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Club Naija
Veerle Evens
Lola, the chef behind Club Naija, has followed her roots back to Lagos for this convivial Nigerian supperclub. On the menu, you’ll find Yoruba classics like spicy groundnut soup, peanut barbecued skewers, dumplings, stew, and ‘puff puff’ for dessert – deep fried dough balls with tiger nut custard and pineapple.
Details: 8th January | Grounds & Grapes, 41 Honor Oak Park, London, SE23 1DZ | £35
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Monograph
We won’t write a monograph on this Japanese supperclub. Suffice to say that you’ll be treated to some of the country’s most delicious dishes (udon, soft tofu, matcha dorayaki) in a secret warehouse conversion with evocative Japanese A/V projections splashed across the walls. Oh, and it’s all BYOB.
Details: 17th & 18th January | Secret Whitechapel Location | £36.90
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Rande
Feeling a little Rande? You will be, because it’s a Mexican pop up restaurant that seeks to “explore life beyond tacos” in ever-changing, unusual venues, from laundromats, to warehouses, to distilleries. This month, they’re popping up behind a door in Hackney with a four-course Mexican feast.
Details: 18th January | Secret Location | £39.50
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Lunar New Year Banquet with the Dinner Ladies
2020 is the year of the rat. And if you can smell something, it’s probably the delicious feast that supperclub pros The Dinner Ladies are cooking up in its honour. They’ll be putting together a four course Chinese feast to ring in the new year, with welcome cocktails and live entertainment.
Details: 24th January | Secret London Location | £33
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Chubby Buddies
Chubby Buddies describe their cooking style as “American mess touched by Asian fluffiness”. And that comes across as being startling accurate when you see the dishes they produce: BAOgers (that’s a burger in bao buns) and BAOdogs (you can guess) and other such cross-Pacific fusion.
Details: Until the end of January | The Rose & Crown, 71-73 Torriano Ave, NW5 2SG
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Bar Under The Bridge
This one’s pretty self-explanatory. The bar: a sprawling lodge with cosy heated chalet booths, fleece rugs, and board games, serving up food from Baggio Burger as well as mulled booze. The Bridge: Hungerford, next to the Southbank Centre.
Details: Until January 5th | Under Hungerford Bridge, Southbank Centre, SE1 8XX
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Berber & Q’s Pita Takeovers
Berber & Q are gearing up to throw themselves their annual pita party. First, though, they’ll be letting five guest chefs take over their kitchens for a week, serving their own signature take on the dish before it culminates in the grand pita-off. This year, those chefs include Gunpowder’s Harneet Baweja, Bala Baya‘s Eran Tibi, and the duo behind the recently closed (and much-missed) Hoxton deli, Monty’s Deli.
Details: Every week in January | Berber & Q Shawarma Bar, 46 Exmouth Market, London, EC1R 4QE
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The Gun’s Winter Wonderland
The Gun in Spitalfields have pulled the trigger on their new festive pop up restaurant: a life-sized gingerbread chalet with edible walls. It’s got all manner of sparkling fairy lights, cozy throws, festive decorations, and bricks that look good enough to eat (and literally are). Thankfully, your hunger should be taken care of by their new menu, which includes braised beef short ribs and whole, deep-fried bries.
Details: Until the end of February | The Gun, 54 Brushfield St, Spitalfields, E1 6AG
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Pacific
What covers two thirds of the earth and can be found in Mayfair?
Pacific.
It’s taking up the space in Mayfair’s rotating residency 10 Heddon Street, and it’ll be headed up by Aussie chef Shaun Presland, who’se spent the last 25 years training under the best Japanese chefs on the planet… READ MORE
Details: Until March 2020 | 10 Heddon Street, Mayfair, W1B 4BX
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Pampushka at the Sun & 13 Cantons
We feel cockily confident in asserting that you’ve probably never had Ukrainian food before, which is a pity, because if it’s all as good as the stuff they’re serving at Pampushka – wild mushroom & tarragon dumplings; clay pot chicken with root vegetables; layered chocolate & cream cake – then we’ve all been missing out. Luckily, you can find out for yourself at the Sun & 13 Cantons for the next few months.
Details: Until March 2020 | 21 Great Pulteney Street, Soho, W1F 9NG
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Filthy Buns
Filthy Buns (aka John & Debs) are settling into the kitchen at Dalston’s 3 Compasses, and cooking up their ludicrously large, jaw-dislocating burgers. They’re all made with aged beef, and they’re serving something gloriously called a ‘Sunday Roast Bun’ at the end of the week.
Details: Until April 2020 | The Three Compasses, 99 Dalston Lane, E8 1NH
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Fodder
Fodder’s watchword is sustainability. And they’re going to be sustaining themselves in Brixton’s Shrub & Shutter for the next six months, serving an environmentally aware menu filled with foraged ingredients. Expect confit ray tail, wood pigeon yakitori, and beech leaf sorbet, all cooked up by a former Cub chef.
Details: Until April 2020 | Shrub & Shutter, 336 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8QH
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Emile
It was a sad day when Swedish restaurant Rök was officially beaten by paper. Specifically money. And the lack thereof.
