London Food And Drink News: 24 September 2015

By Londonist Last edited 102 months ago
London Food And Drink News: 24 September 2015
Bompas and Parr Victorian breakfast
Edible attraction: A Victorian breakfast created by Bompas and Parr, expect similar things at their British Museum of Food (Greta Illieva)

Museum of munchables

London is to get its first mainstream food museum next month as culinary mavericks Bompas and Parr prepare to open the British Museum of Food at Borough Market on 23 October. The site on Cathedral Street will have four galleries with exhibitions including an immersive journey of food into the stomach, a walk-through tropical butterfly experience telling the story of pollination and an archive of historical British menus. The pair plan the site to be temporary, upgrading to a larger location after a year and establishing the museum as a major London attraction over the next five years.

Cake and death

London looks set to get a permanent ‘death café’ in the near future, providing a place for people to come together and discuss issues around dying. There have been regular Death Café pop-ups since 2011 when Hackney resident Jon Underwood came up with the concept, and next month will see a crowdfunding campaign launch to raise funds for a venue in central London.

House expansion

Soho House Group is gearing up to open a café in Kentish Town, says The Kentishtowner. The new venue will replace Caffe Kix on Highgate Road and will be the group’s fourth outlet in NW5 following restaurants Pizza East, Chicken Shop and Dirty Burger. Elsewhere, Code London reports that retail and workspace concept The Store, which is set on the lower levels of Soho House Berlin, is set to open in Soho — on the former Wagamama site on Lexington Street.

Darts and drinks

A darts themed bar called — wait for it — Flight Club is coming to Shoreditch. It will make the game more social allowing groups of up to 12 to play together, and will feature high-tech scoring and animated interfaces. Food and cocktails will fuel the fun, which is being curated with input from people behind ping pong bar Bounce and bowling concept All Star Lanes.

A load of balls

Meatball man Jez Felwick, the person behind street food stall The Bowler will open a restaurant in Covent Garden early next month. Called simply The Bowler, it will serve meatballs for breakfast, lunch and dinner to take away or eat in. Ball varieties will include chorizo and cheddar, vegetarian ‘Balafal’ and lamb and feta, which will be served either in pitta or in a box with salad. It’s being backed by none other than Russell Norman and business partner Richard Beatty, the duo behind Polpo.

Primrose produce

A new weekly farmers’ market launches this Saturday in Primrose Hill, running from 10am-3pm. Offerings at the aptly named Primrose Hill Market will include continental burgers from The Frenchie, smoked salmon from House of Sverre, raw milk from Hook & Son and fresh fish from Channel Fish.

Beer bar

The team behind Tower Bridge Road’s Bermondsey Arts Club will open another site on the same road next month called The Other Room. It will open daily serving a healthy Californian-inspired menu alongside 50 different beers. They’re obviously counting on it being a success as a second branch is already in the offing, due in Bethnal Green before the end of the year.

New openings

This week has seen the launch of Vietnamese street food restaurant Vietfood in Soho, Lombardy bar and restaurant Il Cudega in Hackney, and Italian Canto Corvino in Spitalfields from the team behind Mancomio.

Today marks a trio of new openings. Piquet arrives on Fitzrovia’s Newman Street, led by ex-Plateau chef Allan Pickett. It will serve dishes influenced by both French and British cuisines. Black Axe Mangal opens in Islington, brought about by chef Lee Tiernan following a series of legendary Copenhagen pop-ups. Heavy metal sets the scene for ‘inauthentic’ dishes rooted in Turkish cooking along with cocktails from Ryan Chetiyawardana of White Lyan. And Drake & Morgan comes to King’s Cross as an eponymous new flagship for the bar group.

Next week’s openings include neighbourhood Japanese eatery Wazen in King’s Cross and cocktails and comfort food restaurant Dirty Bones in Kingly Court.

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.

Last Updated 24 September 2015