Hot in here
Auguste, Honey & Co, Updown Farmhouse, best roof terraces, MORE
WORK • Wednesday Routine
Soul seekers
SARIT PACKER & ITAMAR SRULOVICH • co-founders • Honey & Co
Neighbourhood you work in: Bloomsbury
Neighbourhood you live in: Stockwell
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
We try to hit all of our places every day – we have four sites, each unique and with its own set of needs. We kept them close to each other so we’re always a bike ride away: Honey & Co on Lamb’s Conduit St. is the core of the operation, serving the Middle Eastern home cooking we love the most. Across the road is Honey & Co Studio, a deli with diverse events from kimchi classes to life-drawing sessions. On Store St. is our café and bakery, Honey & Co Daily, where there’s always something baked that needs trying. On Great Portland St., we have our wine bar, a good place to end the day. There’s always something interesting and delicious to try – a new bottle from the Coravin. The other day, we had a ‘93 Chateau Musar, which was sensational!
What’s on the agenda for today?
We like to have at least two big projects on the go. The wine bar recently launched, so we spend a lot more time there these days. We focus on wine from the Middle East and Mediterranean, with a menu to complement it. We’ve had such interesting conversations with our guests, and lots of fun with our chefs and suppliers. The results are exhilarating – you can have Welsh lamb rack with fermented chillies and a glass of chilled Lebanese red, or British asparagus with Turkish pistachios and a crisp, Greek rosé – heaven!
Our second big project is our new cookbook, Honey & Co Daily, which just came out. It’s based on the menu we serve at our deli and bakery, and we have events to promote it all over the country and across the pond. The book is all about easy, accessible recipes that come together quickly but still look and taste amazing and help bring a joyous moment to the day – something we all need right now.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
What we look for in a restaurant is soul, and that’s becoming harder to find. Our favourites are local neighbourhood places or mom-and-pop eateries, and we love going back to old favourites rather than rushing to the latest opening. For a midweek meal, we’re very happy at Zipbab, Master Wei, Noodle and Snack or the Indian YMCA. For a more elaborate affair, the food at Brunswick House, the Canton Arms, the Marksman, The Quality Chop House or Trullo never fails to make us happy. A recent discovery is the Sunday lunch at The Camberwell Arms: no yorkies, but otherwise perfect.
How about a little leisure or culture?
We’re so lucky in London to have so much going on, and of such high quality – our Barbican membership is a gift that keeps on giving, and there’s something incredible almost every night of the week. On a sunny day, Cecily Brown at the Serpentine Gallery is a perfect blend of artist, venue and location – a must this summer.
Any weekend getaways?
Athens is fantastic for food and culture. It’s one of those places we always want to go back to, and recently it’s having a moment. Ergon House is a great place to stay with a wonderful food hall in the lobby; The Modernist is more discreet and achingly stylish. The new National Gallery, the Niarchos Center and the Museum of Cycladic Art are all worth seeing, and there’s an incredible cocktail bar scene in Monastiraki, with The Clumsies and Baba Au Rum leading the pack.
What was your last great holiday?
We always want to go back to Mexico; we’ve been twice already and left a bit of our hearts there. It’s huge and extremely diverse, and we hope to explore as much of it as we can in our lifetime. Every trip starts and ends in Mexico City, one of the most vibrant, interesting, fun and delicious places on earth. We like staying in the Habita Group hotels, as stylish as they are welcoming. Maizajo is worth going to at least twice – once for the ground floor taquería, once for the restaurant upstairs (on our latest visit we went back four times).
During the day, you can soak up the art and architecture in one of the many world-class museums and galleries – don’t skip the Museo de Arte Moderno in Chapultepec Park. For a surprisingly fun night, go to a Lucha Libre – leave your cynicism at the door and allow yourself to get carried away by the spectacular performance.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
Our biggest indulgence is art – we love the work of Kate Boxer. We have our eye on one of her prints so we’re waiting for a big birthday to splurge. If someone is looking for a gift idea for us, we wouldn’t mind one of Simon Gaiger’s works in our living room.
