8 best new pop-up restaurants and chef series to book now
Spring calls to mind new beginnings and fresh energy, and nowhere is that more evident than in London’s culinary scene, which is playing host to a range of tantalising new pop-up restaurants and limited-edition chef series this season. From truly inventive zero waste suppers at Silo to Angela Hartnett’s foodie book clubs and al fresco dinner parties, there’s something to suit every palate. Here, we’ve rounded up the best pop-up restaurants in London to book a table at now.
Shola at White City House
Until end of April
Popular Pakistani restaurant Shola is taking White City by force – not simply content with their buzzing White City Place spot, they’ll also be popping up for a stint at White City House throughout April, bringing their spice-laden dishes to the members’ club for a limited run.
While Soho House members will no doubt be delighted by the residency, it’s good news for non-members too, who will be able to grab a space if they book through Shola themselves on Instagram. The family-run restaurant is operated by husband-and-wife team Aqib Fayyaz and Aida Khan, and you can expect their signature fiery chicken pakoras and masala fries as well as fragrant curries.
2 Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, White City, London W12 7FR
sohohouse.com
Carlo Scotto at the Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane
Until 30 April
Ahead of the opening of his new London restaurant, Amethyst, in Mayfair this May, ex Xier chef Carlo Scotto will be previewing his menu with a month-long residency at the Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane. Designed to showcase his experimental tasting dishes, guests can expect a gastronomic journey of unusual flavour combinations.
The seven-course menu will combine the elegant simplicity of Nordic and Japanese cuisine with French and Arabic influences, featuring dishes ranging from a delicate yuba skin tartlet filled with scallops, galangal, matsutake and caviar, to silky black cod with caramel miso and ras el hanout beef with Medjool dates and nasturtium. Daring and adventurous, this is a culinary experience not to be missed.
Hamilton Place, Mayfair, London W1J 7DR
fourseasons.com
Turnips with Tomas Lidakevicius and friend
Ongoing
Family-run greengrocers Turnips has been a fixture at Borough Market for over 30 years – now they’ve upped the ante by opening their very own restaurant, enlisting the cooking expertise of former City Social chef Tomas Lidakevicius in the kitchen. And as if that wasn’t enough, they’ve now launched a new series of monthly chef collaborations too.
Kicking off with Alain Ducasse’s three Michelin-starred chef Jean-Philippe Blondet at the end of March, this is an ambitious offering, bringing in some of the capital’s top culinary talent. While further chefs are yet to be announced, if the first supper club is anything to go by – where Blondet served up caviar with fermented green asparagus from Provence and milk-fed lamb from the Pyrenees – these are bound to be some of the hottest tickets in town.
43 Borough Market, London Bridge, London SE1 9AH
turnipsboroughmarket.com
Outstanding in the Field
Saturday 16 July
Celebrated roving American dinner party purveyors Outstanding in the Field are coming to London this summer, bringing their unique brand of al fresco dining with them. Famed for their enormous communal tables that pop in some of the world’s most spectacular locations – from secluded vineyards and secret sea coves to farms and orchards – they’ll be taking over modern urban farm Sitopia near Woolwich.
Held in the site’s mandala garden, in which seasonal vegetables and herbs are planted in a circular plot, Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich from Honey & Co will be responsible for the food, which will be served amidst the bounty of spring and summer vegetables, young fruit trees and a few neighbouring grazing cows and sheep. Bucolic British feasting at its finest.
331 Shooters Hill, Welling, London DA16 3RP
outstandinginthefield.com
Easter Meal Kits from London's leading restaurants and chefs
Carousel x Alice Arnoux
12 - 16 April
Award-winning culinary hub Carousel is known for its revolving roster of guest chefs, but none is more hotly anticipated than their upcoming residency with Alice Arnoux. Originally from the French oyster town of Arcachon, Arnoux has a dazzling CV that includes stints at Noma and two Michelin-starred La Marine. Her Carousel takeover comes just before the opening of her first restaurant in Bordeaux.
During her week-long residency in the restaurant’s new Fitzrovia space she’ll be showcasing her instinctive way of cooking as well as her devotion to clean, simple flavours, with menu highlights including scallop carpaccio tacos with malt flatbread, beach-crab and shimeji consommé and smoked white asparagus with bone marrow.
19-23 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, London W1T 1RL
carousel-london.com
The Invasive Dinner series at Silo London
From 5 April
As the founder of the world’s first zero-waste restaurant, Douglas McMaster is known for his boundary pushing agenda when it comes to eco fine dining. His latest venture takes that to a whole new level: a supper club series that focuses solely on invasive species.
The innovative menus will use ingredients often perceived as destructive to our native species, including jellyfish, venison and freshwater crayfish, which are a major threat to British biodiversity. First under the spotlight is Japanese knotweed, with McMaster transforming the much-maligned plant into a rhubarb-esque jam that he’ll swirl through what he refers to as “the world’s most invasive ice-cream”.
Unit 7, Queens Yard, Hackney, London, E9 5EN
silolondon.com
Café Murano book club with Ravneet Gill
Sunday 24 April
Angela Hartnett’s monthly book club at her Bermondsey restaurant has hosted some illustrious guests in the past, including Mary Berry and Radio 4’s Dan Saladino. Next up in the series is British pastry chef and author Ravneet Gill, who’ll be discussing her latest book, Sugar, I Love You.
Hosted by food writer Mark Diacono, tickets include two courses of Café Murano’s hearty Italian fare paired with wine, as well a cocktail on arrival and a post-talk Q&A where you’ll get the chance to delve into the witty anecdotes shared by Gill in the book. If only all supper clubs could be this erudite.
184 Bermondsey Street, Bermondsey, London SE1 3TQ
cafemurano.co.uk
Tendril Soho pop-up
Ongoing
Award-winning chef Rishim Sachdeva – who learnt his trade in the kitchens at Chiltern Firehouse, Almeida and The Dairy, is going it alone with his Soho pop-up, Tendril. Billed as “a (mostly) vegan kitchen”, the dishes revolve around plant-based takes on British cuisine with a twist.
The residency at the Sun & 13 Cantons pub behind Carnaby Street offers up a seven-course tasting menu with the humble vegetable at its core, made up of imaginative dishes like crispy celeriac terrine with aioli and nigella seed, blue corn tostada with winter squash and chard kimchi, and roasted cauliflower with pickled lime and black rice. One meal here is sure to convert even the most devoted of carnivores.
21 Great Pulteney Street, Soho, London W1F 9NG
tendrilkitchen.co.uk
