Plan ahead
Legado, Luso, Corenucopia, Teddington for £2mn, Fortnum & Mason, Les 2 Garçons, Alex Monroe, best beaches, MORE
RESTAURANTS • First Word
Whole hog
The Skinny: Everything that Nieves Barragán Mohacho touches turns to gold, from Barrafina, which grew from a single Spanish tapas bar to a much-loved group during her decade as executive chef, to her debut solo spot, Sabor (a hit since 2018). Legado, which opened last week, takes the best bits from Sabor – like a dedicated oven for suckling pig, and a counter for chef-watching – and supersizes it, adding a highly original cocktail concept and delving outside the usual tapas box.
The Vibe: Sabor, but bigger and better. An unsuspecting entrance under a concrete overpass leads to a huge, lively, colourful room kitted out with thoughtful Spanish touches, like tomato-red tiles and terracotta dishes. On the left is the Taberna, a walk-in-only tapas and pintxo bar with its own menu of gildas, croquetas and an ox tongue burger. Further in, on the right is the long open kitchen and counter, featuring some of the best seats for sussing out what to order. It all opens out into an expansive main dining room with exposed brick walls, comfy banquettes and plenty of options for intimate tables or larger groups. Finally, there’s a mezzanine level for the loos and views (over the main dining room).
The Food: As vast as the room itself, the ambitious menu is far too broad to experience in one go. It’s split into seven sections, and a dish from each is ideal between two. Start with the vikini, a take on Spain’s bikini sandwich – a decadent cheese and ham toastie with lashings of truffle. Next, a dessert-like brioche topped with smoked ricotta and an enormous Cantabrian anchovy. From the lamb section, the lamb neck empanadilla is evocative of a steak and ale pie, with slow-cooked meat and a rich verjus for dipping.
Arroz de cangrejo is a highlight from the rice, pulses and pasta section: crab-laced risotto topped with a generous portion of crunchy, meaty soft-shell crab. From the fish and seafood, three mackerel meatballs come in a bowlful of luxurious jamón dashi broth. Pork and lamb each have their own section, and the main event is the quarter Segovian suckling pig, cooked in a custom oven and sliced with a plate at the table, with perfect crème-brûlée skin and soft, tender flesh. It’s served with a broth made from the pig’s cooking juice, lemon and mint – a stellar dish in its own right. We ate it with chargrilled red pepper draped in lardo.
For dessert, there are too many options to choose from, not least the thin, crispy churros with dulce de leche. Go off-piste for traditional Segovian ponche, a layered cake with marzipan and cream, or arroz con leche, a cold rice pudding with a hidden layer of orange jam and thin slivers of bitter orange.
The Drink: It’s worth visiting Legado for the drinks alone, the main draw being the ‘3-sip serve’ fruit- and veg-based mini-cocktails served in ceramic bowls. Tomato and gin is tangy, light and refreshing. On the main menu, there are 150 wine labels celebrating traditional and emerging regions and styles, as well as sherry. As for cocktails, there’s an excellent Romesco martini with gin, roasted red pepper vermouth, manzanilla and olive brine.
The Verdict: Come for a cheese toastie and a glass of cava or go the whole hog (literally) with a banquet of suckling pig and all the trimmings. Legado feels like several restaurants in one, and I’m already planning my next visit. –Laura Price
→ Legado (Shoreditch) • 1C Montacute Yards • Tue-Sat 12-330p & 530-1030p • Book.
RESTAURANTS • Intel
SMOOTH OPERATOR: When one door closes, another one opens, and when the doors are managed by hospitality group MJMK (Kol, AngloThai, Casa do Frango), it’s likely they’ll lead to a great restaurant. We’re talking about 30 Charlotte St, which has been home to Nuno Mendes’ brilliant Portuguese cooking at Lisboeta for four years, and is now closing to make way for Luso, the new venture from fellow Portuguese chef Leandro Carreira. Opening later this month, Luso will serve modern takes on traditional dishes, from steak sliders known as pregos, to suckling pig (a theme!) and baked lobster rice. Sign up for priority reservations.
CORE STRENGTH: Core’s Clare Smyth is branching out with a new ‘luxury bistro’ in Chelsea in November. Details are still under wraps, but it’s set to be called Corenucopia. Follow for updates.
CLOSING TIME: After failing to reach an agreement with its partners and landlords, Claude Bosi at Bibendum has permanently shuttered, with the ground floor Oyster Bar also closed. Claude and Lucy Bosi are now focusing their energy on Brooklands by Claude Bosi and their two Josephine branches. Read more.
PURE IMAGINATION: Martin Morales – the restaurateur behind now-closed Peruvian restaurants Ceviche and Andina – is teaming up with Spanish chef Quique Dacosta and TV star Andi Oliver for a one-off charity dinner. Hosted at Dacosta’s Arros QD on 7th October, The Imagination Journey will raise money for children’s charity Institute of Imagination. From £190 per guest, book tickets.
BUILDING BLOCKS: Thirteen years after opening the first CRATE brewery and pizzeria in Hackney Wick, co-founders Neil Hinchley and Tom and Jess Seaton are opening a follow-up branch in Wood Wharf, the fast-expanding culinary hub in Canary Wharf. Opens October; follow for updates. –Laura Price
LONDON RESTAURANT LINKS: Belgravia’s Ganymede flipping to The Elizabeth, with Wild Honey chef overseeing the menu • In Mayfair, new seafood restaurant Lilibet’s readies for mid-month opening • Chefs launch Solidarity Suppers for Gaza relief • Trendwatch: bartenders adding squid ink to cocktails • The best martinis in London.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Three for-sale houses in Teddington that recently came to market around £2mn:
→ Fairfax Rd (Teddington) • 4BR/3BA/2R, 188 m2 detached house • Asking price: £1.595mn • landscaped rear garden with raised deck area • Ownership type: chain-free freehold • Agent: Hamptons.
