‘Stay-up’ seems to be this year’s ‘Pop-up’ as restaurants that began as guests, have turned into squatters. I had heard good things about ‘Upstairs at The Ten Bells’ which opened last November intended as a three month stay, but whose success meant that they have taken up residence.
A group of guys, aka ‘The Young Turks’, who made their names in pop-ups and dining clubs, as well as stints at The Ledbury and St John, have created a jolly atmosphere, backed by good-value, well-sourced food (£39 for 4 courses) and a short, interesting wine list – 40 wines, sourced from half a dozen suppliers. The chestnut and truffle soup was my stand-out dish, partnered with a glass of rich, white Anjou.
Upstairs at The Ten Bells - Menu de Nuit
This part of town, Commercial Road, still has an edge, even if skinny jeans and facial hair are slowly giving way to suits and side-partings. I was dining with an old mate who is training to be a counsellor, so he gets to test his latest theories, I get free therapy and we split the bill. Everyone’s a winner.
If you go, as I would urge you to do, you can get a cheap thrill by asking the downstairs barman (which is a separate establishment), how to find the restaurant. If Heston did a guest turn here it could be ‘Dinner upstairs at the Ten Bells’ which would save a lot of texting re times, how to find it, etc.
It’s obviously going well as this team is about to open a second restaurant in Shoreditch Town Hall called The Clove Club and Jamie Oliver was dining at the next table. Bish, bash, bosh.
Shoreditch chic
A couple of weeks ago during that hot time we fondly remember as ‘summer’ a new phenomenon hit the streets of Frome. Londoners will shake their World-weary heads when I mention the phrase ‘pop-up’ but for us Fromeys it was a real treat.
Terry and Paula
Architect Terry Pinto (www.pa-ad.co.uk) is a Frome resident of Goan extraction (via Kenya via Leicester) who is also an accomplished cook. He and his partner Paula Hammond worked together to great effect producing a delicious feast in an empty shop on Paul Street in Frome.
The one-off nature of the enterprise and the stripped back interior of the shop lent a funky edge to the proceedings. All guests paid £20, and were seated at two long tables set end-to-end. We brought along a bottle of Tavel: La Foracdière 2011 – a full-throttle Southern Rhône rosé that is ideal with spicy dishes - and some home made elderflower cordial and soon made the acquaintances of our neighbouring diners. Jason & I took the boys along and we were sat between four twenty-somethings new to Frome and three older long-term Frome residents of a bohemian bent. As it was nobody’s regular hang-out there was an egalitarian air to the proceedings.
First course was scrumptious meat and vegetarian samosas – far lighter and daintier than I’ve tasted anywhere else. Next up were giant, chilli-marinated, shell-on prawns which Paula had sourced down in Poole where she works. The main course was a selection of subtly flavoured (pork, aubergine & bean) curries served with rice and lastly desert was a deliciously cooling mango puree with yoghurt – light & refreshing.
Along the way Terry told us family anecdotes and showed us photos of his parents in their 1950s heyday (perfect quiff, circle skirts and general elan in Nairobi). It gave us the back story to the food we were tasting – recipes that had travelled around the World and adapted to each location.
We wandered off into the night contented and full and looking forward to the next pop-up treat on Paul Street.
The innovative food and beverage team at Selfridges, under the jurisdiction of sharp-suited director Ewan Venters and savvy drinks buyer Dawn Davies, has been quick to recognise the appeal and embrace the concept of the 'Pop-up'. Not content with Pierre Koffmann's audacious 'Restaurant on the Roof' the store is also playing host to the 'Icecreamists' in the basement until November 1st. This cutting-edge icecream bar manages to fuse ornate gothic with urban graffiti chic and offers a diverse range of contemporary ice-cream flavours. The pick of these is probably the 'Molotoffee Cocktail' a 'twisted toffee apple' icecream made with Julian Temperley's superb Somerset Cider Brandy - subtle green apple notes give way to beguiling caramel flavours followed by a delicious Calvados kick. Don't take our word for it head into town for some pre-Christmas (pre-crowd) shopping and taste for yourself.
Further good news is that after a protracted legal battle Selfridges 'Wonderbar' should shortly re-introduce its ground-breaking 25ml sipping measures. The big question here is: Will we see the return of the 'affordable' 1996 Pétrus?
The hot dining ticket of 2009 has to be Pierre Koffmann's 'pop-up' that is open in October to coincide with the lamentably under-promoted London restaurant festival. Not simply for the sheer audacity of craning the restaurant on to the roof of Selfridges, but for the chance to enjoy the wonderful cooking of the man himself. Pierre Koffman arrived in London in the seventies and, following stints under the Roux Brothers at Le Gavroche and The Waterside, he opened La Tante Claire in Royal Hospital Road which he ran throughout the eighties and nineties before selling that site to Gordon Ramsay in 2002. During the last six years of this reign, La Tante Claire held 3 Michelin stars. The list of chefs who worked under Koffman reads like a Who's Who of British talent - Gordon, Marco, Toms Aitken & Kitchin, Eric Chavot, Phil Howard - I could continue, but you get the picture?
Could there be any better way to pass a wind-swept afternoon than Friday lunch at such a venue in the company of three pals? Sudden panic as I left home - is there a dress code for a former formal 3 star or does the 'pop-up' element overrule? I hedged my bets and went jacket, no tie. Fine, as it turned out. Selfridges F&B Director, Ewan Venters has done a cracking job to pull this off, although a lot of the front of house credit belongs to Dawn Davies who has tapped into her extensive network of contacts to build an effective team - most of whom appeared to be 'on holiday' from other London establishments. The welcome was warm, the Gascony-biased menu was a treat and we got right stuck in - pan-fried foie gras with potato galette & sauternes jus, pressed leek and languostines with truffle vinaigrette, saddle of hare, kidneys with girolles, challons duck roasted with herbs & spices and (the signature dish) pig's trotter with veal sweetbread and morels. I am sure I've missed something. The wine list has been well put together, although diners seemed to be drinking it as quickly as they could get bottles up from the wine shop on the ground floor. Yapp Crémant de Limoux, followed by a straw-coloured but much-appreciated Savoie Chigrin 2008. Reds came and went - Pic St Loup Arbouse 2007, Chasse Spleen 2003 (we love this atypical vintage for current drinking) and Montrose 1995 - bien classique and a terrific finale.
We did justice to pistachio soufflé, apple tart and toyed with some cheese. Digestifs were threatened, but good sense prevailed so we downed coffee and split. If you get a chance to go (and tables are like gold-dust), don't hesitate. For a field kitchen with a supporting cast of moonlighting waiters on an Oxford Street rooftop, it's a joy.
