City Matters Edition 035

CITYMATTERS.LONDON 31 May - 06 June 2017 | Page 9
Food Matters
SWOOP ON FINSBURY SQUARE’S NEW BRITISH TAPAS AND BYOB POP-UP
Well Nested
done
IT was raining the evening we visited Nest, the
summer pop-up smack bang in the middle of
Finsbury Square.
Not just that lukewarm spring spit we
Londoners expect as the seasons do battle over
whose turn it is to rule our social calendars, but
proper, non-stop, rivulets of icy rain.
It was surely cold enough to freeze the smiles
on the faces of founders Johnnie Crowe, Luke
Wasserman and Toby Neill, at least for a second,
as they saw their plans to host our party on the
terrace overlooking the bowling green disappear
LET’S DO...
CEREAL AND THE SKYLINE /
Sunrise Tours at Sky Garden
One for the early birds, Sky Garden has launched
sunrise tours of the City skyline from its position
on level 35 of the Walkie Talkie building. A
certified Blue Badge guide will talk you through
some of the Capital’s most iconic buildings,
followed by a wander through Sky Garden’s
urban forest before it opens to the public. Once
you’ve worked up an appetite, tuck in to the daily
changing unlimited buffet spread, including
freshly-baked muffins and pastries, seasonal fruit
platters, wholegrain cereals and yoghurts.
1 Sky Garden Walk EC3M 8AF
A WEE WHISKEY / Kaleidoscope
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is unveiling
the posh stuff to us bottom shelf-ers, making it’s
200-strong collection of single malts available to
the public through its first non-member bar in
Devonshire Square. Sample from 12 categories
helpfully identified by taste (Deep Rich and Dried
Fruits) or try one of the whisky cocktails from
mixologists Michael Cook and Jamie Meehan.
Upstairs neighbours Mac & Wild will provide the
Scottish-themed snacks, including their famous
gooey mac and cheese balls.
9a Devonshire Square EC2M 4YN
into a puddle. So it’s a testament to the trio – all
mates from uni – and their concept of seasonal
British tapas served pop-up style at picturesque
locations around the UK that we barely noticed
the deluge.
The six-week stint at Finsbury Square is the
first established set up for Nest and for Luke and
Toby who were, up until recently, working in
accounting and advertising respectively; while
Johnnie sharpened his chef knives at Michelinstarred
Harwood Arms and Farringdon hotspot
Anglo. A shared appreciation for British produce
STEAK, DONE WELL / Blackhouse
Sharpen your steak knives, carnivores,
Blackhouse, Grill On the Market is back with a
new look to serve up some of the finest cuts this
side of Smithfield. Premium cuts – 15-year-old
English Galician, beer-fed Wagyu and an
Australian fillet – sit alongside quality classics,
including an Argentinian ribeye and Scotch
sirloin. Don’t know your T-bone from your
tenderloin? Each table has a ‘Book of Beef’, a
definitive in-house guide to the wet and dry aging
processes to the cuts of beef, types of premium
breeds, and the best drink pairings.
2-3 West Smithfield EC1A 9JX
simply and seasonally spurred them into
action, and within a year of tossing in their jobs,
they were in the restaurant business; a six-week
stint at Finsbury Square followed by pop-ups at
music festival Gottwood and The Boathouse in
Anglesey while they look for more permanent
digs in London.
Luke and Toby manage front of house, while
Johnnie takes care of things in the kitchen;
pumping out a small but carefully curated
menu of small plates that swing from the dainty,
smoked cod’s roe and fennel tartlets; to the
more robust, ploughman’s croquettes and Old
Spot Jowl with burnt orange.
Order as many plates as the table can handle
via pub quiz-esque menu sheets (rather than
having a waiter hover, Toby’s pet hate) and don’t
overlook the nutty soda bread with whipped
pork fat butter – simple but surprisingly
moreish.
Mocktails
Inclement weather aside, things were initially
looking fairly dry for Nest, following a failed
bid for a liquor license (madness, surely in
amongst all these bankers), but the trio took yet
another stumbling block in their stride where
others might have sought more alcohol-friendly
pastures.
In a move that will probably put the local
off-license owner’s kids through private school,
they made the place BYOB, designing mocktails
of cucumber, lime and juniper, and rhubarb
and ginger that are summer in a glass and fully
spike-able from your own bottle at just £2.50
corkage.
It’s a continuation of the casual, go-with-the
flow approach that matches Nest’s simple, good
food and relaxed atmosphere, rain, hail or
(hopefully) shine.
Nest, Finsbury Square EC2A
spot on: Old Spot
and orange
vibrant menu:
awaits at Nest