’88 by Bistrotheque’ pop-up restaurant, London
'88 by Bistrotheque' pop-up restaurant, London
Aside from fashion going into shoulder-padded overdrive, Kylie's album topping the charts and Beetlejuice hitting our screens, 1988 was also the year that the towers of Canary Wharf began to rise. So it's an apt choice of annum for Bistrotheque to take us back to with its new pop-up restaurant in the London development.
Visitors to '88 by Bistrotheque' can expect an all-immersive experience. Based in a building slated for demolition next year, the five-nights-only eatery's interiors are inspired by the short-lived but influential 1998 youth TV show, Network 7, complete with neon tubing and Venetian blinds. Waiters will come dressed in clothes from the period by designers like Thierry Mugler and Katharine Hamnett - with Giles Deacon also recreating some of the looks of the time - and on the sound system will be solely 1988 hits.
The menu, of course, features more wonders from the time, inspired by the handiwork of then leading chefs, like Alistair Little - known as the Godfather of modern British cooking - and the River Café's Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray. 1988 was the year that saw exotic produce arrive on UK shores, as well as Italian oils and vinegars, with chefs beginning to celebrate robust flavours and give the produce the lead role, as the restaurant's menu reflects. Expect dishes like coquelet with lemon and herbs, and crisp polenta with ricotta, grilled courgettes, rocket and parmesan, washed down with many a glass of champagne.
Set up by Pablo Flack and David Waddington, Bistrotheque virtually invented the pop-up phenomena when it opened The Reindeer on Brick Lane in 2006, a temporary restaurant that attracted over 20,000 people in just 23 days, and follows hot on the heels of last year's beautifully pitched Studio East pavilion, atop the parapet of the under-construction Westfield Stratford City. This time, those that don't live east can arrive in style aboard the daily speedboat service from Westminster Pier.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Malaika Byng is an editor, writer and consultant covering everything from architecture, design and ecology to art and craft. She was online editor for Wallpaper* magazine for three years and more recently editor of Crafts magazine, until she decided to go freelance in 2022. Based in London, she now writes for the Financial Times, Metropolis, Kinfolk and The Plant, among others.
-
Gucci’s ‘Design Ancora’ reimagines furniture classics in rich red
Gucci launches new editions of Italian design icons in an alluring deep red, showcased during Milan Design Week 2024
By Simon Mills Published
-
Loewe’s Jonathan Anderson drafts artists to create 24 extraordinary lamps at Milan Design Week 2024
Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson commissioned international artists and artisans to explore ‘illumination within the house’ with a series of lamps and lighting installations, shown at a group exhibition at Milan Design Week 2024
By Scarlett Conlon Published
-
What are polynucleotides? Trying the skin injectable made from salmon sperm
Polynucleotides are the latest in skin injectables, containing DNA derived from the gonads of salmon. Wallpaper* Beauty & Grooming Editor Hannah Tindle tries them to discover exactly how they work
By Hannah Tindle Published