Friday 20th June - I've been struggling to tear myself away from the football for the last couple of weeks, so most of my trips have had to involve at least a screen somewhere in the background, a World Cup comfort blanket of sorts. Thankfully, Model Market (Street Feast's new hangout in Lewisham) offered just that, a couple of cheeky screens tucked away, in case I felt an urge to bet on which team might be thefirst to have 3 corners.
But that's enough about football (for now). Model Market is so fantastic that I didn't even notice the 7 goal thriller going in between France and Switzerland in the background. Those clever Street Feast chaps have transformed an abandoned 1950s indoor & outdoor market just off Lewisham High Street into a buzzing street food night market, complete with 5 bars, and a "micro-diner" for every trader.
The vibe is reminiscent of their Dalston Yard site with a bit of the Brixton Village lanes thrown in for good measure, but the addition of custom built diners for every trader has taken the night market experience to another level. With a trip to New York & Chicago coming up, I'm worried that I might be leaving behind something more exciting at home! From shandies poured in a hair salon (coming soon) to slow-smoked BBQ in an old record shop, Model Market has a little bit of everything. A rooftop suntrap is soon to be added too.
My advice: get there early, get a table in one of the diners or bars (the Winyl bar - wine and vinyl - is a good shout), bring a lot of friends and settle in for the evening. Rotate on excursions for food & drinks, come hungry and try and get a little taste of everything.
It is open every Friday & Saturday from 6pm-1am for the foreseeable future. Entry was free for the opening weekend, but it is usually £3 after 7pm, just like at Dalston Yard opposite Dalston Junction Overground.
I can't recommend Street Feast highly enough, I don't think there's a better way to spend a summer evening in London at the moment. Both Dalston Yard & Model Market are doing their bit to give New York a run for its money. Long may they continue.
Saturday 21st June - With a busy night of World Cup football ahead, I squeezed in an afternoon trip to Shuttlecock Inc's Alaskan Gold Rush popup. Pimlico Gardens became an Alaskan settlement for the day, complete with live music, fishy demonstrations, treasure hunts, con-men (magicians), food tastings and bourbon cocktails.
The afternoon was an entertaining family affair with actors staying firmly in character. Various activities could earn you money or gold to exchange for drinks at the saloon bar. I sold out a 7yr old in hiding in $500,000 as well as earning some more cash through horseshoe throwing and guitar playing.
The food offerings were delicious including some gravlax on sourdough with juicy yellow tomatoes and more, and a tasty plate of Alaskan black cod which apparently gave me more than my weekly dose of Omega-3 oils.
Most of these photos are again up on Matt The Tumblr - click here.
The evening session was for over 18s only - a four course fish feast, gambling and dancing at the saloon bar, live music, story telling round the campfire and more. I'm sure it was a huge success judging by the afternoon, but I had a date at a German bar that I couldn't be late for...
Bierschenke in Temple was a great spot for watching German games over the last few years, but they recently decided to move to a much bigger site in Liverpool Street which opened last week. Anticipating huge crowds for Germany vs Ghana at 8pm, we arrive at 4pm and set up shop for the evening. As expected, Germans started flooding in around us, which made the surprisingly tense Argentina vs Iran game even more entertaining.
Bierschenke ticks all the boxes - steins, rauchbiers, lederhosen, schnapps, sausage (Sepp) platters etc. A pair next to us impressively dispatched an enormous roasted pork shank, but it was no match for our ridiculous £60 sausage platter. A busy kitchen led to an epic 90 minute wait for it, but our waitress kept us happy with beer schnapps (whatever that is).
German beer halls always seem to have the friendliest folk in, and we were very matey with our neighbours by the end, mainly thanks to a pack of stickers I was carrying around. An end to end 2-2 draw kept the everyone on the edge of their seats (especially the brave lone Ghana fan in one corner), although all we were really after was a German yellow card and 9 German corners before the end of the match for some of our silly bets to come good.
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| Rauchbiers and Steins |
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| Sepp Platter |
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| Beer Schnapps |
Bierschenke is probably the best spot for watching Germany games in London, but it's also great fun without sport in the background. Best enjoyed with a big group of friends, don't expect a quiet night!
Stay tuned for a post soon charting all of my trips to various nationality bars during the course of the World Cup.
Whilst we're on the subject, does anybody know where all the Costa Rican fans hang out?
