The Pop Up Restaurant

The Pop Up revolution is growing by the day.  Among all the temporary shops and events, the pop up restaurant is increasingly becoming one of the most exiting alternatives to its more permanent counterpart.

We all love to eat out and many of us have favourite restaurants that we visit time and time again.  But it can easily get a little boring and that’s where the pop up restaurant comes in.  Temporary restaurants are not exactly a new phenomenon.  Food stalls and festivals have been around for years.  Some independent restaurateurs even travel around the country or their own town, going where the customers are.

A popular pop up restaurant in Brighton for example is the Trolls Pantry.  They sell gourmet burgers made with locally sourced ingredients and their ethos derives from the street food trend, where it is thought that people should be able to sample great food on the move, wherever they may be.  Their growing popularity means that they have recently taken root in a local pub.

As with the excitement that surrounds pop up and empty shops, you really could take your pop up restaurant anywhere, in doors or out, as long as you have the correct permissions, of course!  A good place to start, once you have your location sorted, would be to speak to your local council about obtaining a food and hygiene safety certificate and trading licence.

If you are in the catering industry or you are planning an event where a pop up restaurant would fit in, we at Popupspace often come across available property with catering facilities.  Alternatively, if it’s an outside space you’re after we can help you negotiate with landlords, owners and local authorities with our planning and pop up location sourcing services.  All in all, these restaurants are a great way to show off your culinary skills to a new audience every day, so why not get started today?

 

Sarah James, Popupspace

Steam

steamSteam, a new pop up restaurant in London’s Covent Garden, opened for the day promising the holy grail of dieters everywhere – a calorie neutral meal! Between courses, diners were invited to partake in stretching classes, complete dining workouts and even vibrating seat pads (which apparently encourage your body to use up calories).

You may assume that a calorie neutral meal would be less then appetizing, but according to Steam you would be wrong! Frederick Forster of The Boundary was the chef hired to create the menu which included scallops, fillet of beef and chorizo all cooked using only steam to keep the calorie levels as low as possible.

High tech kitchen equipment makers Miele were the brains behind the 13th March pop up, which they launched to promote their range of steam-cooking appliances.

South African pop up restaurant

DenverFrom 23rd February, you are invited to an evening of South African fine wining and dining with Denver Bennett. Originally from South Africa, Denver left a career in teaching to persue his lifelong love of food in 2012. His mother and his Aunt Kate were a big influence to his love of cooking: “My aunt was a self-taught caterer with a wealth of experience drawing from Jewish and Indian cultures and blending it into a style uniquely South African. Food in apartheid South Africa was soul food for the oppressed,” he explained.

Fans of Bennett’s food include Counciller John Muldoon: “Denver Bennett brings pop-up dining to Lewisham. If this dinner is anything like the excellent lunches he creates at the Talent Factory, this will be a great night out.”

Ackroyd Community Association in the Ackroyd Centre, London SE23 1DL is the venue – for more information see www.dbfoods.org.

Pop up Plaice!

PlaiceThe owners of a family run fish and chip shop are opening a pop up chip shop called Plaice in a car park on Friday, to mark the hand over of the shop to their granddaughter.

Pisces, on Station Road in Yate and run by Julia and Kip Holbrook, has been filmed over several weeks for BBC2’s The Fixer – a documentary series with Alex Polizzi which follows family run businesses through their ups and downs. The pop up shop will be filmed as part of the series.

The pop up will serve complimentary drinks and nibbles as recommended by business expert Alex. “The programme has been a very positive experience”, Mrs Holbrook said. “As a result we will be looking at sourcing more food locally including rolls from Hobbs House and burgers and sausages from their butchery. We are talking to a lot more local suppliers as we feel it is important to support each other.”

Five Michelin starred chefs – one night only

bobby mooreThe Bobby Moore Fund in partnership with Electrolux will present a gastronomic extravaganza which if you are a serious foodie is an absolute must.

