With spring in London promising a renewal of everything from culture to kitchens, this week’s guide is a bumper edition.
New artworks from a range of international artists are being showcased at the NOW Gallery, while there are restaurants and wine bars to explore in east London, and a second chance to see a piece of sold-out theatre, as it gets a city-wide screening. Here’s what should be on your radar this weekend.
The hot table: Morchella
A new restaurant from the team behind N16’s Perilla, Morchella arrived just off Exmouth Market last week with a focused menu of mostly Mediterranean bites. Braised octopus stew and spaghetti vongole sit next to Orkney scallop with poached cauliflower mushroom on a bright and enticing menu, with a wine bar and snacking space available adjacent for more casual occasions. As with Perilla, service charge is included in each dish’s price.
84-86 Rosebery Avenue, EC1R 4QY, morchelladining.co.uk
The old favourite: Ploussard
South London neighbourhood restaurants are among the capital's finest and despite the often quite dull surrounds of safe-and-quiet Clapham, Ploussard has remained both exciting and essential. The service is warm, a reminder of friendly neighbourhood hospitality, but the food has never been better. Begin with a devilled crab sandwich or madelines on top of a light onion cream, and delve into a world of intense flavour and robust cooking. The room is small, and can get a little loud, but there’s bags of atmosphere.
97 St John's Road, SW11 1QY, ploussardlondon.co.uk
The drinking den: Bruno
Sager + Wilde founder Michael Sager launched Bruno on Victoria Park Road just two weeks ago, and it’s seemingly already captured the imagination of the E9 locals. Expect the wine selection from Sager to be delicious — his top picks include Californian pinot noirs and a few interesting blends from the Canary Islands — and with bottles to buy in store subject to just a £15 corkage, the industry-typical 350 per cent mark-up can be avoided.
211a Victoria Park Road, E9 7JN, instagram.com
The musical: Standing at the Sky’s Edge
Billed as one of the UK’s finest new musicals and a “love-letter to Sheffield”, Standing at the Sky’s Edge has moved to the West End from its run at the National. The show charts the story of three families living in the Park Hill estate in central Sheffield in 1961. Described by the Standard’s theatre critic Nick Curtis as “uplifting” and “a democratic, demotic work where the cast and Ben Stones’ set seem to be in direct conversation with the audience and the auditorium”, this one is not to be missed.
Tickets from £20, until August 3, Gillian Lynne Theatre, 166 Drury Lane, WC2B 5PW, skysedgemusical.com
The live music fix: Notes, Live Sundays at Night Tales Loft
Notes: Live Sundays is a new initiative aimed at showcasing a range of both local and international vocalists, rappers, poets and lyricists. Held at Night Tales Loft, the NYC-inspired cocktail bar and terrace at Netil Market, the Live Sundays are a space for “aspiring local wordsmiths” where guests can expect genres from rap to gospel to neo-soul and more. What’s more, entry is free before 7.30pm and only £5 thereafter.
Free to attend, pre-booking required, 1 Westgate Street, E8 3RL, ntloft.co.uk
The culture fix: Vanya, NT Live
Andrew Scott’s turn in Vanya at the Royal Court was a short-lived triumph. He lent significant star quality to the one-man production of Chekov’s classic, whilst deftly handling the seven main characters. It’s a masterclass in acting, made available to the masses now courtesy the NT Live showcases which screen past productions at local cinemas, reaching untold new audiences. The other benefit of watching the fabulous performance this way is the closeness one feels to Scott, with cameras zoomed in and projected onto the big screen. Expect beguiling, essential watching.
Tickets from £20, until May 16, across selected London and UK cinemas, vanya.ntlive.com
The restaurant collab: Jamie Shears x Ravneet Gill
Jamie Shears knows a thing or two about pies, creating as he did the famed lobster pie at Mount Street restaurant and this pie week he’s teaming up with Ravneet Gill, pastry chef extraordinaire and Junior Bake Off host, for a collection of special creations. The succulent chicken and marmite pie will be served downstairs at The Audley, while the sweet rhubarb and custard number will be available at the main Mount Street Restaurant from March 4-10.
March 4-10, 41-43 Mount Street, W1K 2RX, mountstrestaurant.com
The art fix: David Bowie, A London Day
The photographs at this upcoming exhibition almost never came to light. They were taken during a single shoot in Clerkenwell in 1992, but it wasn’t until long after Bowie’s death, the first lockdown of 2020 to be exact, that photographer Kevin Davies rediscovered the shots. Described by the Standard’s editor Dylan Jones as “a fascinating body of work” and “a visual narrative that takes place over the course of a single session on a single day”, the images are on stunning display at the ethereal Fitzrovia Chapel.
Free to attend, March 1 until March 20, 2 Pearson Square, London W1T 3BF, fitzroviachapel.org
The ticket to book now (for later): Secret 7"
The anonymous record sale returns to London this March as Secret 7” raises vital funds for War Child, a charity which protects and educates children in conflict zones across the world. The recipe is simple enough: seven tracks from seven musicians are pressed into 100 seven inch vinyls. Creatives from all over the world then submit artwork for the vinyl sleeves, thus creating 700 unique sleeve cases, on display at NOW Gallery. This year’s artists include Tacita Dean, Sir Paul Smith, Rankin and Jamie Hewlett and on March 7, there is a free private showcase event available for the public to book to really showcase the works.
