The London pop-ups to catch in 2020

Tandoor Takeover at Bombay Bustle

Mayfair’s Bombay Bustle is teaming up with a number of top restaurants this month to offer a revolving menu of truly innovative dishes. Among those taking over its tandoor oven are Berber & Q (look out for a tandoori spin on the Middle Eastern joint’s much-loved cauliflower shawarma), Brixton small plate restaurant Salon (offering wild mallard with pumpkin dahl), Asian restaurant Wun’s Tea Room (serving up tandoori squid with prawn and egg fried rice) and seasonal produce specialists Native (whose wood pigeon kebab with burnt chilli and garlic naan you can count on to be one-of-a-kind).

Read more

Bubala’s first birthday: guest chef series

Marc Summers (former general manager of Berber & Q) and chef Helen Graham (The Palomar, The Barbary and The Good Egg), turned heads when they opened Middle Eastern veggie joint Bubala in Spitalfields last year. Serving up a selection of innovative, punchy dishes in a pared-back, trendy space, the team won over vegetarians and die-hard carnivores alike.

Bubala is celebrating its first birthday this October and in recognition of the milestone, it’s hosting a series of guest chef specials. First up, on Sunday 4 October, is Farokh Talati, head chef of St. John Bread and Wine, who will be putting a Parsi spin on some of the restaurant’s signature dishes. Following in his footsteps, on Sunday 11, comes Andy Oliver and Mark Dobbie, co-head chefs at Bubala’s Thai neighbour Som Saa. And lastly, on Sunday 18, arrives Gunpower executive chef Nirmal Save, who will infuse Bubala staples with Indian touches.

Each takeover has two sittings, at 12:30pm and 3:30pm, with a menu priced at £40pp.

The Botanist x Carousel

Marylebone creative hub Carousel has got its ever-evolving kitchen back up and running, and first to take the reins is Craig Grozier, founder of Glasgow’s innovative dining concept Fallachanchef and chef for the Bruichladdich distillery, producers of The Botanist Gin. Look forward to an imaginative, five-course tasting menu, guiding your taste buds on a culinary venture through autumnal Scottish produce. Highlights include Arbroath smoked sea trout with preserved gooseberries, oyster cream and kohlrabi.

The meal is priced at £49.50pp.

Nomadic Kitchen Table

Flee from inner-city life for a night of magical woodland dining. Nestled deep within 90 acres of woodland within the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, Nomadic Kitchen Table serves up a foraged feast cooked on an open flame, using wild seasonal ingredients. In normal times, Nomadic can host private events of up to 40 guests between its cosy tepee and rustic outdoor dining table, but is currently limiting bookings to groups of six.

The feast is priced at £90pp and includes a welcome cocktail made with local botanicals and a guided tour of the estate.

Chef Kerth Gumbs’ Guy Fawkes Foraged Feast

Part of Nomadic’s aforementioned supper series, firing up the stoves for one night only is Great British Menu 2020 finalist and executive chef of Ormer Mayfair, Kerth Gumbs. On Saturday 7 November, Gumbs will be treating diners to a special Guy Fawkes Foraged Feast, a four-hour immersive culinary adventure taking place beneath the trees. Once they've dined, guests are invited to linger around the stone firepit to watch the sunset and subsequent firework display.

Tickets cost £90pp and include a welcome cocktail, canapes, a guided foraged tour of the woodland, four-course feast and herbal teas. Maximum group booking of six people.

Crispin x Pleasant Lady Trading

For one night only on 22 October, pop-up restaurant space Crispin in Spitalfields is hosting a guest chef collaboration: Z He, chef-founder of Soho’s Pleasant Lady Trading and Chinatown’s Bun House and Wun’s Tea Room is joining Crispin’s head chef Naz Hassan behind the stoves. The six-course menu will feature contemporary Chinese dishes, traditional dim sum, and Z He’s signature jian bing dish (responsible for placing Pleasant Lady firmly on the foodie map). And for afters, look forward to a classic Chinese dessert of steamed milk mantou.

The six-course set menu is priced at £45pp.

