News reaches us of a newcomer to Borough as new neighbourhood brasserie, Edwins, gets ready to open in March (and see below for soft launch details).
It's a small upstairs restaurant seating 40, named after Edwin Brady, who has a - slightly colourful history. He initially ran the site as St George's Tavern from 1883 as both a pub and museum of curiosities. A further googling reveals he was described in a court report in the Times in 1901 as being "famous in the neighbourhood as a museum, the appellant [Brady] having a very large collection of stuffed animals, skeletons and other curiosities". Apparently "The Hole in the Wall" as it was later called, closed in 1901 following complaints about fliers advertising for corpses.
We're not going to see anything quite like that in the small brasserie, which will seat 40 and be following a "seasonal approach to English produce", They'll be open for lunch and dinner every day, and brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Their starters and small plates will start at £5.50, mains will be from £13, cocktails from £8 and wines by the glass from £4.75. There is a small bar at one end of the room too - but that's reserved for diners pre/post meal. On the menu, you can expect dishes like:
- Steak tartare
- Clams & mussels, chilli, garlic
- Rabbit, polenta, parmesan
- Grilled seafood bouillabaisse
- Gnocchi, Somerset blue, walnuts
it will be the first restaurant for local publicans Shane Ranasinghe, Michael Robinson, Isaac Tooby and Neil Watson of Parched Pubs, the people behind The Roebuck, The Montpelier and The Trinity, which is just downstairs. In charge of the kitchen will be Head chef Selim Massouf, who was previously at the Riding House Café and Village East.
Edwins Borough is upstairs at 202 Borough High Street, SE1. It opens fully on March 17 with a soft launch from March 5-16 - with 50% off food at lunch, dinner and brunch. To book the soft launch, email hello@edwinsborough.co.uk.
For more details about Edwins, follow them on Twitter @edwinsborough
