Model Market - 5CC at Singer Tavern - LCC Islington

Friday 17th April - Street Feast should need no introduction, but just in case:  it's your one stop shop for street food, booze, music, people, and a party atmosphere.  London's calling card after 5pm.

The doors to their three-storey Hawker House popup closed recently, but fear not - Model Market has just launched in Lewisham, and two more sites in Dalston and Shoreditch are on the way.  

Model Market was one of the highlights of 2014. I have fond memories of an evening spent eating Smokestak ribs and Breddos tacos in their converted 1950s market with the World Cup on in the background.  It's started a little earlier this year, so the sun might not always have his hat on, but there's plenty of covered space in their eight unique "micro-diners" plus the customary Street Feast fire pits to keep you warm.

What's new? Most of the traders are familiar faces these days, though this is a first Street Feast outing for Kerb regulars Bill or Beak.  There are five bars this time around, including the new "Lewisham High Line" rooftop space.  More exciting though is a well-stocked craft beer can bar featuring the likes of Oskar Blues, Ska Modus and Sly Fox from the States.

What to eat? Ideally, everything.  Go with a big group of friends, and get a taste of as much as you can.  Here are some highlights from our recent visit:

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#1 - Rola Wala - Twisted Indian street food from Mark Wright & co.

You can't have just one of Rola Wala's naan sliders - get all 3 for £9.  Kashmiri Chicken with coriander, red onion pickle, fresh lemon, and sweet mango chutney;  12 Hour Goan Pork Roast with fresh curry leaves, telecherry pepper, and pear and tamarind chutney; Keralan Daal - beetroot, paneer and coconut channa dal, coriander, lemon raita, and mint and lime chutney.  Wash them all down with one of their Mango, Turmeric and Lime sodas that they have created with Square Root London.

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#2 - Bill or Beak - Mighty duck, pork & chicken burgers from Josh & Lucy

Bill or Beak? Bill AND Beak.  You're going to want both of their overflowing burgers, and a side of Hoisin fries to boot.  The Bill involves a mountain of shredded duck and pork, spring onions, coriander, mint, vietnamese dressing and tempura shallots.  The Beak is even harder to eat - a tonne of grilled, corn-fed chicken, Caesar anchovy dressing, tempura capers, rosemary croutons, and fresh parmesan. Awesome.

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#3 - Yum Bun - Super soft steamed gua bao buns from Lisa and friends

You can't go wrong with Yum Bun. Edible pillows filled with all the delicious things. Choose from:

- Roast duck, cucumbers, spring onions, spiced plum and duck scratchings

- Slowly roasted pork belly, cucumbers, spring onions and hoi sin sauce

- Japanese fried chicken, chilli dressing, lettuce, tarutaru sauce

- Panko fried pollack, spicy gochujang mayo, lettuce & pickles

- Crispy prawns, green chilli sambal, kewpi mayo, lettuce

- Portobello mushroom, miso glaze, toasted walnuts

Finish off with one of their deep fried dessert buns if they have them - Coconut Ice Cream with Miso Butterscotch and Praline Ice Cream, or Coffee Ice Cream drizzled with Condensed Milk. Glorious.

Once you've worked your way through those, start ticking off the rest. Mama's Jerk, Smokestak, Cheeky Italian, Spit & Roast, The Beefsteaks and Mother Flipper are all deserving of your savoury attention, whilst SE Cakery and the Meringue Girls are covering the sweet side of things.  Head to the latter for your fix of sparkly unicorn poo.  Sorted.

Model Market is running all the way through to 24/25 September, every Friday and Saturday from 5pm, with £3 entry after 7pm.  Lewisham is a short train journey from Charing Cross, Waterloo East or London Bridge.  Don't miss it.

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In other news, two consonant cocktail club chains have opened new branches around the Capital.

First up, Barworks have opened 5cc at Singer Tavern, the fifth in a series of cocktail bars hidden inside their excellent pubs.  You can find the rest at Well & Bucket, Exmouth Arms, Electricity Showrooms, and Harrild & Sons.

The Singer Tavern itself has only just opened, making use of a Grade II listed building dating back to 1929 that was originally conceived to house the HQ of the iconic Singer Sewing Machine Company.

Both the pub and the clandestine bar have an enormous selection of bottles at their disposal including 16 types of Amaro and Fernet, and a boat load of gins to help with their nine strong Martini list.  The House Martini makes use of a gin from Barworks' own East London Liquor Company distillery & bar that also produces vodka, rum and (eventually) whisky.

There are 20 more signature cocktails on a fairly epic list including Loosie D'Ouro (Glen Moray Port Cask, P.F.Curacao, Tio Pepe, vanilla, chocolate & chilli betters) served with a Paul A. Young truffle, and Dolce Far Niente (Mount Gay Black Barrel, Nardini Rabarbaro, Cocchi di Torino, Pecan Bitters & Blackcurrant Jam).

The bar staff impressively stay on top of things banging out great drinks at high speed in what could have ended up as another average high-volume bar.  Get down to 5cc at Singer Tavern with a big group rather than a date and make the most of that spirits selection.

More photos on Matt The Tumblr here

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From 5cc to LCC - J.J.Goodman has opened up his fifth London Cocktail Club, not counting Covent Garden Cocktail Club and Craft Cocktail Co. in Bethnal Green which he's also responsible for.

The latest site is a “cocktail pharmacy” in Islington on Essex Road. An “Apothecary Off-License” shop and masterclass space at the front is just a cover - head through the “Staff Only” door to find the main bar, plus some extra hidden spaces including “A&E” (Alcohol & Entertainment) out the back. 

Make no mistake - this is a party bar. On Mondays you can get 2 cocktails for £10 all night, or Tuesday-Saturday from 5pm-8pm.  Hanging lights will be swung, bartenders will be set on fire, drinks will be smoked.  Order your way through their section dedicated to great bartenders, or warm up with a few boilermakers, and enjoy the carnage.

"1, 2, 3.... L C C!"

More photos on Matt The Tumblr - Set 1 / Set 2

Model Market - Alaskan Gold Rush - Bierschenke

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.

I have put more photos up on Matt The Tumblr - check them out here: Set 1 / Set 2 / Set 3

Street Feast #DalstonYard 2014 from Tweat Up on Vimeo.

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.

Rauchbiers and Steins

Sepp Platter

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?