squaremeal.co.uk | 3

Welcome to your spring issue of Squaremeal. I hope you've

noticed that we've had a bit of a spring clean and that you like

the magazine's boxfresh new look. Meg and Lauren, our very

talented design team, have done a brilliant job of creating

something that we feel really reflects the buzz and excitement

of everything to do with eating out in London.

But eating out isn't just confined to restaurants these days

and, in keeping with the fresh and new theme, we've profiled

the six stars of the street food scene who are most likely to make the leap from pop-up to

permanent (p.56). I'd urge you not to wait that long, though, and to check them out as

soon as you can. After all, there's nothing like saying you were the first in line for the latest

restaurant trend, and Filipino barbecue or ice-cream sandwiches might just be it.

Our BMW Best New Restaurant, Hoppers (p.33), is another new departure for us: it's

the first time this prestigious accolade has been awarded to a no-bookings restaurant. If

you'd never dream of queuing for your dinner, think again: they text you when your table is

available so you can go for a drink while you wait - and the food is well worth waiting for.

But we also appreciate that readers still have an appetite (and bonus) for luxury and

whether you're looking for London's most high-end restaurants and hotels to spend the

night in (p.52) - or the most high-end gyms that will stop you showing the effects of the

morning after (p.114) - you'll find them in this issue. As ever: happy eating!

NICKY EVANS

Nicky Evans decided

to base her career

around the thing she

loves most: food. She

has written recipes,

features, columns and restaurant reviews

for titles including Time Out, delicious

and Waitrose Weekend and contributes

to lifestyle blog everyday30.com.

May bank holiday at home or away? I try to

spend it in someone else's home - that

way you get the best of both worlds.

Favourite alfresco spot in London? Sipping a

cocktail outside Grain Store, watching my son

play in the fountains on Granary Square.

Favourite spring flavour? Wild garlic.

Nicky wrote In Season, p.20.

JAMIE MILLAR

A freelance contributing

editor at Men's Health,

Jamie writes about

fashion and fitness for

publications including

Mr Porter, Amuse and Wired. He also pens

(well, types) a column about style for The

Gentleman's Journal.

May bank holiday at home or away? Home,

watching football and Bond films.

Favourite alfresco spot in London? I take

breaks from writing - and squander

my fees on coffee - in the cafés along

Broadway Market.

Favourite spring flavour? Asparagus with

poached eggs on toast for breakfast.

Jamie wrote Perfect Fit, p.136.

STEVE RYAN

Steve is an Irish

photographer based

in London, specialising

in food, drink and

portraiture. He shoots

both editorial and advertising campaigns

and is a co-founder of 40FT Brewery and

contributing editor at Root + Bone.

May bank holiday at home or away?

Freelancers don't have the luxury of

planning, unfortunately.

Favourite alfresco spot in London? It has to

be Rochelle Canteen in Shoreditch.

Favourite spring flavour? Beer!

Steve took the photos for Word on the Street, p.52.

PUBLISHERS Mark de Wesselow, Simon White EDITORIAL Tel: 020 7840 6295

Editor Ben McCormack Acting Deputy Editor Laura Foster Contributing Editor Julie Sheppard News &

Online Editor India Dowley Deputy News & Online Editor Neil Simpson Editorial Assistant Rosie Morris

Intern Megan Vigar Sub Editors Jill Cropper, Phil Harriss, David Mabey, Amy Swales, Katie Wyartt DISPLAY

ADVERTISING Tel: 020 7840 6273 Advertisement Director Charles Meynell Lifestyle Manager Kate

Stephens Account Director, Drinks Adam Wyartt Account Manager, Lifestyle Gianni Buttice DESIGN &

PRODUCTION Tel: 020 7840 6294 Creative Director Robin Freeman Art Director Meg Georgeson Art

Editor Lauren Ozzati Printing Wyndeham Roche MARKETING Tel: 020 7840 6269 Head of Marketing

Rachel Harty Events Manager Chloé Kingham Events Planner Ed Warr Senior Marketing Executive Paul Young

CIRCULATION Tel: 0870 141 6101 COVER: Photographer Nato Welton Hair and make-up Kenny Leung

Nails Stephanie Staunton (both at Carol Hayes Management) Model Michelle (at Nevs Models) Coralline Atoll

ring in gold, £8,500, from the Les Précieuses Corallines collection; Axum ring in gold, £12,000, from the Lucy

in Wonderland collection; L'Exceptionnelle Emeraude cuff in gold vermeil, made to order from £8,000, from

Les Exceptionnelles collection; Would you like a drop of Tej Madame? earrings in gold, price on request, from

the Lucy in Wonderland collection, all by Ornella Iannuzzi, ornella-iannuzzi.com.

