The opening of two new neighbourhood French bistros in quick succession confirms the enduring popularity of classic Gallic cuisine in the British capital. Earlier this month, La Bouffe (pictured) launched in Wandsworth Bridge Road, Fulham, from husband-and-wife team Lawrence and Emily Hartley, who own the Provence-inspired Le Petit Citron in Brook Green. They say the […]
Ed Templeton of Carousel (left in picture) has linked up with actor and fellow Highbury resident Theo James (right) to launch a Rome-inspired local restaurant called Lupa, after the she wolf who nursed the ancient city’s founders, Romulus and Remus. The kitchen is led by Naz Hassan (centre), the Bangladeshi-born former head chef at Pidgin […]
Less than three months after closing his highly rated Islington restaurant 12:51, chef James Cochran is opening a new venture nearby – a ‘bistro pub’ called The Brave in a revamped Essex Road boozer. “We’re creating something really special here at The Brave,” says James. “Given all the love we received from locals when we closed […]
A new retro-bohemian lunch-only spot called The Yellow Bittern opens in Islington on Monday (21 October) – appropriately from the team behind Luncheon, a biannual cultural magazine devoted to art, fashion and food. Sharing the Caledonian Road premises with Luncheon’s office and bookshop, the restaurant has just 18 seats and will host two daily sittings – at […]
Wine bar and restaurant Goodbye Horses is to open in Islington this summer having already lodged its bid for the title of ‘left-field restaurant name and visuals of the year’. It is part of a threefold business from co-founders Alex Young and George De Vos, alongside pour-over specialist coffee shop Day Trip and gelato bar […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 19th May 2024 Evening Standard Roe, Canary Wharf Jimi Famurewa delivered the first verdict on the “unfathomably huge” Canary Wharf follow-up to St James’s Market hit Fallow, and it’s a certified thumbs-up: “Roe is both big and clever,” he […]
The team behind highly rated Islington desi pub The Tamil Prince has opened a follow-up nearby. The Tamil Crown has taken over the former Charles Lamb pub on Elia Street, near Angel station. The Tamil Prince is hailed as “truly brilliant” in the newly published Harden’s 2024 London restaurant guide, and was one of the […]
Musician YolanDa Brown has broken global fundraising records on Kickstarter to launch a new restaurant and music venue in Islington. Soul Mama is set to open this autumn with a menu inspired by recipes handed down through generations of mothers across the Caribbean, Africa and South America. Launched in partnership with her manager Adetokunbo ‘T’ […]
Three high-profile but very different London dining destinations whose futures have all been in doubt are set to reopen in the next few weeks: Soho’s historic L’Escargot, smart Islington brasserie Bellanger, and Clapton’s funky wine bar P Franco. L’Escargot in Greek Street, the city’s oldest French restaurant (est. 1927), is to open on Wednesday 24 […]
The historic Islington pie and mash shop M. Manze in Chapel Market is to reopen as a low-intervention wine bar serving British small plates by Alex Pashby of street-food trader The Beefsteaks. The pie, mash and jellied eels shop closed down in 2019 after 108 years in the face of steep increases in rent and […]