But the good news is that something just as delicious is settling into the Scandi-chic space, at least for the next few months. Emile will be run by chef Damian Clisby (formerly of Petersham Nurseries) and wine man Nick Gibson (landlord at The Drapers Arms), and they’ll be putting together a wine-driven menu of Modern European dishes.
Details: Until mid-2020 | 26 Curtain Road, EC2A 3NY
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Seb Myers at P Franco
Celebrated wine bar P Franco regularly give up their kitchen space for a new chef residency – And currently, that chef is Seb Myers, whose London cheffing career started alongside Nuno Mendes at the iconic Viajante, and has since taken in Chiltern Firehouse and Sager + Wilde Paradise Row. His menu here changes daily, but you can expect a line-up of around seven or eight elegant dishes – which so far have included the likes of red mullet tartines; pork rillettes and cuttlefish rice.
Details: Throughout January | 107 Lower Clapton Rd, E5 0NP
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Mei Mei’s Street Cart’s Residency at LP Bar in New Cross
Mei Mei’s have already followed the traditional plan of opening pop up, then following it with a permanent restaurant: their north London pop up was followed by a brick-and-mortar joint… in Liverpool. Now they’re back, slinging excellent Chinese fusion dishes (the tacos are particularly popular) at LP Bar in New Cross.
Details: Throughout January | LP Bar, 401 New Cross Rd, SE14 6LA
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Hello Kitty Matcha Bar at Tombo
Sure, Hello Kitty doesn’t have a mouth, but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t start a pop up restaurant, which she has: it’s in Fitzrovia for four months. It involves all manner of poke, branch, ramen, and doughnuts. And it’s exactly as charmingly twee as you’d imagine.
Details: Throughout January | 4 Windmill St, W1T 2HZ
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Le Bun
French-American burger outfit Le Bun are taking over the kitchens at Fitzrovia’s Smugglers Tavern, serving up truffle honey bacon cheeseburgers; bone marrow loaded fries, and buffalo cauliflower wings. Oh, and a cheeseburger Scotch egg.
Details: Throughout January | 28 Warren St, Fitzrovia, London W1T 5ND
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Hideaway by Dabbous
Set in the culinary gardens of the ultra-luxe Chelsea Barracks development, Hideaway comes to us from Ollie “I collect Michelin Stars” Dabbous. He dipped his toes into the pop up scene here briefly during the Flower Show in spring, and now he’s back for something longer-term. You can expect light, cafe-style fare including black truffle Croque Monsieurs; Ibaiama sauscisson; and buckwheat pain au chocolats.
Details: Throughout January | Chelsea Barracks, Garrison Square, SW1W 8BG
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Prairie Fire at London Fields Brewery
Having been at the vanguard of the craft beer renaissance, London Fields Brewery are unveiling a renovated taproom overlooking their brand new railway arch brewery. And they’re not only filling it with dozens of brews fresh out of the tanks, they’ve drafted in Midwestern BBQ specialists Prairie Fire to take care of the grub. You’ll find Kansas City classics like applewood-smoked pork buns; brisket and pulled pork platters; hickory smoked chicken wings… and veggie options.
Details: Throughout January | London Fields Brewery, 365-366 Warburton Street, E8 3RR
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Luardos at The Gipsy Queen
Mexican street food afficionados Luardos have taken over the pans at Kentish Town’s Gipsy Queen, a cosy 1920s pub with a suntrap of a back garden. They’re serving burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas and sides like cassava chips, fried plantain and elotes – and on Tuesdays their tacos (baja fish, chicken thigh and carne asada) are £2 a pop.
Details: Mon-Sat throughout January | The Gipsy Queen, 166 Malden Road, London NW5 4BS
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Chinese Laundry @ 10 Coulgate St
After their restaurant almost burned down and its charred husk was then occupied by squatters, the seemingly irrepressible ladies behind The Chinese Laundry are back with a long term residency in Brockley’s 10 Coulgate Street. And unseated of a fixed menu, there’s a rotating roster of dishes on offer, all inspired by their recent trip across China… READ MORE
Details: Weds-Sun until February | No. 10 Coulgate Street, SE4 2RS | £35 (including corkage, if you want to BYOB)
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Liu Xiaomian at The Jackalope
It takes a seasoned chef to get the level of spices right in a dish. Luckily, Liu Xiaomian has two. The duo behind the noodle outfit have won themselves queues round the block for their ‘spicy, numbing, addictive’ Chongqing cooking. And they’re settled into the kitchens at Marylebone pub The Jackalope for the near future, serving delicious, freshly made wonton, spicy noodles and slow-cooked pork with Chinese vegetables.
Details: Tues-Fri, 12-2.30pm & 6-9pm | The Jackalope, 43 Weymouth Mews, W1G 7EQ
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Supa Ya Ramen
Ramen is getting souped up.
Because ex-Nopi, Patty & Bun and Hand & Flowers chef Luke Findlay is running his own underground ramen restaurant. It only takes place on Saturday nights, with four sittings and six people at a time. To make sure you’re one of them, DM him on instagram and he’ll reply with a booking and directions to find it…
Details: Saturday nights | Secret N16 Location
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Main image: Rande