The London pop-ups to catch in 2020

Wild By Tart's summer pop-up

Gourmet deli and restaurant Wild By Tart is bringing its wholesome offering outside this summer, inviting visitors to dine al fresco at its summer pop-up in Eccleston Yard, a stone’s throw from the permanent site. Look forward to unusual salads (including the heavenly sounding red gem and smacked radish salad with buckwheat and elderflower vinaigrette) and other seasonal dishes cooked either over charcoals or in a wood oven.

The drinks menu is spritz heavy, but wine and draught beers (aka the unexpectedly sought-after tipple of 2020) are also available. Advanced booking is essential and customers are advised tables may be moved indoors in the event of heavy rain.

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 summer pop-up is a chance to dine on the likes of whole turbot, spider crab, grilled peas and wood fired breads, without having to worry about the safety of dining under one roof and in close proximity to strangers. Bookings are being taken for groups of two, four and six people.

Elliot’s Ell Fresco pop-up

In a summer when international travel is a risky business, Borough Market restaurant Elliot’s is recreating the lazy holiday dining experience with its outdoor pop-up Ell Fresco. Look forward to a set menu including a selection of small plates and fermented sourdough pizzas, paired with natural wines and light cocktails.

Tom Kerridge’s Drive & Dine Theatre

Drive-in cinemas are the entertainment du jour this summer and here with the most tempting proposition is not an obvious cinephile, but the Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge. Transforming his successful Pub in the Park – a travelling gastropub that pops up in green spaces around the UK – into the Drive & Dine Theatre, Kerridge invites punters to park up and watch a classic film or live comedy show, while tucking into his culinary creations inspired by the menus of old-school American drive-ins (think gourmet sausage rolls and Kerridge’s signature cheeseburger).

The pop-up cinema is descending on two London venues – Syon Park and Selhurst Park Stadium – both from Tuesday 28 July to Sunday 2 August. Look forward to critically acclaimed titles including La La Land and 1917, as well as suitably retro hits including Grease and Back to the Future. Alternatively, come for the laughs and catch Mark Watson's Carpool Comedy Club, with special guests including Dara O’ Briain, Josie Long and Sophie Duker.

Screenings cost £17.50 (£5.50 – £7.50 for children) excluding food.

Pasta-making workshop with Carousel

If the lockdown has left you longing o give pasta-making a go, but unsure of where to start (should you invest in a pasta machine you may never use?), book on to a pasta-making workshop at Marylebone restaurant and event space Carousel. Under the guidance of expert chef Ollie, you’ll learn how to knead, roll and shape two types of dough – classic egg and simple semolina – which you’ll then transform into a selection of pasta shapes. Once formed, you’ll cook your creations before sitting down to enjoy them with a glass of wine. Tickets cost £60, and include a cavatelli board and a box of fresh pasta.

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.

Black Cow x Tom Dixon espresso martini pop-up

Espresso martinis on the canal, anyone? Premium brand Black Cow Vodka has partnered with designer Tom Dixon and the Coal Office Restaurant to run an espresso martini pop-up in Coal Drops Yard. Sip cocktails overlooking the river and, if you get peckish, look forward to tasty bites from the Coal Office’s Food Hub Café, including its exquisite stuffed Kubalahs (think Israeli sandwiches).

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 for a four-month residency ending in July. 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.

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.

Monograph’s Japanese Supper Club

Those with a penchant for authentic Japanese cuisine with a hint of the experimental should book in to one of Monograph’s Japanese Supper Clubs. The events are held in secret locations and are a chance to dine on an unusual multi-course menu: from a watercress salad through rich, broth-soaked mains and into sweets of the matcha, chocolate or sweet bean paste variety. The atmosphere is informal and relaxed, and guests are invited to bring their own drinks, too.

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.

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.

Gregory Marchand x Sushi Shop

Eleven years after he launched the first Frenchie restaurant in Paris (which recently won its first Michelin star), Gregory Marchand unveils a collaborative menu with mini-chain Sushi Shop. Expect five dishes that see some of Frenchie’s signature charm recreated in sushi format. One, the ‘Frenchie roll', takes the form of an uramaki roll filled with crispy fried chicken and avocado, and topped with sweet piquillo pepper and spicy mayonnaise. The menu has been rolled out across all Sushi Shop locations, including its London branches in Notting Hill, South Kensington, Hampstead and Richmond.