A few months after opening Bun House upstairs, husband and wife team Z He and Alex Peffly have opened Tea Room in the basement of the former Moroccan restaurant and hookah joint Maison Toureg in London’s Soho quarter.
Both spaces – designed by He’s interiors studio Five Line Projects – are inspired by the classic cha chan tangs of 1960s Hong Kong: invariably, heaving, atmospheric cafés that are open at all hours, and feed a quickly rotating roster of customers with homey Cantonese fare.
Whilst Bun House is a nostalgic mélange of glazed ceramic garden stools and dark wood carpentry and serves the titular buns alongside Chinese street snacks, down a deep green stairwell, Tea Room frames its menu of lethal cocktails and Cantonese fare against a more noir backdrop of rattan furniture by Sika Design, exposed brick, brass and velvet drapes.
Head chef Zhang Chenquan’s menu is a particularly interesting mix of traditional fare, zhooshed up as sharing plates for Millennial Londoners – to whit, Oolong-smoked quail, claypot rice and tea eggs – all washed down with organic Lapsang Souchong and pu-er, or, if you’re feeling particularly daring, bartender Franky Rodrigues’ baijiu infused with toasted maple, five spice syrup and smoked pear.
ADDRESS
23-24 Greek Street
-
Philippe Starck on his new Stone Island campaign, and what makes good designAs Philippe Starck becomes the star of Stone Island’s Ghost campaign, the designer speaks to Wallpaper* about appearing in front of the camera, living like a monk, and the rules of good design
-
Printing on eggshells or skateboards: Nirvana CPH brings alive creative visions on any surfaceMeet Nirvana CPH, the secret production partner behind some of luxury and fashion’s biggest brands
-
Cinnamon buns to deli delights: fill your boots at Toklas Bakery’s first Harvest FestivalToklas Bakery hosts its first Harvest Festival which offers the best of Britain’s producers, hands-on workshops, and new pastry flavours ( on 21 September 2024)
-
London’s Covent Garden makes the perfect cosmopolitan backdrop for new British-French bistro, HenriBritish chef Jackson Boxer and French designer Dorothée Meilichzon reunite for Henri, a restaurant located inside darling hotel, Henrietta
-
Step inside Cowley Manor, a refreshed 300-plus-year-old spa hotel in the CotswoldsExperience bucolic bliss at Cowley Manor, recently renovated by architects De Matos Ryan and interior designer Dorothée Meilichzon
-
Seven London late-night restaurants worth staying up forOur food critic picks the best late-night restaurants London has to offer, dishing up excellent food in stylish surroundings after midnight
-
Café Petiole is a pastel-hued, plant-based haven within Somerset HouseDesigned by female-led studio Duelle, Café Petiole’s romantic interiors complement a vibrant vegetarian menu by chef Rishim Sachdeva, at Somerset House in London
-
Cabaret, martinis and Yorkshire puddings: The Cockatoo by Bistrotheque has it allThe Cockatoo, a bar, restaurant and performance space designed by Nice Projects, adds spice and rhythm to storied east London venue Bistrotheque
-
Recharge at Praktyka, the glamping spot all creatives should knowArchitectural cabins and art workshops await at Praktyka, a creative retreat on the wild North Devon coast
-
Tollington’s is the new Spanish-inspired fish bar making a splash in north LondonTollington’s in Finsbury Park is a new opening from the team behind The Plimpsoll, championing Spanish-style dining and interiors
-
The Orangery at Kensington Palace offers high tea and verdant vistas in a royal London settingThe Orangery at Kensington Palace Gardens is the perfect green setting for a sunny day treat of afternoon tea and more
