Welcome to our weekly round-up of all that’s happening in London’s food and drink scene.
Inside this week: lobsters, alligators, goats and gin
Lobster love in
Two new lobster eateries open in the Tottenham Court Road area in the next few weeks. The first to launch is Lobster Kitchen, which arrives on Great Russell Street next Tuesday. It's styled as a ‘seaside shack’ and will serve a selection of lobster rolls as well as lobster mac ‘n’ cheese, lobster bisque and grilled lobster tails. Towards the middle of next month, Fraq’s Lobster Shack opens on Goodge Street. The focus here is on east coast US dishes, with lobster and seafood taking top billing. Around the same time, Burger & Lobster opens its sixth branch in the capital, on nearby St Anne’s Court in Soho. Lobster crawl, anyone?
Exotic eats
The first rule of Carnivore Club is… that you must be prepared to tuck into some fairly unusual dishes. The Blues Kitchen restaurants in Camden and Shoreditch are hosting the meaty club nights for the next three Tuesdays. On 28 October they are serving moose fillet steak with a peppercorn sauce and slaw, on 4 November Cajun alligator tail fillet is on the menu, and on 11 November you can enjoy a honey and bourbon-glazed bison steak. All the dishes cost £12.50.
Pub purchases
A plethora of pub changes is in store for London as music-led pub group 580 has announced the sale of its four pubs to Young’s. This means that The John Salt in Islington and The Defector’s Weld in Shepherd’s Bush will both become Young’s pubs, while The Owl & Pussycat in Shoreditch and The Fellow in King’s Cross will become food-led Geronimo Inns pubs. Separately, The Lady Ottoline in Bloomsbury has been sold by its parent company Noble Inns — which also operates The Princess Of Shoreditch and The Smokehouse — to the company behind Fitzrovia’s Newman Street Tavern.
Gin and grub
A new basement bar and restaurant will open on Soho’s Wardour Street next month. Launched by a brother and sister duo, it's called Old Tom & English, named after an old English gin recipe. The menu will be based around British small plates, with fish and chips, Welsh rarebit, cider-braised pig cheeks and jam roly poly all set to feature. They’ll be accompanied by classic and vintage cocktails such as barrel-aged gin, Negronis and gimlets, served from elegant decanters. Interestingly at a time when many restaurants are choosing not to accept reservations, Old Tom & English will eschew walk-ins, with a reservations only policy.
Awards #1
London restaurants did well in the Observer Food Monthly Awards last week. The Ledbury won the coveted title of best restaurant, Camden pub The Colonel Fawcett won best Sunday lunch, and Silk Road in Camberwell won best cheap eat. April Lily Partridge from The Club at The Ivy was also named best young chef. Nigella Lawson won best food personality and grabbed the headlines with it.
Awards #2
The annual Sunday Times Restaurant List was announced this week, naming 47 London restaurants in the UK’s top 100. That might sound fairly impressive, but this is the first time in the list’s history that fewer than half of the restaurants have been from the capital. The Ledbury continued its winning streak, making it to number four to be named London’s best eatery. Other high ranking spots included Chelsea Indian Rasoi at number seven and Mayfair’s Le Gavroche at 16. Simon Rogan’s Fera at Claridge’s was a new entry at 25.
New openings
St John’s Wood gastropub Crocker’s Folly has opened after a major revamp this week, while today sees the launch of beach-themed Italian restaurant Spiaggia in Fulham. Next week marks the opening of The Greek Larder in King’s Cross, Thai restaurant Smoking Goat in Soho, the fourth branch of Japanese robata grill restaurant Roka in Aldwych, and Danish restaurant Snaps & Rye in Notting Hill.
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…