What store or service do you always recommend?
Everything on Lamb’s Conduit St., but La Fromagerie is our go-to for a culinary treat – beware the chocolate-covered grissini! Shrine To The Vine is the wine shop of our neighbours and friends from Noble Rot – they also supply all the wine for Honey & Co Great Portland, and the shop is a treasure trove of delicious things to drink.
Where are you donating your time or money?
We work with Coram’s Fields a lot – their work is so important. We think it’s hugely important right now to support writers and news organisations – on our Substack are Caroline Eden, Alison Roman and Mark Diacono.
WORK & PLAY LINKS: Art exhibition Bold Tendencies returns to Peckham car park after 20 years • Petersham Nurseries drops clothing capsule collection • Rent returns to West End after 25 years, with Stranger Things star • Revealed: how BT Tower could look as a luxury hotel • Do you have a mango dealer?
RESTAURANTS • First Word
No clowning around
The Skinny: Despite the French-sounding moniker, Auguste is actually Italian – it’s named after a clown in a painting that features in its colourful dining room (above). It opened in April just off London Fields, and retains the structure of the site’s previous resident, beloved seafood restaurant Papi.
The Vibe: Cheeky, casual, and cool, with loud music and bags of atmosphere. On warm evenings, the door is left open and there are tables outside for people-watching and grazing. Service is super-friendly, and there are seats at the dinky kitchen counter for a closer look at the grill.
The Food: Small plates showcasing the Italian region of Abruzzo. Sea bream crudo is fresh and juicy, with a surprising puttanesca salsa, while thick asparagus spears come with burstingly fresh peas, crème fraîche and wild garlic sauce. The signature arrosticini – flame-grilled, slimline meat skewers – come in three options: wagyu beef (buttery, soft, standout), lamb (flavoursome, a little fatty), and veal liver (for offal fans). They’re a little over-salted, but a fun format for sharing. There’s just one pasta dish on the menu, but it’s perfect: al dente cappelletti filled with soft cheese in a sensational lamb shoulder broth. To finish, mascarpone, spiced rum and coffee caramel tart is nicely fudgy.
The Drink: Start with a delightfully priced £5 Camparino and move on to low-intervention wines with a strong focus on Abruzzo. A speakeasy-style bar is set to open downstairs soon.
The Verdict: Great value for unusual fare in a lively spot that doesn’t take itself too seriously. –Laura Price
→ Auguste (Hackney) • 373 Mentmore Terr • Wed-Thu 530-1030p, Fri 530-11p, Sat 1230-11p • Book.
RESTAURANTS & BARS • Intel
FLAMING HOT: The team behind Cinder in St John’s Wood are opening No. Forty Nine, a bakery, all-day bistro and wine bar, a minute away from their original. With pastries and breakfast in the morning, from midday the restaurant will serve New York-style bistro dishes with Mediterranean influences including steak tartare with sour cream and onion cream. Opens next Tuesday; book.
SUSHI TIME: Milk Beach founder Elliot Milne is opening an affordable handroll bar in Soho. Inspired by the sushi bars of Los Angeles and Sydney, Saltwater Sushi will serve Australian-style handrolls, donburi bowls and nigiri. Opens this summer on Berwick St; join mailing list for free sushi.
ON PAUSE: In Shoreditch, celebrated bar Tayēr & Elementary remains closed after a fire earlier this month. Follow for updates. –Laura Price
LONDON RESTAURANT LINKS: Victor Garvey’s SO|LA relaunching in Notting Hill as chef’s counter • Moro celebrating 30th birthday with special guest chef series • Chefs disappointed as Michelin scraps green star for sustainability • Trullo painted red after Arsenal win.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Where Is My Mind
Pixies • Royal Albert Hall (South Kensington) • Thu @ 730p • grand tier, £123 per
Mighty Hoopla • Lily Allen, Scissor Sisters et al • Brockwell Park (Herne Hill) • Sat-Sun • weekend GA, £224 per
Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue • Royal Philharmonic • Cadogan Hall (Chelsea) • tonight @ 730p • sec J, £48 per
GETAWAYS • Kent
Sweet deal
A few miles inland from Deal on the Kent coast, restaurant-with-rooms Updown Farmhouse has been serving Italian-influenced feasts from its wood-fired grill since 2022. Now, guests can sip fig leaf Negronis and aperitivi from its sassy cocktail spot, Bar Vita, which opened earlier this year.
