About Time: 5 Ways to Cool Down in London This WeekBy Alicia Grimshaw
Ok, we all love summer, but the heat is maybe a bit much now, right? Don’t get us wrong, these long summer days are miles better than the doom and gloom we get the rest of the year, but sometimes we need a bit of rest bite. Thankfully we’ve got you covered and rounded up the best ways to keep cool this summer in the capital.
1. With Gelato: Badiani Gelato
What: Badiani is an award-winning, authentically Italian gelateria, with nine colourful boutiques in London to get your artisanal gelato fix. The signature Buontalenti (named in honour of Bernardo Buontalenti, the Florentine inventor of gelato) is as stripped-back as it gets, with the shortest ingredient list on the gelato market: milk, cream, sugar and eggs. No dairy? No problem. Deliciously creamy, 100% vegan sorbets are made light and refreshing with seasonal fruits, or with Venezuelan dark chocolate
Where: Locations here
2. With Soft Serve: Fortitude Bakehouse
What: As if Dee Retalli’s Fortitude Bakehouse wasn’t already a crowd favourite, the team have gone one step further, serving up soft serve on a cardamom syrup-dipped, Moroccan seaside doughnut. With a mix heavy in cream and light in flavour, each soft serve comes with a choice of toppings; chocolate and hazelnut, cherry amour with baked almonds, orange curd with orange flower water and pistachios, rose jam with Turkish delight, and apple with burnt toffee cream.
Where: 35 Colonnade, London WC1N 1JD
3. With a Knickerbocker Glory: St JOHN’s
What: Nostalgic in its principles, the Knickerbocker glory ticks every box when it comes to unadulterated summer enjoyment. In St. JOHN’s own words, this dessert is ‘utterly unsharable’; raspberry ice cream topped with lemon curd, raspberry jam, crumbly shortbread, two scoops of ice cream, crème fraîche for balance and sherry-soaked almonds with the all-important cherry sitting atop.
Where: Locations here
4. With Frozen Cocktails: Mr Lyan x Lyaness 
What: Award-winning Mr Lyan and the team at Lyaness have launched the Lyaness Riviera, a pop-up bar at Sea Containers London serving cocktails that channel all the warmth and fun you need during hot, hazy days and balmy evenings on the riverside. Expect Frozen Riviera Margaritas (Tequila, bell pepper curacao, lime, agave) and Frozen Banana Coffee (Irish creamed whiskey, banana tea, coffee oil, amaro splash).
Where: Sea Containers London, 20 Upper Ground, South Bank London SE1 9PD
5. With an Iced Chocolate: Knoops
What: You know what time it is: iced chocolate time. Knoops is the UK’s first dedicated chocolate drinks brand knocking out hot, cold and iced chocolate bevs. The iced chocolate drinks are a lighter, chilled option made with a choice of six chocolate percentages, topped up with dairy or plant-based milk and poured over ice.
Where: Locations here
Photo Credit: Jamie Lau/Studio Lau
