Tuesday, August 02, 2011

The Prince's Pop-Up

I was really intrigued when i heard about the Start pop-up sustainable restaurant at Lancaster House, especially as it's not normally open to the public (by the by, this is where The Kings Speech was filmed...). So, the man and me decided to have a bit of a nosey on Friday night. Now, i'm becoming a little dubious about pop-up's as they seem to be, hmmm, well, popping up everywhere. But as we walked through St James Park, (debating prices of the bordering houses - including a certain palace...) we knew we were in for a treat when we heard the sweet sounds of acoustic music and laughter drifting from the grounds. So, first of all, there were no queues - just brilliant - and second of all, the place was dreamy! Imagine a warm summer's evening (well actually it was bloody freezing but i'm using some artistic license here), delicious food, amazing local lager (freedom - too good), live music and great company to while away an evening with - sounds good, no? The decor was kind of a cross between old British colonial and a cool Brighton brik-a-brak shop, really inspiring and all reclaimed stuff as well. Everyone seemed to have their own leather sofa to sink into, which definitely contributed to the relaxing vibe that oozed from the marquee into the night. There was also the option of a more formal dining experience inside the house, which looked gorgeous, but this was just perfect for a Friday night wind down.

Apologies as this post is kind of posthumous...the pop-up ended on Friday. But keep an eye on the Start website, for more events and celebrations around sustainable living. These guys are on to a great thing here.
all the food was organic and locally sourced. The yummyness you see is a potted crab and smoked haddock scotch egg platter and a ham hock terrine platter with pickled cherries - sounds odd but surprisingly delicious! Lots of yummy noises were made - always a very positive sign!