Uncommon classics
Ara, Nora, South Kensington flats, Claire de Rouen, The Dreamery, The General Tarleton, best new guard clubs, MORE
RESTAURANTS • First Word
Flying start
The Skinny: Were it in Borough Market, Ara, which opened in May, would have queues around the corner. But there’s no queue, and the unique, casually great Whitechapel spot is just as good as the brilliant but hard-to-book Oma, which serves a similar style of food.
The Vibe: Transport Fonda from west to east and you’ll have an idea of the décor. There’s an outdoor terrace for summer nights, cosy booths for catch-up dinners and a bright room with plenty of tables for two or more. Sustainable features (from Silo’s designer, no less) include upholstery fashioned from pineapple leather and recycled plastic tabletops. Because this is all-day dining, it’s a great spot for a business meeting over breakfast or lunch, or a lazy weekend brunch.
The Food: Ara is deliberately ambiguous (‘ara’ meaning various things in various languages) – both the food and design could easily be Mediterranean, Middle Eastern or Mexican. Turkish chef-owner Murat Kilic’s other restaurant, Amber, just around the corner, is much more Med- and Middle East-specific, but he’s kept things broader at Ara.
Start with sweetcorn ribs and smoky grilled potato bread, a dense delight dipped in tangy cultured butter that’s made from Kilic’s mum’s own starter. Then move onto blackened leeks adorned with XO sauce, confit walnuts and muhammara (the roasted red pepper dip from the Middle East). Anatolia-inspired mushroom dumplings come with a generous amount of wild fungi, garlic yoghurt, mint and Aleppo chilli, while mussel skewers are glazed with roasted chicken wing butter.
For mains, the Sweetheart Cabbage Contramar is inspired by the eponymous Mexico City restaurant’s pescado a la talla, where grilled fish is served half-and-half with striking green and red sauces. In Ara’s vegan version, two sizable hunks of cabbage are served on a bed of silken tofu and scattered with flaked almonds, one side green with mojo verde and the other red with mojo rojo. Slicing through it, you feel like you’re getting a meaty turbot. Desserts include a refreshing herb sorbet packed with basil, coriander and lime.
The Drink: Every all-day need is covered, from punchy juices to spicy margaritas and wines from all over.
The Verdict: Opened with little hype, Ara is already proving itself on the London restaurant scene with its all-day menu of bold flavours. Book a table on the terrace while the sun’s still out. –Laura Price
→ Ara (Whitechapel) • 1 New Drum St • Daily 8a-10p • Book.
RESTAURANTS • Intel
GOODY, NORA: Modern Turkish restaurant Nora (above) is slated to open in Canary Wharf in October from brothers Ozgur and Sidar Akyuz. There’ll be a robata grill churning out kebabs and British fish and meat, like 1kg ex-dairy beef rib, as well as sesame and caraway pide, and wines from Turkey and surrounds. Updates.
NEW HEIGHTS: Northern Spanish restaurant Alta is opening in September in Kingly Court, with chef Rob Roy Cameron serving small plates, grilled mains, Spanish-influenced cocktails and low-intervention wines. Bookings live from early August. –Laura Price
LONDON RESTAURANT LINKS: Jeremy King to reopen Simpson’s on the Strand • Northern Thai restaurant Khao-Sō-i putting down roots in Fitzrovia • The Clove Club bar is back for the summer • Syrian chef Imad Alarnab prepping Aram at Somerset House to open in Sept • Vittles’ London restaurant guide for kids.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Three for-sale flats in South Kensington that recently came to market just under £5mn:
→ Queen's Gate Gardens (South Kensington, above) • 4BR/3BA/2R, 267 m2 flat • Guide price: £4.75mn • 3-window-wide reception with high ceilings • Ownership type: share of freehold • Agents: Rebecca Jane Higgins & Anna Narizzano, Knight Frank.
→ Onslow Gardens (South Kensington) • 2BR/2BA/1R, 139 m2 flat • Asking price: £4.85mn • duplex with private roof terrace • Ownership type: share of freehold • Agent: Charlie Gibson, OB Property.
→ Queen's Gate SW7 (South Kensington) • 4BR/3BA/3R 235 m2 flat • Offers over: £4.95mn • on 2nd floor, overlooking Kensington Gardens • Ownership type: leasehold • Agents: Laurence Lai & Adrian Black, YOUhome.
WORK & PLAY LINKS: The revival of an almost forgotten East London river • Tate Modern to stay open until 9p Fri and Sat starting in September • Boots opening first fragrance-only store in London this autumn.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Shop
Picture perfect
The name Claire de Rouen has long been associated with a carefully curated selection of photography, fashion and art books. Her original store, hidden above a Soho sex shop, was a cult destination for artists, designers and collectors. David Bailey was a fan, once describing it as ‘maybe the best photography bookshop in the world’.
