Peckham Arches | Sprawling Hangout Space
There’s nothing quite like drinking on a huge terrace.
Except drinking on a huge terrace that embraces the British summer… by adding a cover.
So it’s always a good idea to head to Peckham Arches, a South London venture for Bird House (the team behind The Hawk’s Nest in Shepherd’s Bush). In classic Bird House fashion they’ve taken over a suite of railway arches under Peckham Rye station and rejigged them into one huge interlinking hangout space; encompassing 500 sqm and with wiggle room for a mere 600 people. Bolstering its enormous garden terrace with two cocktail bars, a kitchen, and an art gallery/events space, there’s frankly an insane amount on offer at Peckham Arches. So when no one in your group has anything particular in mind for this weekend, you can easily reach a consensus on meeting up here.
Of course, what’s really going to make it Peckham’s de facto hang-out this summer is the new residency from lockdown success story and owner of the most infectious smile in hospitality, Ruben Dawnay. His ongoing pop-up in Brixton Village, Ruben’s Reubens, is still drawing queues months after opening, and now he’s dropping into Peckham Arches for the summer with a menu of smoked meats and BBQ’d veg.
Joined by a chorus of pulled pork or mushroom buns and a healthy portion of tiramisu, the signature meat platter is loaded with a smoked 1/4 chicken, lamb sausage, and pulled pork shoulder, while over in the veggie corner there’s charred hispi cabbage, smoked oyster mushrooms, and BBQ cauliflower – all served with charred flatbread, pickles and mustard BBQ sauce.
As for drinks? There’s natural wines, ‘regular’ wines, beers and cocktails, the latter of which include a few refreshing mezcal and tequila numbers like a picante, a grapefruit margarita and a passion fruit mezcalita.
But don’t pass off Peckham Arches solely as a drinking and dining destination. Expect frequent exhibitions at the Peckham Arches Gallery – a no-frills, white walled, blank canvas affair that hangs and displays work from local artists – and a varied mix of events (we’ve even hosted life drawing, a comedy festival and a talk for Nudge Members with the School of Life there). There’s DJs on weekends, sports screenings, and daytime parties on the regs here too.
So, yeah… Peckham Arches is anything but regular.
NOTE: Peckham Arches is open from Fri-Sun. Ruben’s BBQ pop-up starts 1st May. You can find out more and make a booking on their website HERE.
Peckham Arches | Blenheim Grove, London SE15 4QN
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