Best New Bar Openings: September
Luigi’s Bar, Shoreditch
Jim Fisher, founder of all-day Italian café Spelzini, has launched Luigi’s Bar in Shoreditch. Inspired by Fisher’s Italian heritage and the conviviality of Mediterranean dining culture, Luigi’s will focus on spuntini, antipasti and trammezzini (small Piedmontese sandwiches), served alongside contemporary aperitivi and wines made with Italian grapes. The cocktail menu has been designed by Fisher and mixologist Fin Spiteri of Quo Vadis and Rochelle Canteen. It features drinks such as cherry shrub negroni, clementine Aperol shrub, and truffle and olive frozen martini. There’s also a dedicated vermouth menu. Guests can grab a seat on low-slung leathers sofas, at elongated marble tables or stand shoulder to shoulder at the brickwork-backed bar, where – in true Italian style – they can take their pick from antipasti and spuntini such as bresaola and mortadella, burrata drizzled with chilli oil, gorgonzola with figs and salty Calabrian anchovies.
154-158 Shoreditch High Street, Shoreditch, E1 6HU
Visit Spelzini.co.uk
Wun’s Tea Room & Bar, Soho
Z He and Alex Peffly, the husband-and-wife team behind Bun House and the Pleasant Lady Jian Bing Trading Stall, have opened Wun’s Tea Room & Bar. The downstairs space will open late, taking on the spirit of Hong Kong nightlife with a neon-lit bar, velvet seating and an eclectic soundtrack of psychedelic and go-go music. Bar snacks include nostalgic Cantonese dishes from Z’s childhood such as spiced peanut and fried whitebait, and XO bone marrow with fried mantau. The drinks list highlights more unusual Chinese spirits and ingredients: there’s the herbaceous ‘Green Bamboo & Quince’ with bamboo fenjiu, pue’er tea liqueur, fresh quince and mango; the floral ‘Chrysantheum & Haw' with Tou Mei chrysanthemum wine, haw liquer, plum sour and dehydrated haw; and the spicy ‘Plum & Coke’ with sour plum-infused baiju, liquorice, sour plum tea and five-spice syrup. A beer list focuses on Hong Kong’s burgeoning craft beer scene, showcasing breweries such as Moonzen and Young Master.
23 Greek Street, Soho, W1D 4DZ
Visit Tearoom.Bar
The Manor Arms, Streatham
This contemporary pub has reopened with a fresh look. Well positioned between Tooting and Streatham Common, it now offers vibrant interiors and an outdoor area for al fresco dining and drinking. Aiming to be a pit stop for on-the-go commuters, young professionals and families, it serves craft beers (including local pours from the likes of Brixton Brewery), Young’s classic cask ales, international wines, spirits and cocktails. Open daily for brunch, lunch, dinner and Sunday roasts, the pub serves a selection of small plates and sharing boards alongside British pub including: pork, apricot and sage sausage with crushed celeriac mash and onion rings; lambshank shepherd’s pie with rainbow chard; and Jerusalem artichoke and Swiss chard quiche with watercress. Its botanical themed Kite Room is set up for larger groups, while a new outdoor ‘lodge’ can be enjoyed through autumn and winter thanks to its fire pit.
Mitcham Lane, Streatham, SW16 6LQ
Visit TheManorArms.com
Golden Gai, Dalston
Angelina restaurant in Dalston has collaborated with artist Mark James to redesign its bar, the Golden Gai. Having spent many a night in Tokyo’s drinking dens, graphic designer and filmmaker James has used personal experience and a provocative artistic sense to transform Dalston’s smallest bar. Tokyo’s Golden Gai bars are known for their eclectic mix of artwork and enigmatic logos ranging from cats and acoustic guitars to painted lips and nudes. They’re frenetic and mysterious places, but friendly – patrons are encouraged to meet other revellers. With only six seats and a ban on phones, Angelina wants its guests to do the same. Wallpaper Tanuki, a mythological Japanese raccoon dog that brings good fortune to business, and the space now houses more than 50 of James’s ‘Dalston Fried Chickens’. A looped, slow-motion video installation adds to the surreal atmosphere.
56 Dalston Lane, Dalston, E8 3AH
Visit Angelina.London
London Fields Taproom, Hackney
London Fields Brewery unveiled its new brewery and taproom in the arches of London Fields this month. Head brewer Talfryn Provis-Evans has designed the all-new space to create and serve fresh tank beer ranging from IPAs to traditional lager styles and seasonal sours. Local pop illustrator Luke McLean has decorated the venue with his psychedelic art pieces – including a Love Not War mural – and the space will host a regular programme of beer events, tastings and tours. Prairie Fire BBQ has come into the kitchen, cooking up Kansas City-style BBQ dishes from 14-hour applewood smoked pork and hickory-smoked chicken wings to its famous 16-hour hickory-smoked USDA brisket. There’s also an option to take away canned versions of the beer brewed on site – perfect for continuing the party back at home.
365-366 Warburton Street, Hackney, E8 3RR
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