Clapton

• Abby Lee's Malaysian restaurant Mambow is moving to Clapton

  

  5/11/23 - updated with the opening date

  Abby Lee's Mambow has been a hit in Market Peckham (and we were impressed), but now it's about to make a big move. She's upping sticks and taking it to the other side of town to open as a standalone restaurant in Clapton (taking over what was Le

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• Test Driving Leo's - this classic caff's modern London makeover is a winner

  

  Once an Italian cafe and ice-cream factory, it's full circle for this Chatsworth Road spot which is now the Italian-accented Leo's. We headed east to check it out. 

• Clapton's 107 wine bar signs up ex St John chef Elliot Hashtroudi for five month residency

  

  All eyes have been on the wine bar formerly known as P Franco to see who's taking over cheffing duties now that the bar is properly up and running again. This week we got the answer; they've signed up former St John sous chef Elliott Hashtroudi who'll be cooking up a storm here for the rest of the year.

  Asked what his menu will consist of Elliot said it would be "influenced from time at St. JOHN, but it’s an

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• P Franco is reopening as 107 Wine Bar & Shop

  

  Back in March, along with the closure of sibling businesses Bright and Noble Fine Liquor, the super popular Clapton wine bar P Franco closed its doors for what, we all thought, was for good.

  But the team behind the bar weren't going down without a fight and the bar's manager William Gee started a

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• Leo's sees the Juliets team and chef Giuseppe Belvedere opening a restaurant in Clapton

  

  Updated 22/5/23 with booking details and opening date

  The team behind Juliet's Quality Foods have something big planned. Owners Julian Porter and Lauren Johns have teamed up with chef Giuseppe Belvedere for a new bar and restaurant in Clapton called Leo's.

  Belvedere had previously been one of the guest chefs at P Franco before moving on to

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• The crowdfunding campaign to rescue P Franco was a success

  

  Earlier this year, we brought you the news that P Franco, Bright and Noble Fine Liquor had all closed. it was a quick and surprising end for P Franco particularly, a wine bar that has been extremely influential in the London restaurant scene. 

  But there

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• Fink's have brought their coffee, sandwiches and bottled cocktails to Clapton

  

  We've long been fans of Fink's Salt & Sweet in Highbury - it's our neighbourhood coffee shop, deli and purveyor of top tier sandwiches, bottled cocktails and more.

  Back in 2020 they expanded by opening a sibling spot, Fink's Gillespie, in Arsenal. And now they're at it again, moving

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• P Franco's new resident chef is ex Burro e Salvia pasta chef Mitchell Damota

  

  Often viewed as a space where chefs get ready for their next big thing in an environment where they can only use two induction hobs, P Franco in Clapton has a new resident chef lined up. Recently they've had Seb Myers, who's now getting rave reviews at Planque and Jamie Smart, who's now leading hot new Newington Green wine bar Cadet. Next up, according to their Instagram feed, is

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• The Quarter Kitchen is a new kiosk in Hackney serving up top Mexican gorditas

  

  Sharp eyed East Londoners who might have spotted activity at the little kiosk in the garden of St John at Hackney recently should know they now have an interesting new Mexican cafe on their doorstep.

  The Quarter Kitchen in Lower Clapton is from Max Fishman who's behind nearby shop The Quarter Store, which provided a real community hub for local food businesses during the pandemic. At the kiosk he's

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• P Franco's next chef is ex-Two Lights' Chase Lovecky

  

  We were sad to hear that Two Lights restaurant was one of the victims of the lockdown, but where one door closes another opens. And today, P Franco announced that Two Light's former chef-patron Chase Lovecky would be their new resident chef.

  "Chase has been part of some of our favourite kitchens around the world from Momofoku Ko, Clove Club, and more recently Two Lights," they said. "We are excited to have him cooking on

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• Andi Oliver and Fred Sirieix team up for One Love restaurant pop up in Clapton

  

  They made a great team when they co-presented from Marrakech in the BBC show Remarkable Places to Eat. Now Fred Siriex and Andy Oliver are joining forces for a one month pop-up in East London.

  One Love will be a combination of Caribbean family cooking and French influences, taking over the Clapton Country Club for a month.

  As Fred explains: "I am very excited because Andi and I are opening a pop up here at the Clapton

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• Andi Oliver brings Andi's Wadadli Kitchen and Caribbean food to Clapton

  

  Great British Menu's Andi Oliver is getting ready to deliver. This time she's teaming up with The Crooked Billet in Clapton to launch Wadadli Kitchen and it's all about Caribbean food. Here's how they describe it:

  Andi's Wadadli Kitchen is real Caribbean home cooking. Food from the heart of all the islands, from Antigua to St Lucia, Cuba to Jamaica, Martinique to Guyana. The influences

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• Santa Maria opens A Slice of Blue pizza pub in Clapton

  A team-up between the founders of Santa Maria and Firezza, this is bringing pizzas, beer and music under one roof in Clapton - creating a new-style pizza pub in the process. 

• Seb Myers is the latest chef to take charge of P Franco's induction hobs

  

  It's time for another change at P Franco, the tiny Clapton wine bar that manages to keep well ahead of London trends with only a few induction hobs to its name. If you're not familiar with them, they switch over chefs every six month or so - each chef completely changing the style of food and really stamping their name on the place. Most recently was Tubo Legier - and all eyes are on him to see what he does

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• Casa Fofo sees ex-Pidgin chef open in Hackney

   

  The former Head Chef of Pidgin has moved about half a mile north in Hackney to open this neighbourhood spot with tasting menus, natural wine list and snacks.