There must be something in the average Londoner’s wiring that makes a pop-up more exciting than a permanent fixture. Perhaps the sense of urgency that comes with a pop-up is the only pull great enough to tear us away from our favourite new Netflix series; perhaps we can only appreciate something when its time is limited; perhaps we understand that you can have too much of a good thing. Or maybe we just get bored easily. Whatever the reason, we’re suckers for pop-ups and this line-up has seriously got us salivating.
1. Orange St. Kitchen’s Taco Tuesdays
The Joker of Penton Street, 58 Penton Street, London N1 9PZ
2. The Plot Twist’s Pasta ‘n’ Goulash
You might have heard us raving about the previous stint The Plot Twist ran in Holborn last year. Well, we’re over the moon to tell you that they’re back, serving hungry frost-bitten Londoners the most heart-warming dishes from Italy and Hungary. Think plenty of pasta and plenty of goulash. For those of you who don’t know, their goulash is served up in a bowl made out of bread. I repeat – a bowl made out of bread. DREAM. They’re keeping some of their favourites on the new menu, as well as adding some equally as mouth-watering new dishes, all served with a cherry-picked selection of Hungarian and Italian wines. The pop-up restaurant will open from 8th February and will be taking bookings from 30th January.
51 Red Lion St, Holborn WC1R 4PF
3. ‘The Balkano’ at the VAULT Festival
Fuelling the Vault festival, which brings an exciting mix of entertainment, music and comedy to Waterloo, is the Balkano. They’ll be serving up flavours of Eastern Europe, think souvlakis, meats, wholesome and warming dishes from the best of Greece, Turkey and Hungary. The plates will be a selection of ‘bitey’ and ‘mighty’ sized plates, from Hungary Hot Potato, Smoky Serb Salsa and flatbread, to Chicken or Courgette Souvlaki with Labneh. The Balkano will be open from 25th January and running until The Vault festival finishes in early March.
7AD, Leake St, London SE1 7NN
4. Kheera Kitchen Pop Up In Spitalfields
Housed in the Cafe from Crisis, the charity for homeless people, Kheera Kitchen are serving up flavoursome and authentically spiced Indian sharing dishes from Commercial Street, E1 until April this year. Pop down in the evenings between Wednesday and Friday to dig into some delightful freshly baked bread and big wholesome, healthy bowls of meaty and vegetarian goodness. The big bowls are £10 and sides are £5. All of the spices used by Kheera Kitchen are imported from India and the fresh produce is all locally sourced.
The Cafe from Crisis, 64 Commercial St, London E1 6LT
5. 2 Fingers Fish Finger Sandwich
The Canvas Cafe, 42 Hanbury Street, E1 5JL