Cathedral of power: the famous four chimneys of Battersea Power Station
(Picture: Press handout)For nearly four decades, six million bricks spent every night shrouded in darkness; it was an inappropriate existence for a building once dubbed the Cathedral of Power. A corner has been turned. Now, with great handfuls of squandered efforts weaved into its story, Battersea Power Station is finally alight again: today marks the official reopening of London’s most famous four chimneys. At a cost of £5 billion, the rusting beams have been restored and the squatting pigeons moved on.
But the crackling, humming generators are also gone and there are no more men pulling levers and shooting currents around the city. The workhorse has been replaced by a playground: 1,600 luxury flats (with a further 2,400 planned), 110 shops, great handfuls of restaurants and bars, all alongside a six-storey pile of offices (soon to house Apple headquarters) and more besides.
“Historically, there’s been very little to do around here,” says Sam Cotton, the power station’s head of leasing. “So it really is providing something for both the immediate local residents and wider south-west London. It’s giving people — many who have an emotional attachment to the building — a hub. From the outset, this has been about being an appealing and welcoming place for Londoners.” The welcome is set to be a warm one: for those headed to SW8, here’s what you’ll find.
Messing about on the river
While there’s definitely a sense that shop-till-you-drop is very much on the agenda — there’s a broad spread of retailers, from Rolex and Cartier to the Body Shop and a Battersea Bookshop — there is fun to be had elsewhere. Those living there — which include the likes of Sting and Bear Grylls — can’t be expected to put up with a mere one cinema, so there are two: one in the arches, promising a smaller, “boutique” experience, and one in the power station itself, which will be much bigger, with its own bar. Expect blockbusters.
There is stage as well as screen. Paul Taylor-Mills, artistic director of the Other Palace Theatre, is in charge at the Turbine Theatre. It is, they say, “dedicated to new ideas”, although they’re also promising to “re-energise the classics”. At present, But I’m A Cheerleader, The Musical is on; the rave reviews speak promisingly to what can be expected in the future.
Elsewhere, cheerleading looks light on the agenda, but fitness is set to star: there’s the frighteningly-named Be Military Fit; BXR have opened their third members-only gym; and Boom Cycle is one for those wanting to pedal themselves thin. Perhaps more fun — and better for those who don’t always head out with their gym kit — will be Glide, London’s newest ice rink, which has views over the river. It opens on November 11, just in time for a family treat at Christmas (families might also want to head to the Prospect Park Playground, open from 8am-8pm daily).
Sam Cotton says his team “have worked to bring in everything”. Their choice of restaurants and bars speaks to this ethos, especially as a number are less about what’s plated up and poured out and more about what to do. To that end, go for ping pong and pints at Bounce, or Birdies for crazy golf.
Soon, London will see the unveiling of a “great glass elevator”, which will shoot up 109m in one of the chimneys — perhaps even ousting the Shard as champion of London sightseeing — but in the meantime, those wanting otherworldly views should pop on a headset at DNA VR. It’s offers11 virtual reality courts, and those heading in can fight a zombie apocalypse, square off St George-style against fire-breathing dragons, or take it rather easier with a tour of the pyramids.
Tuck in, drink up
When the culinary line-up was first announced, things looked more Basingstoke than Battersea: it all seemed very high street (and, granted, Starbucks, Pret, Leon and Joe and the Juice all still feature). Happily, things seem to have steadied since then, though Cotton cheerfully admits that “we’re trying to target as broader range of people as possible”.
The biggest name involved is Gordon Ramsay, which seems fitting as the chef has reportedly been renting a £12k-a-month flat in the station while the basement of his Wandsworth house gets a boot room. To pay for said boot room, Ramsay is not offering Michelin-bait; instead, for £16-a-head he’s slinging bottomless pizzas at Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza, while his mini-chain Bread Street Kitchen will follow in November, with fish and chips and beef Wellington on the menu. There is more excitement to be had, fortunately. JKS restaurants — most famous across London for the likes of Hoppers, Gymkhana and Sabor — are planning to open two spots next year. Its popular Taiwanese chain Bao will be a standalone, serving its signature buns, and then JKS will follow up the success of Tottenham Court Road’s Arcade Food Hall with a south London replica of sorts. Details are sparse but the space is vast, at 24,000 sq ft. Given chef Luke Farrell’s elaborate success this year — both Plaza Khao Gaeng and his Chinatown newbie Speedboat Bar have had the critics in raptures — it feels reasonable to expect him to be involved in some capacity. The food hall is otherwise likely to home some 15-or-so restaurants, covering all sorts of cooking. Street food is the vibe, which is true more broadly across the power station too. Away from the food hall, the ever-reliable Japanese ramen specialists Tonkotsu are in, as is self-explanatory Malaysian/Singaporean Roti King, alongside Instagram-oriented Poke House and gourmet kebab lot Le Bab.
This said, there are still some chances for upscale eating. Vivek Singh opened his third Cinnamon Kitchen, a pan-Indian spin-off of his Westminster Institution the Cinnamon Club, is bound for under the arches. Nearby, Francesco Mazzei delivers his signature Italian excellence with the Amalfi-inspired Fiume; next summer, its terrace will likely be the station’s most coveted spot. The Wright Brothers, meanwhile, seem fitting for a riverside hub: go for glasses of cool white wine, great platters of oysters and plenty of fresh seafood. The most upmarket spot, and likely the most anticipated place, will be found in the power station’s art’otel. Over three floors, chef Henrique Sa Pessoa will open Joia, a Portuguese spot. Sa Pessoa has two Michelin-stars to his name, so expectations are high.
There are fewer standalone bars, although by-the-glass wine buffs Vagabond are doing their thing — which is to say, pouring out top independent producers — in the Circus West Village, while the Battersea Brewery will take care of the pints. Sam Cotton, though, says the “ultimate star” is to be Control Room B, a literally-named bar taking over the spot where technicians once sat with a fifth of the capital’s electricity at their disposal. The room is housed in the brutalist, steel-clad control room, left much the same as it was, while staff will wear white boiler suits. It will offer coffees and pastries in the morning then switch to a cocktail menu and will operate until 2am. It’s being run by the Inception Group, who’ve had huge success with the Mr Fogg’s group and Bunga Bunga bars. “Customers will be able to sit alongside the original synchroscopes and dials,” says Inception’s Charlie Gilkes. “After it’s sat dormant for 40 years, we are honoured to have been chosen to be the custodians of the flagship space.” London, then, is in safe hands.
