Jump to: Residences and pop-ups | Events
Pop-ups and residencies in London are getting more interesting by the week. Now you'll see some excellent food popping up everywhere from disused restaurant spaces to residencies in pubs across town. We're rounding up some of the best below.
Joe Lippman at Big Night
Where: Hackney - 177 Morning Lane, London E9 6LH
When: Until mid-April
Chef Joe Lippman, of Boosa Feed (previously Duchy Grub) in Cornwall is taking over the kitchen at Big Night for three months. His London menu will be a combo of raw dishes and open-fire cooking, featuring dishes like octopus carpaccio with lemon, shallot and shiso alongside truffle arancina with truffle mayo and changing skewers.
Nargisse Benkabbou at The Pilgrm
Where: Paddington - 25 London St, Tyburnia, London W2 1HH
When: 4 February - 7 March 2026
The latest chef residency at The Pilgrm in Paddington is North African chef and cookbook author Nargisse Benkabbou. She'll be kicking off her new concept here, the Moroccan-inspired LADEED (which translates to "delicious"). Nargisse will be cooking up dishes with traditional Maghrebi flavours like M’simen Bread with cultured harissa butter and merguez Serrouda, which are chickpeas with merguez mince and harissa chile crisp.
Leo at Renegade Urban Winery
Where: Walthamstow - 7 Lockwood Way, London E17 5RB
When: 8 January - July 2026
Chef Richard Eversden, who is also behind catering business Cura, is launching his new residency, Leo at Renegade in Walthamstow. Here, he'll be cooking seasonal British and European dishes that are designed to pair well with Renegade's wines. The menu includes dishes like buttermilk wings and black pepper caramel, slow-cooked pressed lamb with ajvar and fennel and pecorino mac croquettes.
Big Plates at The Pocket
Where: Islington - 25 Canonbury Ln, London N1 2AS
When: 7-28 March 2025 (Saturdays only)
Big Plates, from Josh Ebsworth and Hannah Larkin, are the first residency in The Pocket's new upstairs dining room. Their food is all about delivering "classics with cheeky riffs" with dishes like mince on focaccia with a bruleed egg yolk or a butter chicken pie on the menu, as well as banoffee pie to finish.
Tasca at Giacco's
Where: Highbury - 176 Blackstock Rd, London N5 1HA 61
When: Until 31 January 2026
Originally, Tasca became a big hit at Cav in East London. Now chef and sommelier duo Josh Dallaway and Sinead Murdoch have taken over the kitchen at Giacco's with a menu that's inspired by the cuisine of Portugal and Spain. Dishes on the menu include fallow deer, beetroot, sorrel & cinnamon curry.
Macchina at Hometipple
Where: Walthamstow - 34 Orford Road, London E17 9NJ
When: From 9 January 2025
What was once Pasta Slut has now been renamed to Macchina and as part of that, they've taken over the kitchen at Hometipple. They're Sicilian-influenced, so will be serving up the bowls of pasta that they've previously been best known for alongside some classic Sicilian dishes.
Chick 'n Sours at The Big Chill
Where: King's Cross - 257–259 Pentonville Rd, London N1 9NL
When: Ongoing
Chick 'n' Sours are back, taking over the food menu at The Big Chill, its first ongoing home since closing the restaurants. The Chick 'n' Sours favourites will be back, including Kung Pao Disco Wings, the K-Pop Fried Chicken Sandwich and one of our all-time personal favourites, their Szechuan Aubergine. A selection of their sour cocktails will be on the menu too, including an exclusive Big Chill Sour.
Alessio's pizza at The Smuggler's Tavern
Where: Fitzrovia - 28 Warren St, London W1T 5ND
When: Ongoing
The latest pizza residency at this pub features Neapolitan pizzas with a crisp twist. Alongside classic pizzas, you'll find their truffle and mushrooms (also available as arancini) and a hot honey pizza.
Dante at Claridges
Where: Mayfair - Claridge's Restaurant, Brook St, London W1K 4HR
When: Extended until 31 March 2026
New York restaurant and bar Dante has set up in Claridge's restaurant. The team are putting on their signatures like the Dante Garibaldi with "fluffy orange juice" and there will be special dishes like the Dante X Claridge’s Sliders, a shrimp cocktail and the Dante Burger with smoked bacon.
Chet Sharma at Artesian
Where: The Langham, 1C Portland Pl, London W1B 1JA
When: Ongoing
BiBi's Chet Sharma is now in charge of the food at one of London's best bars, Artesian. He's serving up a menu of elevated bar bites in the style of his Mayfair restaurant. You'll find dishes like N25 caviar with coconut Shakargandi blinis, Wookey Hole cheese papads, a Stilton Malai kofta croquette and more on the menu here.
Paddywok
Where: Deptford - The Artworks Creekside, 3 Creekside, London SE8 4SA
When: Ongoing
This residency is all about Spice Bags. For those of you who've not been lucky enough to try one before, the Irish spice bag is a mixture of chips, crispy chicken, peppers and onion coated in a mixture of Chinese spice and chilli. Heaven.
The Guinness Bar at The Ned
Where: City of London - 27 Poultry, City of London, London EC2R 8AJ
When: Until April 2026
The Guinness Bar has taken over the Long Bar on the lower ground floor of The Ned. They're describing it as an immersive experience so there'll be all kinds of Guinness paraphernalia and old Toucan posters. There will be pints of Guinness, of course, but you'll also find it in pies, Guinness cheddar croquettes and more.
