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.
A Rioja wine festival is happening this weekend
When: 19-20 July 2025
To celebrate a hundred years of winemaking, Rioja Wine UK are launching a brand new festival. 100 Years of Rioja is taking over Hackney Bridge on 19-20 July, with two days of fantastic wine, food and festivities. Hosted by TV’s Olly Smith and top Spanish chefs José Pizarro and Omar Allibhoy, festival-goers will be able to enjoy 50 amazing Rioja wines, expert-led masterclasses, live cooking demos, street food, live music and more.
Tickets start at £10, which includes £10 worth of wine tokens, while premium ticket options give you access to wine masterclasses too.
Promoted event
19 July (Hackney) - Chef Charles Bryant's lobster roll pop up returns, this time to Hackney coffee spot Sons. From midday until they sell out he'll be serving up lobster rolls with tempura claw, potato sticks and some Attilus caviar.
19 July (Crystal Palace) - The South London Wine Fair is returning to Crystal Palace Park. Ticket holders get to taste 100+ wines, meet winemakers and importers, and enjoy exploring the renovated Crystal Palace Bowl 'Laptop' stage. Entry is £53 which allows you to try 20+ wines and then get 50% off cheese and charcuterie boards at the Crystal Palace Wine Club bar afterwards.
19-20 July (Islington) - The National Geographic Traveller Food Festival will be at the Business Design Centre, featuring street food, wine tastings, masterclasses and more.
22-23 July (City of London) - Luna Omakase is launching a new Chefs' Collective series, starting with Michelin-starred Chef Taro Noguchi of Osaka’s Noguchi restaurant (his first time cooking in London) with a bespoke one-off tasting menu in collaboration with Luna's Executive Chef Leonard Tanyag. Tickets are £230.
25-27 July - The 11th London Wing Fest is taking place at Stratford Stadium. 45 street food heroes, BBQ teams, pop-ups and restaurants will serve up 500,000 chicken wings, while competing for Best Buffalo Wing, Best Wild Wing, and Best BBQ Wing. Tickets start at £33.
26 July - Winestock is a new black tie festival being held on Clapham Common. They're pitching it as "boiler room meets Bridgerton". Tickets start at £65 which includes entry, food and drinks - enjoy wines you've never tried before and unique foods to pair with them, all whilst being dressed to impress and dancing to live music.
30 July (King's Cross) - Adam Simmonds is teaming up with Lalani & Co tea house for a special event that pairs their teas with dishes like Lobster & razor clams with nettle sauce. Tickets are £88.
1 August - To celebrate the launch of their third London location in Kensington, Ta’mini Lebanese Bakery is offering a complimentary Date & Pistachio Pastry & Iced Coffee to the first 50 people through the door.
28-31 August (Tobacco Dock) - Meatopia is back and once again, they're bringing in some great talent for the live-fire-cooking festival. Richard Turner and chefs from Camille, Black Bear Burger, Watermans Arms, Darby’s Next Door and plenty from much further afield will all be coming to the dock. See the full line-up and get tickets.
3 September - Hedonism Wines are holding a Laphroig tasting at their Davies Street shop. They'll be serving up a curated selection of signature and rare Laphroaig expressions. Tickets are £75 per person.
9 September (Mayfair) - Two of the UK's three-Michelin-starred restaurants, Moor Hall and Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, are teaming up for one night only with a menu that combines the best of both restaurants' dishes. This kind of team up doesn't come cheap, mind - Tickets are £485.
Marie Mitchell at Hometipple
Where: Walthamstow - 34 Orford Road, London E17 9NJ
When: Until end summer 2025
British-Caribbean chef Marie Mitchell is popping up in Walthamstow wine bar and shop Hometipple for the summer. The chef also recently won the Fortnum & Mason Debut Cookery Book Award. Dishes on the menu here include jerk pork with coriander and lime sauce, baked whole escovitch snapper, and her signature cornbread with thyme cream cheese and pickled chow chow.
Dante at Claridges
Where: Mayfair - Claridge's Restaurant, Brook St, London W1K 4HR
When: Until 29 August 2025
New York restaurant and bar Dante have set up in the Claridge's restaurant bar for all of July. They'll be 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.
Battuta by Yannick Alleno
Where: Mayfair - Hamilton Pl, London W1J 7DR, United Kingdom
When: Until 30 September 2025
One of two Michelin-starred chefs transforming their terrace for the summer, Yannick Aleno is changing his to new offering, Battuta (named after a 14th-century explorer). Here, the menu is inspired by the Middle East, Asia, and North Africa. Dishes here include a sticky samosa filled with mango and black sesame and “Etlimek” flatbread topped with minced beef, lamb and a fresh herb yoghurt dressing.
Soleil at The Peninsula
Where: Belgravia - The Peninsula London, 1 Grosvenor Place, London SW1X 7HJ
When: 2 July - 31 August 2025
Seeming somewhat like a relaunch of his former restaurant Socca, Claude Bosi has transformed the terrace at Brooklands into Mediterranean restaurant Soleil for the summer. Dishes include a Socca signature, the slow-cooked lamb shoulder in Niçoise Sauce and they're bringing in a DJ too.
Joyeta Ng at “mu”
Where: Hackney - 432-434 Kingsland Rd, London E8 4AA
When: Until 26 August 2025, Mondays & Tuesdays
Chef Joyeta Ng will be in the “mu” kitchen on Mondays and Tuesdays in Hackney. She has an impressive background, working at Den in Tokyo, The Kitchen Table in London, The Chairman in Hong Kong and René Redzepi’s Noma residency in Kyoto. Expect a Cantonese-inspired menu, including fried stuffed chicken wings, steamed scallop with vermicelli and garlic, mapo aubergine and more.
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.
Tasca at Cav
Where: Bethnal Green - Arch 255 Paradise Row, London E2 9LQ
When: Until end 2025
Tasca is all about the food of Portugal and Spain and comes from Head Chef Josh Dallaway and Sommelier Sinead Murdoch, inspired by the family-run restaurants they've encountered on their travels. It's opened inside Bethnal Green bar Cav, where they'll be in the kitchen for a year, serving dishes like Orkney scallop barigoule.
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.
Chap Bistro at The Haggerston
Where: Haggerston - 438 Kingsland Road, London, United Kingdom E8 4AA
When: Ongoing
Having previously headed up the kitchen at Black Axe Mangal (where, incidentally, he trained up Will Poulter for The Bear), chef Angus Kitchin is now out on his own with this French-inspired residency in East London. A tight menu might feature roast meats and lentils or Saucisse de Morteau & Celeriac Remoulade. He starts 2025 focusing on moules and steak frites.
Mamapen at Sun & 13 Cantons
Where: Soho - 21 Great Pulteney St, London W1F 9NG
When: Ongoing, until June 2025
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.
Daccappo 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 Roman twist and you can order square pizzas by the slice her too. Look out for non-pizza specials like their fried cacio e pepe balls as well as their "slice and stuff" pizza style sandwiches.
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.
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