Welcome to our weekly round-up of all that’s happening in London’s food and drink scene.
Inside this week: food festivals, old pubs, openings and more.
Taste of London now open
London’s biggest and most prominent food festival returned to Regent’s Park last night, as Taste of London opened for the 11th year running. The festivities will continue until Sunday, with a host of the capital’s top chefs and restaurants taking part. At last night’s launch party, the prize for best dish on offer at the show went to Smithfield restaurant Club Gascon for its plate of crispy barbecued foie gras. The show details, tickets and full line-up are on the website.
Nanban lands in Brixton
Tim Anderson was crowned MasterChef winner in 2011, and he’s been a regular on the foodie pop-up scene ever since with his Japanese izakaya concept Nanban. Last year there was talk of a permanent Nanban restaurant opening up on Shoreditch High Street, but it fell through. Now, for the month of August at least, it’s found a place to call home in Brixton. Anderson will take over the kitchen at Market House bar on Coldharbour Lane for the month, serving ramen, karaage and yaki-curry among other dishes. He’s also hinted at a few Brixton-inspired Caribbean fusion recipes.
Historic pub sold
It looks like it could be goodbye to another historic London pub, as the Spirit Pub company (operating under the Taylor Walker brand) announce they have sold the 300-year-old Black Lion in Bayswater to a developer for £27 million. It’s a record amount for a central London pub, and looks destined to be turned into flats. Read more on the story and the pub’s history.
New pubs open
Out with the old, in with the new. St Barts Brewery opened up near Smithfield market on Wednesday. Billed as a British diner and craft beer pub, it serves breakfast and brunch before rolling into pub classics (including steaks from the market across the road) alongside a wide range of ales. And in Spitalfields on Tuesday, what was formerly The Princess Alice on Commercial Street reopened as The Culpeper. Set up in collaboration with Bash Redford who brought us pizza pop-up Forza Win, it is open from breakfast through to dinner serving British dishes with Mediterranean and North African twists. A rooftop garden provides herbs, fruit and veg, with at least something grown on-site being promised in each dish.
John Lewis goes Italian
The flagship Oxford Street branch of John Lewis seems to have its sights set on competing with the restaurant-filled food halls of Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, with the launch of two new eateries. Italian pizza chain Rossopomodoro and its sister venture Ham Holy Burger will both be launching there later this summer. It will be the first time the latter has appeared in the UK.
Mix ‘n’ match menu
The May Fair hotel close to Green Park station has announced that it will shortly open what they’re dubbing a ‘building blocks’ restaurant, where customers will be able to choose a main course meat or fish and then mix and match from 20 side dishes and 14 sauces or butters. While we’re told that this makes a total of more than a million combinations, we’re not sure the concept of being able to choose your own sauces and sides is all that revolutionary.
More openings
No-reservations spot Fire and Feathers launched in Fulham on Tuesday, serving authentic piri-piri chicken inspired by the Algarve. Over in the City, workers have gained a lunch option as Scarpetta opened on Cannon Street, serving authentic homemade pasta dishes from 7am to 6pm on weekdays. Later this summer, high-quality ham supplier Enrique Tomas will open a dedicated shop and eatery in Soho, the company’s first outside of Spain.
Talk to us
We still want your help to keep these weekly food & drink news round-ups as relevant, up-to-date, and interesting as possible. Got any top tips, local gems or foodie news? Tried one of the new restaurants we mentioned? Leave a comment below or hit us up at [email protected]. ‘Til next week…