Read more

Funicular Productions: The Murdér Express

Back by deadly demand: The Murdér Express is one of Funicular Productions’ signature experiences, and it returns this autumn, taking new cohorts of pleasure-seekers on ‘a journey of a lifetime’. Head back in time to the newly opened Pedley Street Station, where you’ll be among the first to ride the new luxury train: The Murdér Express. Sip on cocktails, tuck in to a fancy feast but don’t get too comfy, as the train’s name unsubtly suggests, something more sinister could be on board. Look forward to entertainment and storylines from a professional cast, and a multi-course meal from MasterChef: the Professionals finalist and long-term Funicular collaborator Louisa Ellis.

Tickets cost £60 - £65pp.

Cahoots: immersive dining experience

Cahoots, Soho’s beloved 1940s-themed speakeasy, has launched its first dining experience. Inspired by the WWII-set sitcom ’Allo ’Allo!, the new adventure sees diners welcomed into the London Underground-inspired bar by the disorderly husband and wife duo, René and Edith Artois. Here, they’ll enjoy a three-course feast while a talented cast resurrects memorable sketches from the wartime spoof.

No rationing here… instead, guests can look forward to French onion soup followed by a main of coq au vin then mille-feuille with fresh berries to finish. Cahoots being first and foremost a cocktail bar, the above comes coupled with a range of its signature cocktails.

The experience is priced at £60pp.

Fallow at 10 Heddon Street

Jack Croft and Will Murray, aka the chefs behind sustainability-focused restaurant concept Fallow, are taking over the kitchen at 10 Heddon Street. The pair, who met while working at two Michelin-starred Dinner by Heston, come to the Mayfair kitchen after a two-month stint at Crispin in Spitalfields.

The ‘root to stem’ and ‘nose to tail’ menu – which changes weekly and at least 50% of which is vegan – showcases the pair's pared-down, small-plate offering, and celebrates parts of animals and plants that would ordinarily be thrown away (hello, chicken scratchings and veal tail). Meanwhile, drinks place the spotlight on biodynamic and sustainable wine producers.

Brat at Climpson’s Arch

Chef-owner Tomos Parry is taking the Basque-inspired, wood fire cooking of his Michelin-starred restaurant Brat from its indoor location in Shoreditch and replanting it outdoors at Climpson’s Arch in Hackney. The pop-up is a chance to dine on the likes of whole turbot, spider crab, grilled peas and breads from a wood-fired oven, without having to worry about the safety of dining under one roof in close proximity to strangers. Bookings are being taken for groups of two, four and six people.

Eleven98 at Hackney Coffee Co

Hackney Coffee Co is a coffee shop by day, interactive fine-dining experience by night (on occasion). Going by the name Eleven98, the pop-up supper clubs are held roughly once a month and seat up to 20 guests at a time. Guests are welcomed with a cocktail on arrival – but are expected to bring their own drink of choice to see them through the rest of the evening – leaving the focus on chef Aidan Brooks’ six-course tasting menu, which is comprised largely of ingredients grown in the borough of Hackney.

Kitchen Story

Having most recently impressed with Journey, a pop-up taking punters on a culinary escapade around the world, immersive entertainment connoisseurs Lollipop are back with Kitchen Story: an all-new adventure that invites diners to cook their own meal on a special stone surface that doubles as the dining table.

The experience is suitable for groups of four to 32, with the team behind it keen to reassure prospective visitors that the artwork dividing the tables is made of ‘Covid-19 proof’ Perspex screens. Chef’s jackets, hats, utensils and ingredients are all provided.

Michelle Trusselle's Myristica supper club

Fine dining meets Caribbean soul food at Michelle Trusselle’s delectable supper clubs. Dishes are exciting, overtly colourful and impossibly pretty – arranged with intense attention to detail on the plate. The food is sourced sustainably, too, all found locally in a bid to mirror the freshness of meals served in the Caribbean. The supper clubs are held once a month and are regularly booked up well in advance, so hurry if you want to reserve a seat at the table.

Mamma Mia! The Party

First came the music, followed by the hit stage show, then not one but two blockbuster movies, and now you can be part of the party with a Mamma Mia immersive experience. London's O2 will host a theatrical and dining experience, which has already impressed in Stockholm. Mamma Mia! The Party invites audiences into a Greek island paradise, where olive trees, trickling fountains and trailing bougainvillea transport you to Nikos' Taverna for an evening of Mediterranean food and live performance.