St Patrick’s Day is an annual holiday celebrating the patron saint of Ireland, who is credited with bringing Christianity to parts of Ireland, while legend has it that he also drove all snakes out of the country. Like many other celebrations and national holidays in the last 12 months, St Patrick’s Day 2021 is not going to be the all-out fun fest that it usually is - the pubs are closed, restaurants have shut their doors and the annual Paddy’s Day parade in the capital won’t be taking place (which means no Instagram snapshots by the dyed green fountains at Trafalgar Square).
Despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic doing all it can to stop anyone having the craic this year, the Irish diaspora across England will still want to mark this important occasion (after all, there are millions of Irish citizens or those of Irish descent living here). Luckily for anyone who wants to give St Patrick’s Day the respect it deserves, our nation’s ever resourceful restaurant scene has risen to the occasion, designing delicious Irish-inspired meal kits to make at home, so that you can celebrate St Patrick’s day safely this year.
Some of these meal kits come from renowned Irish chefs and restaurants, whereas others have seen well-established brands team up with famous Irish companies or producers to create unforgettable meal kits. It goes without saying that many of the meal kits we have included below are also throwing in cans of Guinness to enjoy together, because is any St Patrick’s Day celebration really complete without a pint of the famous black stuff?
If you are determined to celebrate St Patrick’s Day with some delicious food and drink this year (pints at the local pub can wait), then check out our pick of St Patrick’s Day meal kits below, which celebrate the very best of Irish produce.
Hop House 13’s ‘Dublin Born and Brewed’ Meal Kit
What: Hop House 13 has teamed up with three of the capital’s most exciting Irish chefs to create a three-dish meal kit that will ensure your St Patrick’s Day celebrations are one to remember. The kit includes Dublin scampi and chips by Anna Haugh (Myrtle), which sees monkfish in a Hop House 13 crumbed batter and served alongside proper Irish chipper chips. This is followed up by Patrick Powell’s (Allegra) black pudding burger topped with crispy shallots and spicy pickles, and rounded off by a crispy fried Crubeen bun complete with salted red cabbage and horseradish, courtesy of Nick Fitzgerald (Tacos Padre). If that’s not enough, the box also comes with four cans of Hop House 13 lager to toast to the occasion with.
How much: £65 (excluding delivery)
Delivery: Nationwide
Buy the Dublin ‘Born and Brewed’ Meal Kit
Rotunda St Patrick’s Day Meal Kit
What: Celebrate St Patrick’s Day in style and support worthwhile causes while you’re at it, with this five-course feast from Rotunda, which sees £15 from every sale donated to charities The Clink and The London Irish Centre. Inside your box, you will find a ‘make your own’ soda bread kit along with pink peppercorn. chive and smoked sea salt butter. Also in the box, there is home-cured salmon with celery root remoulade and wild garlic dressing, a slow-cooked bacon chop with colcannon, grilled hispi cabbage and gravy, plus warm apple cake with Baileys cream and shamrock macarons for dessert. If that’s not enough to tempt you, buying a box also enters you into a prize draw, with experiences up for grabs including the chance to host a summer barbecue for 10 at Rotunda.
How much: £95 (serves two)
Delivery: Nationwide
Buy the Rotunda St Patrick’s Day Meal Kit
Homeslice St Patrick’s Day Pizza
What: Homeslice will mark St Patrick’s Day with a limited-edition ‘Black and Gold’ pizza, which champions some of the best of Irish produce - think Clonakilty black pudding, Guinness braised sticky onions and sliced Yukon Gold potatoes, finished off with Fior di Latte mozzarella and Coolea cheese shavings from County Cork. It’s only available for the week of 17 March, so get your orders in quick.
How much: £13.95 for 12-inch or £22 for 20-inch
Delivery: London postcodes only
Buy: Order via Deliveroo, UberEats and Supper or collect from Homeslice sites in Covent Garden, Marylebone, White City, Shoreditch and City.
Bleecker Burger St Patrick’s Day Kit
What: The much-hyped Bleecker Black Burger has been off the menu since 2017, but it is making a return for one day only in celebration of St Patrick’s Day. The burger features Clonakilty black pudding (traditional Irish beef black pudding from Cork) sandwiched between two Bleecker patties and the DIY kit serves two. Your kit includes four 45-day dry-aged beef patties, two sesame seeded buns, Clonakilty black pudding and a bottle of Bleecker house sauce, plus all of the instructions you need to make an epic Paddy’s Day burger.
How much: £20
Delivery: Nationwide
Buy the Bleecker Burger St Patricks’ Day Kit
Honest Burgers Paddy’s Day at Home Kit
What: Honest Burgers has teamed up with Guinness and Ireland’s Handsome Burger to offer this at home meal kit which is sure to make your St Patrick’s Day celebrations go off with a bang. The limited-edition kit features the classic Honest beef patty, topped with Guinness candied bacon, shoestring fries, two-year-aged Kylemore Farmhouse cheese, Handsome Sauce and Guinness bacon gravy. The kit also includes a one-off rosemary chip colcannon (a twist on Honest Burgers signature rosemary chips) alongside even more Guinness bacon gravy for dunking. The meal kit can be adjusted to feed either two or four people and each burger comes with a can of Guinness to toast to St Patrick with.
How much: £26 for two or £38 for four
Delivery: Nationwide
Buy the Honest Burgers Paddy’s Day at Home Kit
Robin Gill St Patrick’s Day Meal Kit
What: Robin Gill (The Dairy etc.) is one of the UK’s most well-known Irish chefs and he’s teamed up with luxury delivery service Star Chefs to offer a sumptuous four-course meal in celebration of St Patrick’s Day. The meal begins with an Old Fashioned (made with Redbreast Irish whiskey), followed by a starter of County Cork gubbeen and smoked haddock gougere. Next up, tuck into cured smoked salmon with soda bread and seaweed butter, followed by a beef and bone marrow pie, accompanied by Kerrygold mashed potato, pot-roast cabbage and kale crisps. To finish up, there is chocolate mousse served with a sea salt and whiskey caramel sauce.
How much: £150
Delivery: Nationwide
Buy the Robin Gill St Patrick’s Day Meal Kit
Darby’s St Patrick’s Day Meal Kit
What: Not content with just one St Patrick’s Day meal kit, Robin Gill is also offering an at home feast from his Vauxhall restaurant Darby’s. Serving two, the kit includes a selection of starting snacks such as ham hock and Gubbeen croquettes, soda bread and potted salmon with pickled cucumber. These are followed by a proper starter of wild garlic soup, then a main course of beef and reduced Guinness pie, accompanied by hispi cabbage and parsley sauce. For dessert, there is a Guinness custard tart, while the kit also includes four cans of the black stuff to wash it all down with.
How much: £75
Delivery: London postcodes only
Buy the Darby’s St Patrick’s Day Meal Kit
Rogue’s London St Patrick’s Day Feast
What: The pubs may be closed this Paddy’s Day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate from home. Instead of visiting your local, mark the occasion by tucking into this three-course feast from Rogue’s London, which includes soda bread with caramelised onion and Guinness butter, a steak and ale pie with colcannon and grilled cabbage, and apple cake with Baileys custard for pudding. All you have to do is heat up the dishes when they arrive and the team are even throwing in a pint of Guinness too to wash it all down with.
How much: £30
Delivery: London postcodes only
Buy the Rogue’s London St Patrick’s Day Feast
For when we are able to celebrate in pubs again, check out our pick of the best Irish pubs in London.