Inside this week: starry chefs, sexy fish and steamed buns
Bao without borders
Little Bao has taken over Old Compton Street’s Soho Kitchen and Bar for a week, where chef and owner May Chow is serving signature bao including Szechuan fried chicken, pork belly and fish tempura, plus a number of ice cream-filled options for pudding. It’s no reservations, so just pop in.
Murata in Mayfair
Japanese chef Yoshihiro Murata — who holds seven Michelin stars across three restaurants in Japan — will launch a site in Mayfair this autumn. It will be called Tokimeitē, which roughly translates as ‘butterflies of anticipation’, and will be run by the Zen-Noh Group which is a wing of Japan’s biggest agricultural cooperative. It will serve modern dishes based on traditional Japanese cuisine, with wagyu beef and a large list of sakes and Japanese whiskies set to feature. This will be the second time Murata has opened a London restaurant but his original, Chrysan in the City, closed after just six months in early 2013.
Som more investment
Chef Andy Oliver’s long running pop-up Som Saa has been hailed as one of London’s best Thai restaurants — and we agree. Not content with its ongoing residency at Climpson’s Arch in London Fields, the team this week launched a crowdfunding initiative to raise the funds for a permanent central London restaurant. The original target was quickly smashed, and so they’ve upped it — you’ll want to act quickly if you fancy investing, but if not, you can look forward to more explosive Thai flavours soon.
Deathly dinner
Got a taste for blood? No, we’re not talking black pudding. Chop Shop on Haymarket is celebrating the release of the fifth series of Zombie show The Walking Dead on DVD by laying on a cannibalistic menu for a couple of weeks. There may not actually be any human flesh in the dishes, but they’ll be designed to seem like there is — anyone for cannibal chop with fresh blood and crispy ear or infested lice cream served with brain remains? The menu (three courses plus a cocktail) will run from 22 September-4 October and will cost £30 a head (that's per person, not for an actual head).
Fishy business
Caprice Holdings — the company behind The Ivy and J Sheekey — is gearing up to launch Sexy Fish, a new seafood restaurant on Berkeley Square. Due in October, it looks set to offer a slice of full-on Mayfair swank with a raw bar, a caviar list and the world’s biggest live coral reef tank. Just how sexy it is remains to be seen…
New openings
Last week saw the arrival of beer-themed restaurant Wahleeah in Fulham and eco-friendly tapas bar Poco on Broadway Market.
Today marks the official launch of The Truscott Cellar in Belsize Park, a wine bar from the team behind excellent Maida Vale gastropub The Truscott Arms, while the second branch of Anna Hansen’s Clerkenwell restaurant Modern Pantry also opens on Finsbury Square in the City.
Monday (14 September) will see the arrival of Beef & Brew in Kentish Town, serving craft beer and good value cuts of beef, while on Thursday (17 September) the second branch of Wahaca spin-off DF/Mexico will open on Tottenham Court Road.
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.
