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Modern, light-copper coloured interiors, restaurant signage, and plenty of plants inside Arcade Food Theatre at Centre Point in London

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Take a Look Around London’s Hottest New Food Court

Arcade at Centre Point is more than a food court, it’s a food theatre

Arcade Food Theatre
| Paul Winch-Furness

Food courts, food markets, and food halls are hot. Since The Kitchens opened two years ago in Spitalfields, touting itself as a half-way house between street food and restaurants, some of the hottest names in the London restaurant industry have opened concessions within multi-brand locations. At Market Halls, in Victoria, Fulham, and soon on Oxford Street and Canary Wharf; at Boxpark in Wembley; and, in September, at Kerb Market in Seven Dials, creative curators are working with landlords who are using food to increase the value of real estate in a city that is having trouble sustaining restaurants because of the...cost of real estate. Still, the restaurant brands are gravitating towards this innovation, one that reduces fixed overheads and risk and, at least in theory, provides guaranteed footfall. It’s also a handy one-stop shop for restaurant and food lovers, as well as Instagrammers.

And so, last week, to the latest: The Arcade Food Theatre opened at the newly redeveloped Centre Point near Tottenham Court Road in central London. As reported last month, it houses some of the city’s most celebrated, cult-followed, and Instagrammable restaurant and bakery brands, including TāTā Eatery, which has opened Tōu — a sando specialist, Pophams Bakery, Lina Stores fresh pasta, and Oklava, the celebrated modern Turkish restaurant.

Unlike its competitors — Market Halls, the Kitchens, and Kerb — Arcade’s design skews slightly more to a conventional restaurant, with counter seating at each concession instead of communal areas shared by each brand. It also features one central bar, upstairs on its mezzanine.

It’s striking, it’s buzzy, and it’s open now. Take a look around.

London’s food hall obsession continued with arcade food theatre
Arcade
Paul Winch-Furness
Arcade, looking out
Paul Winch-Furness
Modern, light-copper coloured interiors, restaurant signage, and plenty of plants inside Arcade Food Theatre at Centre Point in London Paul Winch-Furness/Arcade Food Theatre
Paul Winch-Furness
Paul Winch-Furness

Lina Stores’ fresh pasta station at Arcade

The brands in situ.

Tóu

TāTā Eatery’s spin-off sandwich brand, which opens serving its inimitable Iberico pork number alongside an ox cheek and gherkin creation and an egg and tofu sando on milk loaf. Read more here.

Katsu sando from Ta Ta Eatery

Lina Stores

The 75-year-old Soho Italian deli and restaurant that recently announced it will also be opening in King’s Cross, serving pasta dishes like pici with porcini and Umbrian sausage and stracciatella with olives, capers, bread, and chilli.

Stracciatella, olive infornate, capperie Pane Piccante from Lina Stores

Pastorcito

A new Mexican restaurant from the Harts Group, joining El Pastor in Borough Market, Tortilleria El Pastor on Bermondsey Street, and Casa Pastor at Coal Drops Yard. This will take inspiration from “the founders’ time exploring and living in Mexico City,” with a new ‘Super Gringa’ wrap.

Coal Drops Yard restaurant development at King’s Cross London is now open, featuring these tacos from El Pastor Samuel Ashton/El Pastor

Oklava

A new iteration of Selin Kiazim and Laura Christie’s celebrated modern Turkish restaurant in Shoreditch. Expect iskender kebabs, a pide with Black Sea cheese, and künefe.

Selin Kiazim of Oklava and Kyseri, who will headline Hawksmoor’s Charity Dinner along with four other London chefs
Selin Kiazim
Oklava [Official Photo]

Chotto by Chotto Matte

An adaptation of Kurt Zdesar’s approach to Nikkei cuisine that has won plaudits in Miami and London’s Soho.

Ceviche from Chotto

Casita do Frango

A spin-off of Casa do Frango, the Southwark Street restaurant adjacent to Flat Iron Square, focussed on Algarvian piri piri chicken, which will also open in Shoreditch later this year.

Casa do Frango piri piri chicken restaurant is one of London’s best new restaurants Casa do Frango [Official Photo]

Pophams Bakery

The Islington destination bakery known for highly photogenic pastries, which recently opened in London Fields and will run the coffee and bakery counter at Arcade.

Nectarine and ginger custard Danish from Pophams

Flat Iron Workshop

A dedicated testing ground for new dishes and cuts for the successful London steak chain run by Charlie Caroll, including a new Brit-mash-up of steak and Yorkshire pudding.

Flat Iron Steak’s London menu expands with Shoreditch restaurant on Commercial Street Flat Iron [Official Photo]

Milk

18-20 Bedford Hill, , England SW12 9RG 020 8772 9085 Visit Website

Flat Iron Square

Union Street, , England SE1 1TD Visit Website

Coal Drops Yard

Stable Street, , England N1C 4DQ 020 3883 2087 Visit Website

El Pastor

6-7A Stoney Street, , England SE1 9AA Visit Website

TĀTĀ Eatery

152 Old Street, , England EC1V 9BW Visit Website

Seven

Brixton Station Rd., Brixton, Greater London, London, 44 0207 998 3309 Visit Website

Pophams Bakery

19 Prebend Street, , England N1 8PF Visit Website

Casa do Frango

32 Southwark Street, , England SE1 1TU 020 3972 2323 Visit Website

Flat Iron

112-116 Tooley Street, , England SE1 2TH Visit Website

Borough Market

8 Southwark Street, , England SE1 1TL 020 7407 1002 Visit Website

Lina Stores

18 Brewer Street, , England W1F 0SH 020 7437 6482 Visit Website

Oklava

74 Luke St, , England EC2A 4PY 020 7729 3032 Visit Website

Tortilleria El Pastor

58 Stanworth Street, , England SE1 3NY Visit Website