London Food And Drink News: 2 July 2015

Ben O' Norum
By Ben O' Norum Last edited 104 months ago
London Food And Drink News: 2 July 2015

Razor clam, yellow pepper and black quinoa, as cooked by Virgilio Martinez at Central restaurant in Peru, served at Ibérica

Welcome to our weekly digest of all that’s happening in London’s food and drink scene.

Inside this week: Bermondsey, beer and the best of the best

Bermondsey’s on the market

As if Bermondsey wasn’t foodie enough already — what with Maltby Street market, the restaurants of Bermondsey Street and Borough just down the road — a new market is launching there this weekend. Druid Street Market will run weekly from Saturday and feature more than 10 stalls offering top produce and artisan foodstuffs. The selection includes British cured meats from Blackhand charcuterie, caramels, sherbets and sweets from Fatties, ice cream sandwiches from Blu Top, charcuterie and homemade chinotto (a soft drink similar to cola) from Hackney restaurant Lardo, organic fruit and veg and much more. There’ll also be a stall from TOAST magazine, founded by Miranda York who is behind this market.

National institutions

Monday saw London host the annual National Restaurant Awards, which lists the UK’s top 100 restaurants as voted for by a judging team of chefs, restaurateurs and food writers. London also managed to dominate over half the list, with the capital accounting for 51 of the entries. High-end tapas restaurant Barrafina Adelaide Street took the top spot, while The Ledbury off Gloucester Road, Gymkhana in Mayfair, Lyle’s in Shoreditch, The Dairy in Clapham and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea also made the top 10.

World’s best on a plate

If you’re keen to eat at some of the restaurants that topped the World’s 50 Best restaurant awards last month but can’t quite afford the air miles and tasting menus, then Ibérica is on hand to help. This summer the tapas group has partnered with a handful of the top rated restaurants across Spain and South America — including the world’s best restaurant El Celler de Can Roca — to serve tapas-sized portions of some of their signature dishes. They each cost £7 and all profits made on them go to charities as decided by the chefs involved. The Ibérica website lists the chefs, the dishes, the charities and which branches you can find them in.

Punk USA

BrewDog is swapping Scotland for the States at its latest bar, which will open beneath its Shoreditch branch on Saturday. Two-Bit will host a selection of American craft beers — mainly otherwise unseen in the UK — along with a big range of bourbon and a host of vintage arcade games. Brewers represented when it launches will include Almanac, Firestone Walker and Stone Brewing Co, while Downtown USA Racing, Space Invaders and Tron games will all feature along with pinball machines.

New openings

This week has marked the opening of Egg Break in Notting Hill, a joint venture between Soho House and Ennismore, the team behind The Hoxton hotel. The clue’s in the name with all its dishes prominently featuring the mighty egg, including several baps such as an egg, pork belly, sausage meat and sriracha mayo bap. Also new is The Arch, a new site from burger stars Patty & Bun in London Fields where you can get brunch of a weekend, and Balls & Company in Soho where almost everything served is round.

Today sees bar and restaurant Brooksby’s Walk open in a former public toilet in Homerton, with a team from Upstairs at the Ten Bells at the helm. The menu will feature fermented pork belly with crème fraiche and pickled red peppers, a kid goat ravioli and a parmesan custard with broad beans, peas and watercress.

Tomorrow marks the official opening of the second branch of Salvation In Noodles — this one in Finsbury Park — and the weekend will see American-style hot dog shop Can Dogs launch on Old Street.

Next week’s openings include Pidgin in Hackney, a collaboration between supper club hosts James Ramsden and Sam Herlihy which will have a supper club-style weekly changing menu; Greek grill restaurant Suvlaki in Soho; and a second branch of ramen restaurant Ippudo in Canary Wharf.

We round-up London’s biggest food and drink news stories and the latest new and upcoming restaurant openings in this handy digest every Thursday afternoon. See our previous editions.

Also see:

The Best Food And Drink In London — recommendations of where to enjoy the capital’s top food and drink, categorised by cuisine, food type and more.

New Restaurant Reviews — our views on London’s latest openings.

More food and drink on Londonist.

Last Updated 02 July 2015