Your London Bridge Agenda

Your London Bridge Agenda | What’s On This August

At the top of our agenda for August, was to make an Agenda for August…

…to tell you about all the exciting must-do things happening in and around London Bridge for the next 31 days, including a classic London pasta restaurant opening its third location, bottomless brunch on a rooftop with skyline views, a major exhibition celebrating Africa through its own photographers, and Victorian steampunk DJs in a church attic where surgical procedures were carried out centuries ago… all capped off with a long overdue, much-welcomed bank holiday weekend (Saturday 26th to Monday 28th).

Here’s your guide to everything going in London Bridge this month…

Let’s start with August 1st, because a) it just sounds right and b) Bancone is finally opening a highly-anticipated third restaurant on this day in Borough Yards. The anticipation stems from the fact that the other two – Bancone Covent Garden and Bancone Soho – are mainstays in any self-respecting list of the finest fresh pasta joints in London (including ours). This branch will be offering up more of the same, but in a spacious railway arch setting, serving those signature silk handkerchiefs with confit egg yolk and walnut butter, alongside other popular dishes like the pea & ricotta ravioli and duck ragù fazzoletti. You can book here. 

Moving on up, to the London Bridge Rooftop – they’re testing how high altitude goes with bottomless brunch, and the results are as hazy as you’d expect. From 12-2pm on Saturdays and for £40pp, you can get unlimited beer, prosecco, mimosas, Aperol spritzes and their house punch, with DJs soundtracking the session. You’ll also get a Le Brunch Bun, aka a breakfast burger stacked with a pattie, bacon, cheese and a fried egg, to help pad the stomach. Then back down on ground level, in Borough Market, Rambutan – Cynthia Shanmugalingam’s seriously good Sri Lankan restaurant – is now open on a Sunday, for anyone who’s recently shown up there on the last day of week to disappointment.

Vinegar Yard – Haydon Perrior

As the England Women’s Football Team, the Lionesses, bid for World Cup glory down in New Zealand and Australia, plenty of places are giving you the chance to cheer them on to victory. Due to the time differences, the games are on during the day, with Vinegar Yard and The Bridge Tap hosting live screenings (with the option to go bottomless while you’re there – in drinks terms), while Hiver in Bermondsey is kindly showing replays in the evenings, for all those without the luxury of a late start or don’t, er, ‘work’ from home.

Not that it isn’t something half of London’s population celebrates every day anyway, Friday the 4th is officially International Beer Day – so treat yourself with a pint at one of the best pubs in London Bridge to mark the occasion (The Rake promises to actually do something special and is also dedicating a weekend – from the 10th-12th – to Britain’s seaside breweries). And if you wanted to go the extra mile, then there’s always, well, the Bermondsey Beer Mile…

Kiripi Katembo – Avancer, Un Regard © Kiripi Katembo Siku Foundation & MAGNIN-A Gallery, Paris

Turning our attention towards art, you really can’t miss the Tate Modern‘s latest blockbuster, World in Common: Contemporary African Photography. The aim is to overturn preconceptions of the continent which have arisen through decades of Western photography, and instead show the breadth of the region through the (very literal) lenses of the artists who live there.

Still with Tate Modern, but deviating ever so slightly from art for a second… as the Hilma af Klint & Piet Mondrian exhibition continues on (until 3rd September), there’ll be a Swedish-style kräftskiva party for Tate members on the 29th. You’ll get to feast on platters of cold crayfish (served with cheese quiche, creamed chanterelles on toast and globe artichokes with vinaigrette) alongside an ice cider masterclass, before enjoying a private view of the exhibition.

Artwork: © 2023 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by DACS, London. Photo: © Fashion and Textile Museum.

Over to the Fashion & Textile Museum, where we’re heading into the last lap of Andy Warhol’s textile showcase (closing 10th September) – a side of his artwork that’s been overshadowed by his ability to paint random objects like bananas or Campbell’s soup cans. If you’re feeling inspired, the museum is also hosting numerous workshops during August, including an introductory one-day session on the 17th on how to do your own silk paintings.

Meanwhile, free festival Summer by the River is also into its last month, and for August the outdoor movie screenings include Mrs Doubtfire (August 15th) and Champions (August 22nd), with other events like Fiya House Hip Hop Weekender (a weekend of dance battles, workshops and performances from the 5th-6th) and Loudest Whispers over London (an LGBT+ arts extravaganza on the 27th) also on the schedule.

And finally, to round August off… on the night of the 31st you’ll want to be in the Old Operating Theatre. While on the surface, that might seem kind of sinister (it is a 19th century surgery theatre in a church attic, after all, fitted with saws and brain drilling devices…), the quirky museum is putting on one of its famous lates. They’re some of the city’s most atmospheric events, where, after dark, you can sip cocktails from the Apothecary Bar and explore the interesting if slightly unsettling exhibits, all while DJ AndyRavenSable drops Victorian-steampunk beats in the background.

Sounds like bloody good fun…

The London Bridge Agenda

➊ Bancone Borough Yards | Opens 1st August | Arch 213, 18 Stoney Street, SE1 9AD

➋ Bottomless Brunch | Saturdays from 12-2pm | London Bridge Rooftop

➌ International Beer Day | August 4th | Pubs across London Bridge

➍ FIFA Women’s World Cup Screenings | Throughout August | Vinegar Yard, The Bridge Tap, Hiver

➎ World in Common: Contemporary African Photography | Until April 2024 | Tate Modern

➏ Swedish Crayfish Festival and Ice Cider Masterclass | August 29th | Tate Modern Members Bar

➐ Andy Warhol: The Textiles | Until September 10th | Fashion & Textile Museum

➑ Silk Painting Workshop | August 17th | Fashion & Textile Museum

➒ Summer by the River | Throughout August | The Scoop

➓ Bloodied Victorians: A Museum Late | August 31st | The Old Operating Theatre Museum

Looking for more ideas? Check out The Nudge’s full monthly agenda