Short Road Pizza at Three Colts Tavern
Where: Bethnal Green - 199 Cambridge Heath, London E2 0El
When: Ongoing
Chef Ugo has pizza in his blood - his nonno owned a pizza restaurant in Naples so he ought to know his way around a pizza oven. Here in Cambridge Heath, he and partner Kate are serving up an Italian-American menu - think Romana-style pizza with Chicago Thin Crust. There are snacks and small plates too including farinata (the Ligurian chickpea flatbread).
Rake at The Compton Arms
Where: Islington - 4 Compton Ave, London N1 2XD
When: Ongoing
The latest Compton Arms residency comes over from their sister pub, The Gun. Rake is run by three chefs who have a lot of key experience: Jay Claus (ex-Peckham Cellars and Quo Vadis), Syrus Pickhaver (ex-Zebra Riding Club and Acme Fire Cult) and Peter Ward (ex-The Shard and Acme Fire Cult) Their menu focuses on whole beast butchery and sustainable Cornish fish and they're keen on looking at classic British recipes through a modern lens.
Mamapen at Sun & 13 Cantons
Where: Soho - 21 Great Pulteney St, London W1F 9NG
When: Ongoing
Mamapen is billed as London's only Cambodian restaurant, led by chef Kaneda who left an advertising career to become a chef, and has worked at Aqua Kyoto, Flank and From the Ashes before this. His goal with Mamapen is to champion Khmer food in London with dishes including Khmer fried chicken bun, panko pork toast and sour pineapple curry. Chefs with pop-ups here have gone onto big things so this is definitely one to watch.
Jackson Boxer at The Corner Restaurant
Where: Selfridges, 400 Oxford St, London W1A 1AB
When: Ongoing
Jackson Boxer (Brunswick House and Orasay) has taken over the corner restaurant, which has in the past seen residencies from Adesse and NYC chef Grant Clark. Under Boxer, the restaurant will be serving an "exclusive experimental, seasonal menu".
Mondo Sando at the Grove House Tavern
Where: Camberwell - 26 Camberwell Grove, London SE5 8RE
When: Ongoing
Sandwich slingers Mondo Sando serves up a roster of sarnies that include the Mondo Frango (chargrilled peri-peri chicken thigh, pea salsa verde, peri mayo, potato matchsticks, shrettuce) alongside burgers and sides.
Filthy Buns at the Star of Kings
Where: King's Cross - 126 York Way, London N1 OAX
When: Ongoing
Filthy Buns, led by exec chef John Gladwell, is now settling down for a residency in the at a new pub following their start on the street food scene. Expect plenty of beer cheese.
Liu Xiaomian at the Jackalope
Where: Marylebone - The Jackalope, 43 Weymouth Mews, London W1G 7EG
When: Ongoing
This was originally a street food stall, started by Charlene Liu and her flatmate Liu Qian, serving up a Sichuan menu based on Chongqing food. Expect a variety of Chongqing noodles, daily chef's specials and more.
F0.0D Fest comes to Market Place St Paul’s with hot tickets for £5 - last tickets remaining
Where: Market Place St Pauls
When: Friday 23 January
There are only a handful of tickets remaining for F0.0D Fest, landing at newly opened Market Place St Paul’s on Friday 23 January. Part of 'The G0.0D Week', the one-night-only event puts a ‘No & Low’ spin on street food favourites, with a welcome drink from Three Spirit, an exclusive tasting of Elton John Zero blancs de blanc, DJs in London from Sober Sound System Ibiza and exclusive dishes from vendors including Hot Scotch, Hide & Greek and Duck Shed.
Tickets are just £5, making this an easy Friday night win - expect good food, great vibes and a buzzing food hall. Don’t miss out.
Promoted
20-31 January (Canary Wharf) - During the Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival, Roe is running a chicken shawarma stand on the trail and as well as the shawarma, will have hot chocolate and sticky toffee pudding soft serve.
21 January (Chelsea) - Tom Kerridge's Chelsea pub The Chalk Freehouse is launching a book club, starting with Tom Sachs who will be discussing Tom Sach's Guide. It's paired with a three-course dinner, with dishes including slow-cooked shin of beef with carrot & pearl barley risotto. Tickets are £45 (or £80 with a book).
27 January (Soho) - Getting in on the whole tuna action is MOI's Tuna Chop Shop, where a 160-kilo tuna will be ceremoniously broken down by MOI’s master sushi chefs, followed by a menu featuring the best parts of the fish (£160).
31 January (Islington) - Join food photographer Patricia Niven & food stylist Katie Smith for a workshop where they explore how to take better photos using your smartphone camera. The half-day course costs £150.
3 February (Fitzrovia) - Kitchen Table and Aulis are teaming up for one night only for the next of Kitchen Table’s Stages of Nature cocktail series. Each of the restaurants' bartenders will prepare two cocktails, paired with a snack by James Knappett (£95).
19 February (London Bridge) - A Tribute to the Masters: Mentorship Dinner with Chef Pierre Koffmann & Claude Lamarche will take place at Sollip in Bermondsey and will, Woongchul tells us be "reinterpreting the masters' great Gascon legacy through the eyes of their students at Sollip".
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