“Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!” will ring out across French bars and bistros once again this November – and one of London’s longstanding French restaurants is planning a particularly big celebration.
Le Garrick will mark its 40th anniversary with an all-day Fête du Beaujolais on Thursday 19 November, celebrating the annual arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau with a three-course menu for £37.
The Covent Garden restaurant has been serving classic French cooking in the capital since 1986, and Beaujolais Nouveau Day has become something of a fixture in its calendar. This year, with four decades of Le Garrick to toast, the restaurant is promising an especially lively edition.
Beaujolais Nouveau is released each year on the third Thursday of November. Made predominantly for immediate drinking rather than cellaring, the bright, youthful red is produced from Gamay grapes harvested in France’s Beaujolais region and bottled just weeks after the harvest.
Its origins are rather less glamorous than the international fanfare that now surrounds its release. The wine began as a simple, inexpensive way for local growers and communities to celebrate the end of the harvest, before developing into a worldwide phenomenon.
At Le Garrick, celebrations begin from 12.01pm, with a menu firmly rooted in French comfort food.
Starters include traditional French onion soup and oeufs en meurette – eggs served in the Burgundian style with a red wine sauce. For the main course, diners can choose from beef or mushroom bourguignon, boudin noir, or Toulouse sausage with mash.
Desserts include tarte au citron and pot au chocolat, while a selection of French cheeses is available for a £5 supplement.
Naturally, the new wine is the main attraction. Le Garrick will pour Vignobles Renaud Bodillard Beaujolais Villages AOC Nouveau 2026, priced at £10 a glass or £36 a bottle.
Produced using a rapid fermentation process, Beaujolais Nouveau is known for its fresh fruit character and is intended to be drunk young. Le Garrick describes this year’s wine as cherry red, clean and immediately approachable, with expectations high following favourable conditions during the growing season.
The restaurant plans to continue pouring the 2026 vintage throughout the weekend – supplies permitting.
For London Francophiles, it offers an excuse to embrace one of France’s more convivial traditions without needing to cross the Channel. And after 40 years in business, Le Garrick has another reason to raise a glass.
Le Garrick Fête du Beaujolais 2026 takes place on Thursday 19 November 2026 from 12.01pm. The three-course Beaujolais Nouveau Day menu costs £37 per person. Vignobles Renaud Bodillard Beaujolais Villages AOC Nouveau 2026 costs £10 per glass or £36 per bottle.