While 2024 hasn’t seen a flagship restaurant opening which has generated the media buzz that the Devonshire saw last year, or a flagship exhibition as culturally domineering as Marina Abramovic at the RA was, the slate of openings we’ve seen so far in 2024, both culturally and in the world of restaurants, show a breadth and depth of ideas and quality that could warm the heart of any London sceptic.
That diversity is on show in this week's guide: plant-based Caribbean food, a gorgeous boozer, thumping indie rock, beguiling new artwork and the glorious, enduring oddity of Eel Pie Island.
Elsewhere is world class theatre, an old favourite with a refreshing summer menu in Battersea and a bold new Cambodian arrival in Soho. As always, here’s everything to have on your radar for the week ahead.
The hot table: Veg and Tings
Brian Danclair has done wonders in Brixton Village. Fish Wings & Tings has become a stalwart of the village and its success saw the opening of Danclair’s Kitchen, a more grown-up take on the Caribbean food that put the restaurant on the map. Further expansion has arrived with Veg & Tings, taking over the old Eat of Eden site directly opposite the Fish Wings & Tings original. The menu, as the name alludes to, focuses on plant-based Caribbean classics: doubles served with a curried chickpea filling, aloo pies with spiced savoury potato and ital stew with black eye peas, stewed vegetables and curried mango. Danclair is doing everything an independent restaurateur should be doing, and his latest opening in SW9 is a must-visit.
Brixton Village, Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8PR, vegandtings.co.uk
The old favourite: Archway Battersea
Creating a joyful neighbourhood restaurant should be the goal of any worthy restaurateur (see above) and Archway has given a good fist of it over the last year. The menu changes regularly, which leads to frequent experimentation and refinement. Some things land exceptionally well, like a stuffed squid with tomatoes and herb oil, others, like the beautifully cooked onglet, delicious as it is, feel placed on the menu at the wrong time of year. But when the barometer rises and a cool, air-conditioned space is needed, sitting in a shaded-but-plush railway arch is a better idea than it might sound at first, and Archway is a confident, compelling option.
Arch 65 Queens Circus, Nine Elms, SW8 4NE, archwaybattersea.co.uk
The drinking den: The Parakeet
London’s love of a revitalised pub is boundless. From the Cadogan to the George to the Devonshire to the Hero, the past six years or so has seen the capital fall head over heels for a glossy boozer. The Parakeet, which opened in 2023, was of this breed: a charming colour palette encasing stained-glass lampshades, dark wood panelling, an uprated food offering and refreshed attention to detail on the taps. Much of the focus of the Parakeet has rightly been on the improved fare, thanks in no small part to chef Ben Allen, but the ground floor boozer is still a highly worthy drinking den in its own right.
256 Kentish Town Road, NW5 2AA, theparakeetpub.com
The restaurant pop-up: Smash & Grab at Sam’s Kitchen
Sam Harrison is slowly building a west London restaurant empire. His flagship spot on the Thames is steadily modernising the idea of a British brassiere, but it’s Harrison’s nearby Sam’s Kitchen which is set to host a new Smash & Grab burger pop-up this week. Smashed patties with meat from HG Walter, layers with American cheese, crinkle-cut pickles and burger sauce: the recipe is simple enough, but the results are glorious.
17 Crisp Road, W6 9RL, samskitchenw6.co.uk
The gig: Lawrence at the O2 Forum Kentish Town
Lawrence, the thumping pop-heavy eight-piece band which hails from across the pond, are in London for just a few nights this weekend. Their biggest hit, Do you wanna do nothing with me, was a soul-searching ode to romance with an upbeat inflection of big band brass, but their latest full record, Family Business is perhaps a more timely set of pop anthems. An antidote to the gloom of the modern age, this one should be a fun-loving riot.
July 5 and 6, 9-17 Highgate Road, NW5 1JY, academymusicgroup.com
The (other) gig: 20 years of Bloc Party
Few British indie bands have the cult fan following that Bloc Party has maintained. Celebrating 20 years since their debut album Silent Alarm was recorded (it was finished in 2004 but not released until 2005), the pulsing, lyrically flexible hit charted in more than 15 countries across Europe and beyond and went on to define the mid-Noughties indie-rock genre. Reliving the golden age of British indie, this weekend Bloc Party returns to London. Aside from a sharp set at Worthy Farm last week, they haven’t played in the UK this year, so this one is set to be very special indeed.
July 7, Crystal Palace Park, SE19 2GA, ticketmaster.co.uk
The theatre fix: A View from the Bridge
Dominic West leads the line-up in Lindsay Posner’s take on this Arthur Miller classic. The adaptation is perhaps a lighter take on the text, but West’s Eddie Carbone, the rough-and-ready longshoreman whose sexual jealousy over his niece Catherine’s feelings for their lodger Rodolpho, is a strong enough performance to lend the appropriate gravity required of the play. With Olivier and Tony Award nominee Kate Fleetwood (Harry Potter) and BAFTA Cymru winner Callum Scott Howells in the cast, there’s plenty to rave about in this production.
Until August 3, Theatre Royal Haymarket, SW1Y 4HT, trh.co.uk
The exhibition: Ryan Huggins, PLUTO at a. Squire Gallery
A tiny new gallery in the heart of Bloomsbury, a. Squire is located in the streets amid the throngs of Asian restaurants on Red Lion Street which cater for the student population nearby. It hosts some of the most interesting small shows around, and Ryan Huggins’ latest is no exception. Celebrating the Pluto sauna in Essen, Germany, this exhibition presents a lens into a world of unrepentant queer culture. His works offer support to the continuity of these physical spaces, which, in an increasingly gentrified and online world, are becoming rarer.
Until July 13, 3 Princeton Street, WC1R 4AX, asquire.ltd
The culture fix: Open Studio at Eel Pie Island
Each year, for just a handful of days, Eel Pie Island in Twickenham opens its doors to the outside world. Like all islands, it has evolved in its own way, unique to the mainland, and the artist studios here are a must-visit for any Londoner. From ceramics and woodwork to painting and sculpture, the art and the craft of the residents of Eel Pie are of the joyfully diverse kind, and on the rare occasions that the island is open to the outside world, it’s well worth a visit.
July 6 & 7, Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, TW1 3DY, eelpieislandartists.co.uk
The sporting fix: Wimbledon
Perhaps the only thing more British than the Wimbledon Championship itself, replete as it is with strawberries and cream, is that the Wimbledon Championship has released a “guide to queuing” advising visitors on what to expect at the lengthy line in SW19. But go, queue, dress up, make an occasion out of it, or enter a competition to win some hospitality tickets, or watch it on a big outdoor screen at one of the many venues across town. It’s the major everyone wants to win for a reason and this year, particularly in the women’s singles, the tournament winner is far from a sure thing. Get involved, watch and go.
Until July 13, Wimbledon, SW19, and shown across London, wimbledon.com
The must-visit residency: Mamapen at Sun and 13 Cantons
Cambodian food in London has relatively poor representation. Now though, the Sun and 13 Cantons is hosting the Cambodian pop-up Mamapen. Chef and founder Kaneda Pen notes: “perhaps more enlightening is that our cuisine, both in the motherland and within the diaspora, is not going to stand still”, which sounds as if his dishes of BBQ pork neck skewers, tattie mince noodles and sour pineapple curry aren’t slavishly authentic, though they still promise to lean towards delicious and desirable. It looks a treat, and it sounds like just the thing that’s needed to move the needle on Cambodian food in London.
