66 | squaremeal.co.uk

restaurants � food

mouthing o ff Pop-ups here, pop-ups there, pop-ups everywhere. Square Meal strips away the

hype to see if these oh-so-hip venues are worth shouting about WORDS NEIL SIMPSON

I recently found

myself standing

on an east London

pavement, waiting

for my chance to pop

into Fairground. This

weekend-only venture

promises three  oors

of music, debate and (most importantly) food,

to be supplied by di  erent contributors each

week. When I arrived at midday there was a

€ dgeting crowd of optimists outside and a

 urry of stressed individuals

milling around. Eventually we

were asked to form an orderly

queue, then told to return

later. I never went back.

This experience was

particularly disappointing

because pop-ups o  er a

di  erent type of anticipation to a permanent

restaurant, fuelled by the allure of something

fresh,  eeting and € nite. Hype  ourishes

in such fertile conditions and social media

ensure that it's never been easier to stoke the

€ re. Building expectations for a new pop-up

is easy, but meeting them is a di  erent

matter, making this culinary trend tricky to

navigate. In short, are they worth the e  ort?

The potential power of a pop-up is

undeniable. Five years before becoming head

chef at Chiltern Firehouse, Nuno Mendes ran

The Loft Project - a dining experiment that

took place in the same road as Fairground.

The space allowed for a single table of diners

to sample the creations of a guest chef,

keeping overheads low and possibilities high.

One hit act was The Young Turks - a trio of

chefs who proclaimed 'we have worked in

some of the best kitchens in the world, and

now we want to do it our way'.

To prove the point, former Turk James

Lowe recently opened Lyle's in Shoreditch

(see review p.46), while one-time sidekick

Isaac McHale now helms the crowd-funded

Clove Club. Other recent success stories

include Dock Kitchen graduate Stevie Parle,

who now runs hot-ticket Rotorino in Dalston.

And then there are the Pizza Pilgrims -

proof that the pop-up strategy can be a

cunning way of invading chain territory. From

a van, street stall and temporary residency in

Brick Lane, the Pilgrims have moved on to a

permanent Soho address. Co-founder James

Elliot points out that a pop-up meant they

'had a customer base to go to', so did not

need to build a following from scratch.

All of which sounds great, but it hides the

pitfalls of pop-ups. Elliot recalls the problems

caused by inclement weather, while punters

who have visited other venues complain

about food running out quickly, slow or

chaotic service, and arrogantly high prices

- particularly infuriating, given that most

customers would probably forgive wobbles

as long as the whole thing was a  ordable.

On the downside, big brands and large

corporations are now starting to jump on

the bandwagon - witness Wahaca's Mexican

installation on the Southbank and British

Airways' temporary restaurant within an

airplane cabin during the London Olympics.

Venues are also coining the phrase simply

to describe seasonal food or drinks, as in a

'pop-up summer bar' where nothing seems

to have popped up aside from some beach

balls, piña coladas and pro€ t margins.

A successful pop-up can introduce you to

pigeon burgers, deep-fried insects or dinner

in a hot chef's living room. On the other hand,

what's the point of eating in a shipping crate

if the company behind it is loaded? Clearly,

fresh labels are needed for

these temporary enterprises,

because good pop-ups are

irresistibly fun.

Fairground may have

had a false start, but for

entrepreneurial spirit alone

it still deserves respect - and,

yes, another go in the queue.

Neil Simpson is Square Meal's editorial assistant

Pop-ups off er a type of

anticipation fuelled by the allure of

something fresh, fl eeting and fi nite

POP�UP PROS

High potential for fun

'I had dinner at Nuno Mendes' house'

Exclusive and € nite

Ahead of the curve

An outlet for promising chefs

POP�UP CONS

High potential for hunger

'Can you come back in two hours please?'

Corporate abuse

Empty social media hype

An outlet for talentless chefs