Where to eat grouse this week: the Great Grouse Race is on

The annual Great Grouse Race brings a unique take on the “drive for freshness”. The foodie equivalent of the madcap Beaujolais Nouveau run, the eccentric British tradition of rushing the length and breadth of the country to provide pubs and restaurants with fresh young grouse on the Glorious Twelfth is decades old.

From moor to table: how the first grouse reach London

Gone are the days when the hungry would wait all night in London’s King’s Cross station for the night train from Scotland bringing the first grouse of the season. Nowadays cars and motorbikes fitted with electric chillers wait on the edge of moors to speed the first birds to restaurant tables. However, delivering the grouse in time for supper takes an enormous amount of logistical coordination. From Yorkshire it takes at least four hours to get to London – and from Scotland, even longer.

So which venues will be serving grouse this week? We have rounded up some options for you.

Which restaurants are serving grouse on 12 August?

The Kitchin, Leith, Edinburgh

The Jugged Hare, City of London – liver pâté on toast, Savoy cabbage and bacon, game chips, bread sauce and red wine jus

The Hawthorn, Shepherd’s Bush – birds collected from the North Yorkshire Moors that morning, served from 8pm; whole roast grouse with game chips, bread sauce and redcurrant jelly, £40pp

The Cinnamon Club, Westminster – clove-smoked grouse breast with chickpea bread and Rajasthani tarka dal

The Shed, Notting Hill – Glorious Twelfth feast, six courses with whole grouse main, £75

Grouse menus on 13 August

Rules, Covent Garden

Sussex, Soho – young Yorkshire grouse with elderberries, cauliflower purée and crispy bacon; only 120 birds across the whole group this week, so pre-order essential

Rabbit, Chelsea

The Pig’s Ear, Chelsea

The Black Lamb, Wimbledon Village

The Caddy Mann, Jedburgh, Scottish Borders

Roast grouse in Farringdon on 14 August

Bouchon Racine, Farringdon – roast grouse with Armagnac gravy, liver toast, pommes gaufrettes and bread sauce

A six-course grouse menu on 15 August

Sussex, Soho – separate six-course grouse menu with wine pairing

Grouse in Edinburgh on 17 August

Gleneagles Townhouse, Edinburgh

Grouse dinners on 18 August

Galvin La Chapelle, City of London – annual grouse dinner, five courses with paired wines, £165

Harwood Arms, Fulham