Câv255 is like a puzzle that hasn’t quite come together yet, but has some reallllly beautiful looking pieces.
It’s open now in a tentative soft launch, with a few rough edges and missing elements that are all set to snap into place in the coming couple of weeks – but for now, you can get an absolutely delicious cocktail in a moody, minimalist space, for a thoroughly reasonable price.
So what’s the big picture going to be?
Well, Câv255 is a Bethnal Green listening bar and food concept from hospitality duo Chris Tanner and Edwin Frost. You’ll find it on the famed stretch of hospitality gold that is Paradise Row in Bethnal Green. The railway arches there have long been a go-to destination for the discerning East London diner – over the years, it has been home to superb restaurants including chef Robin Gill’s Paradise Garage, and wine-lover’s favourite, Sager + Wilde.
Câv255 is opening on the site of the former Japanese Canteen, and its founders come with highly promising CVs. Frost is behind natural wine mecca Oranj and restaurant/wine bar/bottle shop/deli Half Cut in Islington, while Tanner is a co-founder of bar and whisky shop Dram in Soho – a bar which (as we near-psychically predicted) landed on the 50 Best Bars list within 18 months of opening. They’re both genuinely sharp operators.
The space, as it stands, is still unfinished, but you wouldn’t know it unless you were explicitly told that they have sound-dampening ceiling fixtures on the way (to help with the listening bar part of this equation) as well as some fancy decor too. As it stands, the place has a moody, warehouse-chic vibe thanks to the concrete floor and the c-shaped corrugated ceiling clasping it all together, but it’s all softened by the wooden furnishings, and the warm glow of scattered candles.
On the drinks menu, you can get some rather eyebrow-cockingly good cocktails, including a delicious Picante (with mezcal & bird eye chilli that’s softened by golden beetroot), and a velvety and thoroughly drinkable Peach Gimlet which involves peach soju, Benedictine, and (somehow) yogurt. The list is very concise – at just five drinks – so there’s no room for bystanders, and each cocktail pulls its weight.
The kitchen, which is still gearing up for full service, will be playing host to a series of residencies showcasing an array of global cuisines. Kicking off is chef Josh Dallaway’s Tasca, a culinary experience inspired by Portugal and Spain, which is currently bar-snacking the place up with a range of deeply snackable gildas; sage, liver parfait & fermented cep tartlets; chicken & wild garlic empanadas; and a Meyer lemon and almond tarta. Expect a whole lot more to hit the plates as soon as the kitchen is firing on all cylinders.
In the meantime? It’s a great place to pop in for a drink, and a taste of things to come.
NOTE: Câv255 is quietly open on soft launch right now. We’ll be back then with the full scoop when it swings the doors fully. In the meantime, you can find out more at the Câv255 website.
Câv255 | 255 Paradise Row, London E2 9LE
Looking for more bars pumping out great tunes? Check out our guide to the best London bars with live music