→ Teddington Riverside (Teddington) • 4BR/3BA/1R, 159 m2 townhouse • Asking price: £2.0mn • concierge services and lower ground floor parking • Ownership type: freehold • Agent: Curchods.
→ Trowlock Ave (Teddington) • 4BR/2BA/3R, 190 m2 detached house • Asking price: £2.25mn • south-facing rear garden on leafy cul-de-sac • Ownership type: freehold • Agent: Featherstone Leigh.
WORK & PLAY LINKS: New outdoor sauna venue The Cabin plans November opening in South London • Law firm’s lease at 8 Bishopsgate shatters city rent record • Cotswolds cool: Emma Sims-Hilditch at the art of English interiors • An autumn wardrobe wishlist.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Pink Pass
FTWeekend Festival • Martin Lewis, Celia Imrie et al., Kenwood House Gardens (Hampstead) • Fri 930a-730p • pink pass, £279 per
Tom Grennan • The O2 (Greenwich Peninsula) • Sat @ 630p • sec 111, £56 per
BBC Proms: Vaughan Williams’s ‘A London Symphony’ • Royal Albert Hall (South Kensington) • Sun @ 11a • grand tier boxes, £69 per
WORK • Wednesday Routine
Icing on top
ROGER PIZEY • executive head of pastry • Fortnum & Mason
Neighbourhood you work in: St James's
Neighbourhood you live in: Bounds Green
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
When I arrive, I sit at my desk and have a nice cup of tea – I work at Fortnum’s, after all. Then we start with a big tour of the whole site, making sure everyone’s in the right places, all the records are up to date and everyone’s in a good mood. On Wednesdays, we usually also host a tasting of the top plates from the afternoon tea in the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon. We might also discuss upcoming events – for example, picnic season in the summer or Easter specials in April.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Lots of event planning! We also spend the day checking in on suppliers and kicking off development in the pastry kitchens. In the Tea Salon kitchen, we’ve got so many sections: the service section, sauce section, production section, savoury section, sandwich section, cake section and a dedicated scone section because we get through a ridiculous number of scones every week. I spend the day checking in with everyone and making sure the cogs are nicely oiled.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
There’s a friend of mine, Robert Reid, with a restaurant called Les 2 Garçons, a tiny bistro in Crouch End, so I might book myself in there. He’s someone I knew back from the days I was cooking with Marco Pierre White, so we go way back. I actually went to his house for brunch last Sunday for a good old catch-up. I also might book into Cornus, because Gary Foulkes is an amazing cook. One thing also on my radar to book soon is Kirk [Haworth]’s restaurant Plates in Shoreditch. I did a charity event with him towards the beginning of the year, but haven’t yet managed to get in to eat there.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I love fishing, and every year I host a charity day for Action Against Hunger, inviting a few friends from the industry like Adam Byatt and Tom Fraser. It’s normally 15-16 of us and we all bring lunch and sit down, fish in the morning with bacon sandwiches and then fish until it goes dark.
Any weekend getaways?
For a bit of an escape, sometimes we head to Anglesea to visit my mother-in-law's near the Welsh mountains. We’ve got a little boat near her house so we do some fishing and catch lobster in the lobster pots, coupled with a bit of foraging for anything nice and seasonal that’s growing near her house.
What was your last great holiday?
Sri Lanka in January. There were 17 of us, a very big gang, but it was my wife’s 60th at Christmas so we had all the family with us, including the children and all their partners. We did the whole thing, went around the triangle to Lion Rock and then down again. The food there was stunning and everyone couldn’t wait to see all the elephants.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I’ve just bought a new nymphing fly rod for fishing which I’m very excited about. You can catch trout with it.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Year-old Irish guesthouse Native in County Cork adds new garden suites • The renaissance of Luxembourg’s Villa Pétrusse following five-year renovation • The abandoned Norwegian fishing village that’s enjoying a revival • This Patmos home is on another level.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Shop
Everyday heirlooms
Alex Monroe off Seven Dials smells beautiful, like geranium and sandalwood, and on arrival you’re greeted with a light drink – which is a good job too, as trying to decide between the pieces is thirsty work.
The shop, like its jewellery, is discreet, elegant and quietly luxurious. The interiors are intimate and considered, with warm wood, antique display cases and botanical details that reflect Monroe’s signature aesthetic.
His most sought-after pieces (including the bumblebee necklace) sit alongside delicate gold designs and fine jewellery collections. There are initials and lockets, all manner of flora and fauna, and rings, earrings and necklaces. My personal favourite is the Sensory Devotion Large Charm Necklace from the Sense of Nature SS24 collection, drawing inspiration from milagros or ex-voto – traditional metal charms used as religious offerings across Mexico, Latin America and Italy. Alongside these symbolic motifs, the collection explores each of the five senses through intricate engravings. The result is a playful yet deeply personal series of pieces, blending historical references with Monroe’s signature attention to detail.
Whether selecting an everyday heirloom or commissioning something unique, the Alex Monroe flagship offers a refined, understated approach to luxury. –Amy Rose Holland
→ Shop: Alex Monroe (Covent Garden) • 33 Floral St • Mon-Wed 1030a-630p, Thu 11a-7p, Fri 1030a-630p, Sat 11a-7p, Sun 12-6p.
ASK FOUND
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Who’s your favourite hairdresser?
Which autumn restaurant opening are you most looking forward to?
What’s your go-to London spot for oysters?
Got answers or more questions? Hit reply or email found@foundldn.com.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
Beaches, from London
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of London’s best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundldn.com.
Botany Bay (Broadstairs, Kent, above), rocky fossil beach surrounded by white cliffs