This new London Fields dining room in the old Papi space has impeccable neighbourhood credentials: chef Mike Bagnall is the brains behind the ongoing Elm residency, currently at the Montpelier pub in Peckham, while his co-owner and general manager Dylan Walters is formerly of listening bar Bambi. So far, so cool London cliché, but the pair are bringing something new to the capital, with an emphasis on the cooking of Abruzzo, the rugged region halfway down the Adriatic side of the Italian peninsula.
The mood: Between Hopper and Hackney
Bagnall and Walters designed and renovated the space themselves on a self-funded budget. Abstract paintings by Leevar Spies hang on the walls, though the restaurant’s guiding artistic spirit is the life-sized print of Edward Hopper’s Soir Bleu that has pride of place in the light-filled dining room.
'The painting pictures a clown dining in a Parisian bistro,” Walters says, “living in a strange, liminal space, seen through a slightly alienated, theatrical lens. Hopper does a fantastic job of referencing European bistro culture as an outsider. In turn, Auguste is less about recreating the European café than staging it.'
Other decorative touches include natural wine bottles displayed along one wall of a dinky bistro-like dining room. The hand-varnished plywood shelves are meant, Walters says, “to be reminiscent of those you would find on a temporary stage set.” If the restaurant’s name is a misdirect – Hopper’s fag-in-mouth clown is a white-faced Pierrot, rather than a red-nosed Auguste – so too are the stylings: what comes out of the tiny open kitchen is Italian trattoria, not French bistro.
The food: All things Abruzzo
Bagnall’s menu is built around arrosticini – the flame-grilled skewers that are a traditional speciality of Abruzzo, here rendered with cull yaw, liver and wild boar, and perfect for sharing across the four-seat chef’s counter. But there’s more to Auguste than meat on sticks. Top-notch sourcing is also evident in La Latteria stracciatella served with black iberico tomatoes, and crème fraiche cappelletti bobbing in a lamb brodo.
Bagnall used to live in Abruzzo, and his affinity for the region's produce extends to its wine. Expect to find Abruzzese grapes such as Montepulciano on Auguste’s list of low-intervention bottles, alongside Negronis and savoury martinis.
Serving simple Italian food and drinks in a small dining room offers no space for clowning around – but Auguste’s charming owners deliver an impressive performance.
Auguste is located at 373 Mentmore Terrace, London, E8 3DQ