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You’d be hard-pushed to name a more iconic London restaurant than St John. Since opening in 1994 in a former bacon smokehouse by Smithfield meat market, Fergus Henderson’s legendary spot has reimagined British food with his pioneering nose-to-tail dining, earning a long-held Michelin star. Even the late, great Anthony Bourdain called St John the ‘restaurant of my dreams’. High praise indeed.
In the years since, St John has built a mini-empire of restaurants, bakeries, a winery and even its own wine label. And now the foodie institution is about to expand its growing family with a brand new café in Bloomsbury.
Taking over the café next to the London Review Bookshop from Wednesday October 1, this feels like one of those perfect pairings like cheese and wine or madeleines and coffee. The all-day menu will showcase St John’s bakery heroes: sourdough loaves, croissants and Eccles cakes. At lunch, expect savoury tarts and doorstopper sandwiches. Naturally, there’ll also be a neat little selection of St John wines.
The café will open daily from 8am to 6.30pm, when the bookshop also shuts. On event nights, though, things get livelier: the café will stay open later, serving wines, house cocktails and snacks.
Reneé Doegar, publisher of the London Review of Books, said: ‘In my 14 years with the London Review of Books, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such unanimous delight across the magazine and bookshop teams. Bringing this idea to life with St John has been a genuine meeting of minds, and I’m thrilled to offer our bookshop community something so rich in both flavour and spirit.’
Further information around events and extended evening hours will be announced on the London Review Bookshop website here.
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