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Summer is here and so are a bunch of brilliant new restaurants, festivals, pop-up events and more food related excellence. We’re particularly excited about the sprawling new Dalston Yard just off Dalston Lane, which seems to have more places to eat than a single city borough. We’re not currently sure how we’re going to carve out enough time to munch our way through the whole space, but we’re going to give it a damn good try, starting with Denai Moore's vegan patty stand. There's also a BBQ to be reckoned with in Tottenham, as 12:51 main man James Cochran takes over his local and schools north London in the way of pineapple jam glazed pork ribs for a whole weekend.
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1. East London’s massive new food market
Dalston Yard, Dalston
27,000 square feet of exceedingly good times, Dalston Yard is a brand new foodie/cultural space from the guy behind the much-missed Street Feast (and in the same east London location). It opens on July 5 and will have kitchen residencies from the likes of Gizzi Erksine and Budgie Montoya, as well as proper restos such as Andrew Clarke’s chophouse The Butcher of Dalston, African diner Brothers & Sisters, luxe dive bar Little Gai, bakehouse/wine bar Roseau and Denai Moore’s vegan Jamaican patty shop, Flaky.
Hartwell St, London E8 3DU
2. The one that’s already booked up forever
Plates, Shoreditch
The first vegan chef to compete on BBC’s Great British Menu and 2024 Champion of Champions, Kirk Haworth (and his sister Keeley) are officially opening up their plant-based restaurant on July 3. It’s impressively booked out until February 2025, but if you’ve managed to score a seat at one of the hottest tables in town you’ll be eating dishes from his winning GBM appearance such as ‘Feast of Farah’ (a mung and urid bean lasagna, with charcoal, miso and chive sauce) and ‘A Taste of Unity’ (raw cacao gateaux with sour cherry and coconut blossom ice cream).
320 Old St, EC1V 9DR
3. The plant-based paradise
Holy Carrot, Notting Hill
Didn’t manage to get into Plates? Worry not; veg-lovers will be happy to discover that there’s another high-end vegan restaurant opening this month. With a menu from Acme Fire Cult co-founder Daniel Watkins, Holy Carrot has a similar lust for open-fire cookery and punchy, fermented things. A supper club since 2020, Holy Carrot’s forever home is on Portobello Road, and will feature the likes of asparagus with citrus & coconut butter, sweet potato hummus with bhel puri and seeded crackers and smoked beetroot with hazelnut crema. The cocktails should be enough to warrant a visit alone, made in collaboration with Shoreditch’s A Bar With Shapes For A Name. Holy Carrot opens July 16.
156 Portobello Road, W11 2EB
4. The three day BBQ
James Cochran’s Barbeque Weekender at The Palm, Tottenham
He might be head chef over at Islington’s 12:51, but Tottenham has James Cochran’s heart. The Time Out-approved Hot Chef is pitching up in his local pub from July 12-14 to serve a serious barbecue menu of 12-hour smoked BBQ beef brisket flatbreads, pineapple jam glazed pork ribs and chicken wings with James’ iconic scotch bonnet jam glaze and BBQ cauliflower with sambal and black-eyed pea hummus. Sides are no joke; with watermelon, szechuan, BBQ feta and herb salad as well as jerk fries. Oof. It’ll run from midday to 10pm from Friday to Sunday.
197 Philip Lane, N15 4HQ
5. The big Bavarian beer hall
Albert's Schloss, Piccadilly
Already a hit in Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool, Albert’s Schloss is setting up shop on the site of the old Rainforest Café on Shaftesbury Avenue. A massive two-storey Alpine-themed beer hall complete with five bars and relentless entertainment of the high-kicking cabaret flavour, this is your place for pilsner, schnapps and shuffleboard. The very opposite of a quiet night out. Open from July 5.
20-24 Shaftesbury Ave, W1D 7EU
6. The bean-based bash
Beanfeast, Woolwich
Curated by food writer Anna Sulan Masing, Beanfeast is a one day food and literature festival with an all-star cast at Woolwich Works on July 6. Chishuru chef Joké Bakare, critic Jimi Famurewa and authors Melissa Hemsley and Melissa Thompson will be taking part in a series of discussions, cookery workshops, performance and partying. Excellent if you happened to miss the first Beanfeast, which took place on July 6, 1773 when King George III pulled his barge into Woolwich and had a big old party fuelled by beans and bacon. A true beano.
Woolwich Works, 11 No 1 St, Royal Arsenal, SE18 6HD
7. The wine bar/coffee shop/ice cream combo
Goodbye Horses, Islington
A small plates resto and wine bar? In Islington!? Whatever will they think of next! Goodbye Horses might not have the most original remit, but this new home for former Papi chef Jack Coggins sounds like a pretty good spot to score some chicken fat and sardine toast, cornish crab blinis or oxtail ragout with broken rice. A project from restaurateurs Alex Young and George de Vos, the space will also include a coffee shop called Day Trip, with a garden designed by the Chelsea Flower Show champ Ji-hae Hwang, while a gelato shop called The Dreamery will open next door in August.
21 Halliford St, London, N1 3HB
8. The fishy American one
Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co at The Prince Arthur, Hackney
Most of us might be sliiiightly distracted on July 4 what with the genny lec, but after you’ve done your civic duty, celebrate US Independence Day down at The Prince Arthur aka one of our favourite gastropubs in London. They’ll be hosting a pop-up from Brooklyn-based sustainable seafood suppliers Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co, who’ll be serving up shrimp cocktails, lobster rolls, fish tacos and tuna smash burgers. Don’t worry, they won’t be bringing fish all the way from New York, but sourcing them from Fin & Flounder. Can’t make July 4? They’ll also be cooking in the Prince Arthur kitchen July 5-6.
95 Forest Rd, E8 3BH