There’s more to Jersey than pint-sized detectives. As we emerge from a notably long and nippy winter, nothing “symbolises the end of dark Winter days and the start of Spring more than a plate brimming with some Jersey Royals, and to celebrate this joy none other than Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant is celebrating with a Jersey-inspired menu for the whole month of May.

“How does this affect me?”, I hear you cry. Well as Jersey Enterprise are one of the regional sponsors of this year’s Real Food Festival – colloquially know as food and drink heaven, folks – they’ve generously come up with this most generous (as generous prizes go) prize:

The winner bags four tickets to this year’s weekend-long Real Food Festival PLUS dinner for four at Mr Oliver’s Fifteen eatery. Once there, the bar team will invite the winners up to learn how to make the cocktail that comes as part of their prize.

We also two pairs of two tickets for the festival only for runners up.

1. Email us on QDL@qype.com with the subject line: “I’ve died and gone to food & drink heaven”.

2. Tweet us with the phrase “@qypedoeslondon and the @realfoodfest have A Message To You Foodie!”

Competition closes 4.00pm, Thursday 6th May. Remember, it’s not about the winning – it’s the taking part.

Thinking of lounging about in a pub beer garden all weekend? I honestly don’t blame you. But, if you want to do something a little more fun, there’s a couple of shop events on that you might want to check out. You can lounge in the beer garden once you’ve spent all of your money.

Orla Kiely Sample Sale

Orla Kiely is a style icon. Her work sells in major art galleries and shops. But it’s high end, and very collectable. Meaning that it’s not something that’s readily affordable. But hurrah for sample sales! Yay! The sample sale at Chelsea Town Hall runs until May 2nd, so pop along to grab yourself a fancy bargain.

More sample sales…

On the QT is at the Old Truman Brewery.

Dover Street Market is having a sample sale too. I’m quite excited about this one.

Brixton Village pop-up

Brixton Village has been going strong for three months now, and frankly, turning Brixton into a must visit destination (and you thought people just went there for pizza and indie music). You do some colouring in, eat some cupcakes and pick up vintage dresses. Real vintage, not ‘let’s pretend it’s vintage and whack up the price’ vintage. I want to do all of those things. Especially the colouring in. That’s fun. But you’ve got to before 1st May – the pop-up is finished after that. I guess that’s the problem with pop-ups.

Looking for a bargain? Get jumbling!

There’s two major jumble sales this weekend. Wills Moody Rock ‘n’ Roll jumble sale is at St Aloysius Social Club in North London, and there’s the Rummage Arty Jumble Sale at Superette. The word rummarty is fun, let’s call it that. Sharpen those elbows, get rumage and snaffle all the goodies.

Now it’s time for the pub, yes?

Flickr image from daisybush‘s photostream.

There are some fabulous pubs on Qype. My favourite bit of Qype is the pub reviews. Every pub in the world will get a different review from someone. The reviews are fun! Ranging from mentions of slightly eggy smells, to pigeon poo, or the best roast dinner in London (they’re not all reviews of the same pub). So, we’re going to compile the best reviews in each area, and give you a great little pub crawl to play with.

Kicking off with Farringdon, because it’s so full of excellent pubs. This pub crawl is best played during an weekday evening or to save the school night hangover, a Friday night – a lot of the Farringdon pubs close at the weekend. If I miss any awesome pubs off this list, let me know in the comments (and frankly, be impressed with your staying power!)

The Dovetail. Start here. It’s at the top of a hill. Don’t ever start a pub crawl at the bottom of a hill. What did you have to say about it? “The Dovetail has an EXTENSIVE drinks menu – I’m getting thirsty just writing this.”

The Betsey Trotwood: I love this weird little pub. It’s fun and underrated. “Even if the food was vile and the beer was putrid, which neither are, the atmosphere is immense and it’s a joy to find a central London boozer with such character.”

The Gunmakers. No pub crawl in Farringdon should miss this pub. Top pub in Clerkenwell according to you guys. “The staff are friendly. Some of them are good looking.” – See, don’t you wanna go and check now?

The Coach and Horses: Yes, you’re double backing on yourself, but there’s a good reason. You’ll be hungry now. Get some food here. “Great burger, good quality meat, stacked with all the accompaniments , and a big bowl of chips – all served up without any fuss or la-de-da.”

The Jerusalem Tavern: “It’s a bit of a mecca for real ale enthusiasts.” This should be your next stop.

The Fox and Anchor: Opinions seem to have soured recently, but I still love this traditional pub with fancy food. “Tucked away near Smithfield Market (indeed, near the Smithfield pub), there is a gem of a pub. But shhhh. Don’t tell anyone.”

By now, you’ve had a good seven pints in you. And a decent feed! What more do you want?! Cocktails? Dancing? OK then. Head to Fluid for Space Invaders and cocktails. Just don’t blame Qype for your bank holiday hangover.