De Rouen’s legacy lives on in the current location in Bethnal Green, headed up by Chantal Webber. It remains intimate and unassuming, stocking the uncommon, the extraordinary, and cutting-edge publications alongside timeless classics. On my most recent visit, it was this rare Helmut Newton 1994 catalogue that caught my eye – just one of the gems that would grace any lucky coffee table.
More than just a retail space, Claire de Rouen remains a hub for creative exchange, hosting readings, signings and launches. I loved their Burns Night edition conversation and signing of Robbie Lawrence’s Long Walk Home: a double-volume publication with candid images of the Highland Games and extended text by John Burnside, on how the Scots and the Scottish diaspora have reformed the Games to suit contemporary cultural needs. Follow them on Instagram to keep up with future events. –Amy Rose Holland
→ Shop: Claire de Rouen Books (Bethnal Green) • 260 Globe Rd • Wed-Sat 12-6p.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Parking
Black Coffee on the Thames • Old Royal Naval College (Greenwich) • Fri @ 4p • enter pre 630p, £193 per
Pride on the Park • Mariah Carey, Sugababes et al. • Preston Park (Brighton) • Sat-Sun • gold circle, £180 per
Oasis • Wembley Stadium (Wembley) • Sat @ 5p • lower 102, £555 per (£482 lowest avail)
BARS • First Round
Mirror mirror
My companion and I share a slightly bemused look as we arrive at The Dreamery, a minute overspill bar for Goodbye Horses that opened late last year and (much in the model of Paris’s famed Folderol) exclusively offers wine and ice cream.
A scattering of Lime bikes makes it clear we’re in the right place despite the quiet street. Only the multicoloured slats above the door of an otherwise plain exterior hint at what awaits. Inside, the ceiling is a colourful mural fit for a French Impressionism exhibition. Mirrors are everywhere – on the ice cream coupes, glinting along the bar and down the walls. For a minute, we don’t know where to look.
Having jostled for space at the bar, and having agreed not to break each other’s gaze so as to avoid the mirrors’ distracting glint, we turn our attention to ordering. The ice cream list, devised by Goodbye Horses head chef Jack Coggins, successfully unites classic and original flavour combinations (mint choc chip; oolong and prune).
There’s no wine list, but discussing with the bar staff and tasting before you choose is encouraged. I settle on a glass of organic Catalonian skin-contact white; it’s floral, vibrant and juicy, but perhaps a little sweet in combination with my pear and verjus sorbet. No matter, The Dreamery has electrified a sleepy De Beauvoir corner. –Sophie Duval
→ The Dreamery (De Beauvoir) • 20a Halliford St • Wed-Sun 12-10p • Walk-ins only.
GETAWAYS • Intel
(NOT) IN JEOPARDY: Tommy Banks has done it again, this time transforming an 18th-century coaching inn into a pub with rooms. The restoration of The General Tarleton, near Harrogate, marks the first project for Jeopardy Hospitality, Banks’ new group with his brother, James Banks, and their partners, Matthew Lockwood and Neil Armstrong. They’re planning to serve pub classics like Scotch eggs and steak and Guinness pie, all with the usual Banks flair. The General Tarleton opens in Ferrensby, North Yorkshire, on 29/08. Rooms from £175 b&b. Book.
VINE & DINE: There’s a new reason to visit Devon’s award-winning Sandridge Barton winery: it is now home to Roam, a farm-to-fork restaurant serving seasonal dishes with ingredients from the estate and nearby regenerative farms. Expect whipped smoked cod’s roe with chilli butter and pickled cucumber, and cured mackerel with fermented gooseberries. Book.
GETAWAYS LINKS: At LHR Terminal 5, Marks & Spencer opens two airside food halls • Devon hotel Lewtrenchard Manor reopens following major refurb • Redo coming at Harbour Hotel Guildford • Aman Rosa Alpina opens in the Dolomites • A weekend in Brittany • Summer in Dubai isn’t for everyone, but that’s the beauty of it.
ASK FOUND
Three FOUND subscriber PROMPTS for which we seek intel:
I’m going to Stockholm in a few weeks. Top two tips?
Which getaway hotel are you booking for August?
Which autumn restaurant opening are you most looking forward to?
Got answers or more questions? Hit reply or email found@foundldn.com.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
Clubs, new guard
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of London’s best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundldn.com.
180 House (Covent Garden), riverside Soho House outpost with brand new gym and rooftop pool