Award-Winning Hackney Wine Bar Is Opening a Proper Restaurant

P. Franco — the wine shop, bar and Eater London’s restaurant of the year — will open a fully fledged restaurant on the site, which until last month was occupied by Ellory, the Michelin-starred neighbourhood spot at Netil House, near London Fields in Hackney.

The restaurant name is not yet confirmed since the lease on the property has only just been signed, but manager and partner in the new venture, Phil Bracey told Eater that it will operate under the same banner as P. Franco, itself a division of the Noble Fine Liquor group, which began (and continues to trade) as a natural wine shop on Broadway Market.

More information will be released soon, but here are the key details to know right now:

Where will it open?

At 1 Westgate Street, London E8 3RL, replacing Ellory (whose owners have moved to Shoreditch to open Leroy.) Bracey described it as “perfect positioning for us,” not least because of its proximity to Noble’s wine shop on Broadway Market.

Who’s cooking?

William Gleave, one of London’s most gifted and exciting young cooks will be in place as head chef. Gleave was the first of the semi-permanent guest chefs to cook at the shop in Clapton from November 2015 until the summer of 2016. It was he, together with Bracey, that set the wine shop on an entirely different trajectory. Gleave is chef with past connections to 40 Maltby Street and Brawn as well as Garagistes, in Tasmania — a restaurant that Bracey has said was “the best restaurant in Australia.” His cooking style belongs to no strict cuisine type, but is perhaps best described as being positioned somewhere between modern British and modern Antipodean, inflected by influences from Japan.

Who’s running it?

Phil Bracey will be in charge of the day-to-day operations; Liam Kelleher, the co-founder of Noble, is, as Bracey says, “integral to setting it all up. Without him [in the background] it’s not going to happen.”

When will it open?

The plan is for the restaurant to open in six weeks time.

Will it take reservations?

Yes. The front of the space will act as a bar and accept walk-ins; the back of the restaurant will be a more conventional restaurant with tables and chairs and will take reservations. There will also be a small terrace in front of the restaurant; the lease includes two metres of pavement space in front of the property.

What is happening to P. Franco in Clapton?

The wine bar shop (and restaurant) will continue to operate as normal, with its rotating guest chefs. Bracey says he will be stationed at the new site on Westgate Street.