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Fancy trying some free sandwiches from one of London’s most acclaimed chefs? Lee Tiernan is heading back into the kitchen at 156 Canonbury Road for a two-day sandwich takeover later this month, returning to the Islington site that was home to the much-adored Black Axe Mangal for a decade.
The restaurant, which was latterly known as FKBAM and lauded by our food critic as ‘innovative and frankly extraordinary’, closed for regular service last December after ten years, with Lee calling it ‘a pause, not a stop’. Now we finally know what’s next, sort of. He and co-founder Kate Tiernan are reopening the space this autumn with an all-new concept, though the details are still under wraps.
‘Kate and I are returning and welcoming people back to 156 this autumn, reopening with something very different,’ Lee told Time Out. ‘I’m looking forward to getting back into the kitchen and cooking food that is close to my heart.’
Before all that, he’s teaming up with Kerrygold for a pop-up sandwich shop to mark the nationwide launch of Kerrygold Cream Cheese. There are three sandwiches on the menu, all with an Irish twist, and every single one is free.
First up is a vegetarian mushroom mapo tofu bagel from Papo’s, loaded with scallion cream cheese, coriander and sharp pickles. Lee describes it as ‘fun, interesting and not something you’ll see all too often’, and we’re inclined to agree.
Then there’s his take on a BLT, with thick-cut Irish bacon given a sweet and sticky char siu cure, layered with garlic and herb cream cheese, lettuce and roasted tomato on Dusty Knuckle sourdough. Expect it to be messy.
Longtime fans should make a beeline for the third, which nods to BAM’s legendary squid ink and cod’s roe flatbread. Smoked cod roe and wild Irish seaweed are folded through cream cheese, then topped with lemon zest, trout caviar and cress, all on a jet-black squid ink loaf.
The Kerrygold x Lee Tiernan Sandwich Shop is open on Friday October 23 from 12pm to 4pm and Saturday October 24 from 10am to 2pm at 156 Canonbury Road, N1. There are 300 free sandwiches up for grabs each day, with 100 of each, and it’s one per person.
You can’t book, so it’s first come, first served while stocks last. Our advice? Get there early, especially if you’ve got your heart set on the cod roe.
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