Welcome to our weekly round-up of all that’s happening in London’s food and drink scene.
Inside this week: waiters, awards and the Wick
AA is for awards
Not content with today’s announcement of new Michelin stars, this week also saw the latest batch of rosettes awarded at the AA Hospitality Awards. Big winners included Berners Tavern, which was voted London's best restaurant, and four restaurants which each achieved four-rosette status: Le Gavroche, The Greenhouse, Restaurant Story and Texture. New three-rosette restaurants included Chiltern Firehouse, Clove Club and Kitchen Table. River Café chef Ruth Rogers also received a lifetime achievement award.
Worth waiting for…
Today is National Waiters Day, don’t you know. It’s an initiative set up by Fred Sirieix (general manager at Galvin At Windows and star of the BBC’s Michel Roux’s Service) with a view to celebrating front of house staff and inspiring people about careers in the hospitality industry. There are a number of events taking place today and over the weekend to celebrate, though it’s something we’d like to see grow in future years. If you’re around the National Theatre tomorrow lunchtime, look out for the Waiters Day race, which will see teams of staff in fancy dress run between the theatre’s House and Terrace restaurants, taking orders and laying tables as they go, while carrying a full glass of water on a tray.
Hackney Wick market
This Saturday sees the launch of a new weekly farmers’ market in Hackney’s Cre-8 Centre. It runs from midday to 11pm, and features an array of food stalls, street food trucks and bars, alongside vintage clothes and other knick-knacks. Highlights include espresso martinis from Black Cab Coffee and a tiki bar.
Steak city
Forget stocks — the City is fast becoming all about steaks. Silk & Grain only recently launched close to Bank station, and now two more meaty restaurants have been announced for the area. A new Latin American-themed restaurant called Omnino Steak House has just opened on Leadenhall Street serving US, Argentine and Australian beef, but no British meat. In November ex-gaucho director Martin Williams will open steak restaurant M just down the road on Threadneedle Street. This will also specialise in steaks from around the world, offering just one cut from each of six different countries. We hope Britain is included this time.
Coming soon
Monday 29 September sees meal-in-a-loaf restaurant Bunnychow open in Soho and Japanese noodle bar Ippudo arrive in Covent Garden. On Tuesday 30 September US-influenced Sea Containers restaurant and Dandelyan cocktail bar will launch at the Mondrian London hotel on the South Bank. Meanwhile, further details have been revealed about the upcoming launch of Dishoom’s third site. When it arrives in King’s Cross in November, it will feature a cocktail bar known as the Permit Room and a Bombay-style juice bar alongside the main restaurant.
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…