The one off event is a charity dinner of five courses, each cooked by a Michelin starred chef at Gibson Hall, Bishopsgate, London. Chefs already on board include Daniel Clifford of Midsummer House Restaurant in Cambridge, Atul Kochar, Simon Roga and Jonray & Peter Sanchez.

Tickets for the event – that is to be held on 24th January 2013 – are £395 each. VIP and Chef’s table tickets are also available.

For more information and to book tickets contact davina.yanful@cancer.org.uk

Chez Amelie for Meningitis research

MeningitisSally Clipson and Kevin Smith, who lost their three year old daughter Amelie to Meningitis in 2008, turned their Soham home into a 28 cover pop up restaurant for the evening in order to raise funds for Meningitis UK.

The menu was French themed as the family had lived in France when Amelie was taken ill, and the food and drink were all supplied by supporters and volunteers so that all of the profits from the evening could go straight to charity. With no fixed prices for the meal or wine with guests encouraged to pay what they felt the meal was worth and so the money came flooding in, raising £1,600.

Kevin said the evening was “beyond all our expectations – I think people were expecting to eat in our front room but it turned out they ate in what felt like a proper restaurant”.

The couple hope to repeat the event ever six months in order to continue to support the charity.

Pop up park in Heathrow

heathrow_turfing_the_terminal_2London Heathrow Airport has opened a pop up park in Terminal 5 designed to promote the airport’s healthy dining offers and give passengers a space to relax and de-stress.

Research conduced by the airport shows that British people take a third of their annual holiday allowance to relax into their holiday, with more then one in ten never being able to switch off fully while away and the airport is aiming to kick start the process.

Heathrow’s eateries have launched a pre-flight and relaxation menu, designed specifically to be eaten in the pop up park to promote the positive effect food and drink can have on passengers’ wellbeing. Foods on offer include smoked chicken and mango salad (Gordon Ramsey Plane Food) or avocado and crab rolls (itsu).

The park has a lawned relaxation area (albeit a synthetic lawn) with Rosemary and Jasmine plants, the aromas of which are believed to aid wellbeing.

Heathrow Head of Food & Beverage Ben Crowley commented: “Holidays are precious, providing us vital time to relax and recharge our batteries. We want to help passengers start their holidays the moment they arrive at the airport, and make sure their time away is as relaxing and enjoyable as possible. Our indoor park adds a completely different dimension to Heathrow’s departure lounge and our menu of specially developed relaxation dishes really completes the experience.”

Auchentoshan Presents…

auchentoshanSunday 28th October is a date for the diary in Edinburgh. Claire Robertson, one of the pioneers of the London secret dining scene, is creating a pop-up dining experience with whisky and food matching for Auchentoshan Presents…

The event is to be held at Cabaret Voltaire and will serve the brand of whisky that the event is named for.

For more information contact edinburgh@auchentoshanpresents.com

Gingerline pop up restaurant

GingerlineTaking its name from the colour of London’s East London tube line, the location of the restaurant is to remain a secret to diners until 60 minutes before the evening begins.  Part hideout, part parallel reality, Gingerline is billed as a clandestine dining experience with the menu, concept and location all a secret.

Food lovers will be taken from the appointed station and shown to the specially designed arts space for an evening of feasting and merriment.

All dietary requirements can be catered for – contact Gingerline for more information- www.gingerline.co.uk.

Five days of fun fashion

loveurlookThis September sees a celebration of British designers at Le Garage on 115 Dulwich Road, Herne Hill.

Open from 5th – 10th September, the pop up shop will stock unique and handmade vintage-inspired 1950’s clothing and hair accessories.

“English garden, nature’s playground and 50s fun inspire my collection for 2012”, says designer Ronke Fashola. The founder of Stylizers style consultancy will not only be selling her fun and feminine designs aimed at all ages. There will also be free drop-in style consultation sessions, giving you the chance to have your body shape assessed.Vintage style jewellery and unique art work and cards will also be on offer.

The pop up is open from 11am – 7pm each day so pop in!