Inside this week: politics, pizza and pop-ups
Political plates
You can get your munch on MP-style this month as the House of Lords swings its restaurant doors open to the public. The Peers’ Dining Room is taking bookings now for weekday lunches from Monday 21 September until Friday 9 October (excluding Thursday 24 September) and will be serving a specially put together seasonal three-course menu for £40 a head. What’s more, drinks are subsidised and thus thoroughly reasonable. The last time the restaurant opened to the public, earlier this year while MPs were dissolved pre-election, tables went fast so book quickly if you want a seat.
Restaurant remount
Le Chabanais — the much-anticipated London offshoot of acclaimed Paris restaurant Le Chateaubriand — is now officially no more. It launched just a couple of months ago but following a swathe of negative reviews the French contingent decided to part ways with the Brits. The site re-opened after a brief closure this week with a new name, a new chef, new management and a new menu. 8 Mount Street is now a ‘European restaurant’, with a particularly long menu (17 mains) taking in numerous French dishes along with steaks and plenty of pasta options. Its fate remains to be seen.
Pizza pop-up
Celeb chef Giorgio Locatelli is leaving his Michelin credentials to one side and bringing a pizza pop-up to Islington. Run with his wife Plaxy, the pop-up Pizza Locadeli will take over the former post office on Upper Street from 15 September up to Christmas. It follows a short three week pop-up in Marylebone last year and will major on wood-fired pizzas and also serve some pastas and salads. It will also offer breakfasts cooked in the pizza oven and a range of Italian cocktails — though perhaps not at breakfast…
Fortnum’s feed
Fortnum & Mason is launching a new restaurant later this year, which will replace the 60-year-old Fountain brasserie. Named 45 Jermyn Street — you can guess where it's located — it promises "old school glamour" and "understated sophistication", with dishes on the menu set to include baked eggs in avocado with Virgin Mary sauce, pan-fried sea bass with ravioli and cockles, and vegetable carpaccio with tarragon salsa verde. It is due to open in October.
Netil nosh
A chef from Hackney’s Mayfields, which closed down a year ago, and a sommelier who has worked at Spring and River Café are launching their own restaurant on the ground floor of Netil House in London Fields. Named Ellroy, the 50-seater space will serve food based on produce from across Europe and offer a single regularly-changing tasting menu, although diners will also be able to call in for just one dish. The wine list will offer 50 bottles with lots of options by the glass and several food and wine pairings.
New openings
The previous week’s openings have included the fourth branch of restaurant and oyster bar Wright Brothers in South Kensington, a second Homeslice pizza in Fitzrovia and revamped all-day eatery Penny at the Old Vic theatre, which has been put together by the team behind Milk in Balham.
Today has seen the delayed launch of beer-themed restaurant Wahleeah in Fulham from chef Dave Aherne. It features a list of more than 30 beers along with special beer and food matchings while many of the dishes are also cooked with beer.
7 September marks the official opening of Poco on Broadway Market, an ethical tapas restaurant from The Natural Cook aka chef Tom Hunt, who already runs one Poco in Bristol.
Next week will see the arrival of wine bar The Truscott Cellar in Belsize Park, from the team behind excellent Maida Vale gastropub The Truscott Arms. Italian restaurant Bernardi’s will open near Marble Arch, and the second branch of Anna Hansen’s Modern Pantry will come to Finsbury Square in the City.
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.