A member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations. We believe our facts are correct at the time of going to press, although inevitably information changes, which

means care must be exercised. Reviews are subjective. Neither Monomax Ltd nor its agents or employees can accept liability for omissions or inaccuracies. No

material can be reproduced without written permission of the Publisher. © Monomax Ltd April 2016. ISSN 977-1369264-01-3-43

FOR REVIEWS OF 11,500 BARS AND Reditor@squaremeal.co.uk/p>

PLUS VENUES FOR ALL YOUR EVENTS: squaremeal.co.uk

Published by: Monomax Ltd, Quadrant House, 250 Kennington Lane, London, SE11 5RD Tel: +44 (0)20

7582 0222 Helpline: +44 (0)20 7840 6299 Fax: +44 (0)20 7582 5444 Email: editor@squaremeal.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS

BEN MCCORMACK, EDITOR

squaremeal.co.uk | 57

56 | squaremeal.co.uk

RESTAURANTS + FOOD

FROM LEFT: RACHEL

JONES, FABIAN CLARK,

RICHARD MAKIN, CELIA

FARRAR, GUY JACKSON,

LEE JOHNSON, SINEAD

CAMPBELL, TOM BROWNE

There was a time, not so long ago, when a pop-up referred only to a type of book, and a van was something you hired when

moving. Now, a new movement has firmly cemented itself (or dragged its Airstream trailer into semi-permanent residency)

in the London food scene: street food. Places such as KERB, Druid Street Market, Street Feast and Hawker House have

become dining destinations that rival even the most hotly tipped bricks-and-mortar opening, and street food has become a

fertile training ground for the chefs of the future. First there was Pitt Cue and Meat Liquor, then came the 'Bao-ist' era, as the cult

steamed bun specialists proved it's possible to convert a cult market following into a dining establishment that's so popular it inspires

lines around the block come rain or shine. Wai Ting Chung, co-founder of Bao, says, "Having a stall allows you to test a concept and

is a cheaper and less risky way to get a business off the ground." There's also a sense that it suits the more interactive (read: informed

by social media) way in which we now eat. Get in early and earn some serious bragging rights by following these six vendors who we're

tipping as the restaurant stars of tomorrow.

Forget chef school and long stages in sweaty,

sweary kitchens. London's booming street food

movement is now the breeding ground for the

hottest restaurants around - and these guys

and girls are the ones to watch out for in 2016

WORD ON

THE STREET

WORDS: AMY GRIER PHOTOGRAPH: STEVE RYAN

squaremeal.co.uk | 115

T

ake a moment to imagine turning

up at a restaurant to find facilities

neglected, the staff inattentive and

the fare distinctly underwhelming.

Imagine then that you had no choice but to

pay full price; in fact, you already had, as

the restaurant had taken the money out of

your account beforehand. This, for years, is

how gyms have typically operated.

"The problem with the fitness industry

has been that in many instances it's been

serving 'inedible food' - until places like

1Rebel came along and disrupted the

market," says Giles Dean, co-founder of

the London-based boutique gym. Walk

into either of its two City locations and

you might mistake it for a hipster café, all

exposed concrete and organic smoothies.

If you can divert your attention from

the gleaming brushed-copper lockers, then

you might notice that the benches in the

changing room are heated, and that towels

are lavender-scented and stored in a Smeg

refrigerator. Spit and sawdust are most

certainly not on the menu.

BOUTIQUE BODIES

Recent years have seen the proliferation

of budget gyms - the workout equivalent

of fast food: cheap, fulfilling a need, but

ultimately a little unsatisfying. However,

in contrast, there's also been an explosion

of 'haute cuisine' fitness.

Where once there was a morass of

similarly priced options around the £30

to £70 mark, monthly fees now range from

£15 to £300. "The mass-market, mid-tier

fitness clubs have sacrificed their brands

by trying to be all things to all people,"

says Dean. "This has polarised the market,

creating opportunities for brands at both

ends of the spectrum."

Someone who would know is Dean's

business partner, James Balfour, son of

the founder of Fitness First. Established

in 1992, the chain peaked at 500 clubs

worldwide but has since shrunk to 366,

despite our growing appetite for wellness.

According to data analysts Cardlytics,

UK spending on gym memberships actually

increased by 44% last year. But our tastes

have changed, explains Dean. We now

demand many of the same things from

working out that we do from eating out:

quality, expertise, pleasing design and, of

course, good Instagram fodder.

"It's much more of an experience," he

says, "and significantly more sociable,

which is why we have an alcohol licence

on site." Yup, if you feel like you deserve

a beer after your session at 1Rebel, then

you can help yourself to a complimentary

Corona - chilled, just like your towel.

Your gym brand is thus an extension

of your personal one. "For most people,

it's not a question of 'Do I exercise?' - it's

'Where and when?'" says Colin Waggett,

the former CEO of Fitness First who left

in 2012 to found trendy spin brand Psycle,

with locations in W1 and Canary Wharf.

A revolution in the

fitness industry has

high-end gyms going

to great lengths to

keep their demanding,

Instagram-loving

customers coming

back for more

WORDS JAMIE MILLAR

We now demand many of the

same things from working out as

we do from eating out: quality,

expertise and pleasing design

LEFT: THIRD SPACE

TOWER BRIDGE.

TOP: 1REBEL'S CHIC

CHANGING ROOMS.

PERFECT

FIT

114 | squaremeal.co.uk

FASHION + LIFESTYLE

WELCOME TO