Updated 5/4/18 with menu details and opening date
What: temper Covent Garden
In a nutshell: Pizza, meet fire and vermouth
Summing it all up: Neil Rankin's temper restaurant once again reinvents itself, this time the fire-based chain will focus on pizzas with an extensive list of vermouths too.
The low-down
So Neil Rankin's been a busy bloke - hot on the heels of opening Temper City, he's just announced plans for a third restaurant in the growing chain, this time in Covent Garden. It'll open this May in Mercers Walk, which is a new office/retail/restaurant development just off Long Acre.
As Temper City switched focus towards Indian food, temper Covent Garden will pivot toward pizza - cooked in a wood-fired oven, naturally. There'll be two key pizzas on offer and handily, you'll be able to tell the difference from the shape.
The rectangular Detroit pizza has a focaccia-esque bottom and cheese crust; with toppings ranging from the Goat Ragu Detroit Red Top (slow cooked goat ragu with goat salami and burnt pepper pesto) to the Soft-shell Crab Detroit (bisque and tomato base with whole soft-shell crabs, onions, green chilli and brown crab sour cream).
The round Bar pizza has an almost cracker-like thin base and will include Wagyu Salami (cured wagyu with provolone cheese crust, mozzarella and San Marzano tomato base) and the White Clam (provolone cheese crust with mozzarella, clams, red onion and samphire).
Vegans get their own red top pizza too - which will be a Detroit base studded with olives, cherry tomatoes, rosemary and confit garlic, marinara sauce and vegan super salt.
If pizza isn't your thing, then head for the ragu section of the menu where ragus using game, goat and pork will come served with fresh bread or gnocchi. And we must say that the pasta sounds bloody good too. We're torn between the beef fat and pesto tortellini (rendered aged beef fat and pesto stuffed pasta with anchovies and parmesan) and the lardo carbonara (strips of cured pork fat with parmesan, duck egg yolk and sage butter).
Drinks-wise, we'd heard this latest temper would be focusing on vermouth, now we know they're working with brands such as Cocchi, Lillet, Belsazar, Regal Rose and Asterly Bros all served either straight or in a range of cocktails. There'll be a dedicated Spritzer and Americano list along with some top Negronis on offer too.
Early birds will be pleased to hear that this will be the first temper serving up breakfast. That wood-fired oven will be cranking out fresh croissants along with home-cured bacon and sausages.
More about temper Covent Garden
Where is it? Mercers Walk, Covent Garden, London
When does it open? 14 May 2018
How to book: book online at cgreservations@
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Twitter @temperldn
