It’s Edible Gourd Season in London Restaurants

Welcome back to Insta Stories, a column examining the London restaurant scene through the often-problematic medium of Instagram. This week’s filter is effortless entertaining.

News of the week

Don’t say we didn’t warn you (a lot). With the opening of not one but three Hart Brothers concepts, some of the biggest names at the much-hyped Coal Drops Yard are now open for business — and with them, the content floodgates.

Chilling event of the week

The PR team behind some of those Hart Bros openings has doubtless already experienced its own personal most terrifying night of the year — for most other people, that title usually falls to Halloween. Restaurants and chefs are already getting into the spooky, scary swing of things — expect many more where these came from.

Multicultural ‘melting pot’ of the week

Boasting dishes like hogget mapo tofu and jollof rice with Tamworth pig fat, the three-way collaboration between Kiln, Ikoyi and itinerant tastemaker Perm Paitayawat was always going to be worth checking out. It also doubles as a pretty good advertisement for what makes London’s food scene special in 2018 — thrilling flavours, immaculate sourcing, magpie culinary instincts and all.

Actual melting pot of the week

Last week’s column expressed the quiet hope that plunging temperatures would mean a proliferation of winter-busting pies. Ask, and in its wisdom the feed more often than not delivers: long may this style of deranged uber-comfort-food continue.

Tuber of the week

Autumn also means the emergence of one of the world’s greatest and most highly prized delicacies: the noble white truffle — currently the fancy chef or home cook’s accessory of choice.

Menu of the week

How better to pay homage to one of London’s most storied venues — former home of Fergus and Margot Henderson; future lair of London’s accidental hypebeast — than by knocking out an impeccable menu of modern Franco-British classics? Expect critics to descend on Neil Borthwick’s new gaff in hordes: it’s been a while since somewhere this unfussily appealing opened its doors.

Dish of the week

There’s vindaloo pie… and then there’s this.

Shot of the week

Before…

…after?