No one expects to find a Roman drinking den in the Kentish countryside, but this sultry space with its long marble bar, low lighting and banquette seating, and bartenders in stiff cream jackets, is an honest homage to the Italian city. It’s also great fun, and inventive, from the vodka martini with a smoked eel gilda to snacks of fried apple and sage with honey and pecorino, and chopped liver toast.
Hospitality is an art and a craft, and owners Ruth Leigh and Oli Brown have serious game in both: front-of-house Leigh grew up in the business, while chef Brown is a veteran of Le Café Anglais. They’ve confidently built a dedicated following at Updown with their casual, family-friendly approach, great value weeknight set menus, and regular visiting chefs, from Adejoké Bakare (Chishuru) to Max Rocha (Café Cecilia), along with Jeremy Lee (Quo Vadis) and Henry Harris (Bouchon Racine). This Sunday, they’re hosting their third annual English wine festival.
The restaurant’s menu is a blend of hearty and often meaty dishes, with lots of fresh pasta and outstanding salads and vegetable dishes depending on the season. Expect local seafood and sharing cuts of meat on the grill: saucer-sized scallops, rib of beef with morels, half-roasted poussin with wild garlic and fennel. Proper puds include rice pudding, rum baba, and rhubarb trifle.
The house itself is a renovated 17th-century farmstead that’s welcoming and generous in every sense, from deep beds and huge baths to an honesty bar. A pool opened last year. My favourite of the 10 rooms is bedroom three, which enjoys a corner spot in the main house with views across the treetops. Groups and families can take Fig Tree cottage, a two-bed suite, the brand new Beech Cottage, which sleeps six, or interconnecting rooms in The Stables. The décor mixes contemporary comforts with luxury textures and finishes, from mattresses as deep as the trifle to marble bathrooms and contemporary artwork from Margate-based Studio Lenca.
There’s a sense of remoteness, but Deal station, 10 minutes away, is under 90 minutes from London St Pancras. Updown has always been a great retreat for its exceptional food and hospitality, and Bar Vita brings another excuse to visit in 2026. –Sophie Morris
→ Updown Farmhouse (Deal) • Updown Rd, Betteshanger • Rooms from £200 b&b • Daily 8a-10a, Mon-Sat 12-3p & 6-930p, Sun 12-4p • Bar Vita: Daily 12p-late.
GETAWAYS • Intel
A NEW ERA: In Belfast, chef Chris McClurg and his partner, Alice Stewart, are taking over the five-star Regency House hotel, relaunching the property with its first public-facing restaurant. The restaurant, to be named Regency House, is billed as an ‘intimate Parisian luxe bistro with a distinctly Northern Irish accent’. Restaurant opens July; rooms bookable now; book.
HORSES FOR COURSES: In the Suffolk countryside, the team behind The Suffolk in Aldeburgh are reviving the Grade II-listed pub The White Horse in Easton, relaunching the 17th-century coaching inn with pub classics like fish and chips, sausage rolls and prawn cocktail. Opens today; book. –Laura Price
GETAWAYS LINKS: First look at remade St Clement, London’s zestiest new hotel, soft-opening next month • British Airways raising price of awards tickets, starting today • Riyadh Air opens bookings for formal London launch 01/07 • New off-grid stay in Scotland, at a farm where kids can run wild.
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Roof terraces
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Forza Wine (Peckham), impeccable views, flatbreads and snacks in former car park, book