame. The Unruly Pig, meanwhile, has been recognised by the Michelin Guide and has topped the Top 50 Gastropubs list three times since opening in 2015. It was also named GQ’s Best Pub of 2023.

The menu for the evening has been developed jointly by Allen and Wall, combining The Parakeet’s wood-fired style with The Unruly Pig’s nose-to-tail Britalian cooking. The meal will begin with two oyster dishes – one fried with nduja and XO sauce, the other served with cucumber and pickled elderflower. Diners will then be served two tarts: one featuring raw clam, fresh peas and sorrel, and another with smoked cod’s roe, seaweed and lemon.

Other dishes include chicken fat sourdough focaccia with chicken liver parfait, crispy chicken skin with walnut, tomato in broth with ricotta salata, Pecorino and Iberico ham, and mackerel with smoked buttermilk and courgette. The main course is a whole boned, stuffed and rolled suckling pig, accompanied by BBQ cabbage, lardo di Colonnata and gremolata. Dessert options include Madagascan vanilla panna cotta with strawberries, and a final course of blackened apple meadowsweet with sorrel granita.

The dinner will be paired with a selection of English wines by the glass, including Chalklands Classic Cuvée NV from Simpsons in Kent, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Danbury Ridge in Essex, an orange wine from Titch Hill in Sussex, and a low-intervention Bacchus by Blackbook Wines in London.

Chef Wall commented: “We’re really excited to be joining Ben and the team at The Parakeet for this special event. It’s a fantastic opportunity to collaborate and create some exceptional dishes together – it promises to be a great evening.” Allen of Parakeet added” “I’ve long admired what The Unruly Pig are doing – smart, ingredient-led cooking with serious flair. Their ambitious approach to Gastro Pub cooking matches our own and I can’t wait to have them in the kitchen to cook up something special together.”

Food Desk

Parakeet x Unruly Pig dinner takes place on 4^th June 2025, tickets for the event are available here. Drinks and an additional supplement course can be purchased on the night.