Ten of the summer's hottest pop-up restaurants
These pop-ups are well worth popping along to over the next few months.
Pop-up restaurants have been all the rage for some time, from guest chefs cooking their finest dishes ‘for one week only’ to rustic beach shacks setting up camp for the summer. Here are some of the most interesting and unique limited time pop-ups around the UK for summer 2015.
Fishy business on Bryher
The Crab Shack (pictured above), on the island of Bryher in the Isles of Scilly, is a barn-turned-rustic restaurant, run by the award-winning Hell Bay Hotel. Its simple menu offers three classic dishes – freshly caught Bryher crab, mussels and scallops – plus wine, coffee, bread, fries, mixed salad, cheese board and Eton mess. Open Monday to Thursday evenings from May to September, this is fun, messy communal dining complete with aprons, shell-cracking tools and demonstrations.
Tandoor by the Thames
Carom, Soho’s pan-Indian restaurant, is setting up at Butlers Wharf on the Thames for the summer (pictured above). It’s their second pop-up after they had to leave their Wardour Street base in May following a fire. Partnering with Butlers Wharf Chop House and offering great views of Tower Bridge, Carom’s Indian ‘Spice Garden’ features fragrant outdoor plants and a quayside deck with pergola, lanterns and Colonial-style décor. Cocktails and food are available from noon to 10pm until the end of September.
Tea on the loch
The Willow Tea Rooms on Glasgow’s Sauchiehall and Buchanan streets are known for their Charles Rennie Mackintosh-inspired interiors. Now owner Anne Mulher has opened Mackintosh on the Loch at Loch Lomond Shores, with extensive views over the loch and the distant Highlands. The pop-up tea room will stay open until the end of October – although there is talk of this one becoming permanent.
Urban garden in Knightsbridge
If you fancy a posh pop-up, The Rib Room Bar and Restaurant at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in Knightsbridge has launched its Blooming Brilliance pop-up summer bar, its displays of botanical herbs and flowers evoking the manicured displays of Cadogan Place Gardens. Until 2nd August, the bar will serve botanical-inspired drinks such as Jack and Shrub, Basil Sour plus mocktails – think Chai and Tonic. There’s also a ‘Botanical Bites’ menu with dishes such as ceviche salmon plus a tasting board.
Social street food in Cardiff
The Summer Social hits Cardiff in July with a new beer garden, cocktails, ping pong, live music and DJs creating a festival feel at the Depot’s creative pop-up space. Each week welcomes five street food traders-in-residence alongside regulars such as Thai street food pros Brother Thai, Got Beer’s gourmet burgers, Little Bao Beep’s bao buns and artisan Pizza Pronto, not forgetting Science Cream’s liquid nitrogen ice-cream. It’s on Fridays and Saturdays in July and August from 5pm-11.30pm.
Hold food court in Leeds
Trinity Kitchen (pictured above), behind Trinity shopping centre in Leeds, is a tasty mix of street food vendors, trucks, restaurants and independent pop-ups, all carefully selected for their commitment to quality ingredients. Summer pop-ups until 26th July include Fat Annie’s hotdog stand, North African and Middle Eastern dishes from Café Moor and artisan bakers Tarte & Berry. On the last Sunday of the month, the five pop-ups are lifted into the first-floor kitchen via a hydraulic lift.
New England in old London
The Skylounge’s outdoor roof terrace at the Double Tree by Hilton in Tower Hill has been transformed into Nantucket Beach Club for the summer, bringing a taste of East Coast USA to the capital. New England-inspired dishes include lobster mac’n’cheese and Boston cream pie, and drinks such as refreshing Snow Queen vodka slushes and champagne cocktails. There’s a bowling alley, shuffleboard and even a lighthouse. Open 3pm-10pm Tuesdays to Saturdays until 30th September.
Shipping container ahoy in Cornwall
A recycled 20-foot shipping container on Crinnis Beach at Cornwall’s Carlyon Bay is home to Ostraca (pictured above), a licenced pop-up restaurant/bar serving fresh Cornish produce from fishermen, farmers and others. It’s the brainchild of Chris Ranger of Fal Oyster Ltd, supplier of fresh oysters to numerous top chefs. There’s an eight-seater indoor chef’s table (book online), plus space for 24 on the decking and 60 at the banquet tables. Open daily 10am-10pm weather permitting until the end of September.
Curry and cinema in Brighton
Outdoor cinema is nothing new but Brighton’s al fresco offering takes its food as seriously as the films. Summer movie-goers at Brighton Big Screen can choose dishes from award-winning restaurant Chilli Pickle, one of the restaurants setting up inside a shipping container. Other pop-ups include Simply Ice Cream, Soul Food and a beachside charcoal barbecue. It all kicks off on 14th August until 13th September with over 90 film screenings and a range of dining packages from £7 to £30.
Supper in a hot tub
Ever wanted to unwind in a wood-fired hot tub, sipping frozen cocktails and choosing dishes from a Peruvian-themed menu with tub-side service? Now you can at Supper Tub, which is open for one month from 3rd July in Hackney Wick, east London. There’s even a waterproof games menu – choose from the likes of Submarine, Duckie and Icebergs. Tickets cost £50 a pair or £150 for a tub which seats eight, for a two-hour session. Showers and changing room on-site and towels for rent.
A private picnic pop-up in the park
Pop up for a picnic where you want in London’s Green Park without having to put anything together. Call Mayfair hotel Dukes St James a day in advance for one of its bespoke gourmet picnics where a private butler will set up camp for you in Green Park with picnic blankets, shrugs and hot water bottles. It costs from £35 per person for two people and they can cater for dietary requirements. Picnic treats include mackerel salad, chicken, chorizo and pepper brochette and fine cheeses, and it runs until October.
Have you spotted any summer pop-ups we should know about? Let us know in the Comments below.
You might also enjoy:
Comments
Be the first to comment
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature