Two Sensational, Seasonal London Restaurants Reopen This Week

Two of the surest signs from the London restaurant industry that spring is here comes in the form of two important seasonal restaurant re-openings. The first, Towpath Cafe, on the Regent’s Canal in De Beauvoir, Hackney, will open again for the spring and summer months tomorrow, Tuesday 10 March; while, on Wednesday, Singburi, Leytonstone’s outstanding Thai restaurant, will open having been closed (as it does each year) since the start of 2020.

Towpath owner Lori Zimring De Mori used Instagram this weekend to announce the opening date at the same time as revealing that she had submitted the manuscript for a forthcoming Towpath cookbook.

The Towpath, located under the Whitmore Bridge on the Regent’s Canal, rests in what was once referred to as the “Haggerston Riviera”, a region which has changed. While the cafe used to remain one of the industry’s (and locals’) closely kept secrets, today it pulls as much business from the iPhone cognoscenti. For the last two years, it has been a winner across Instagram: those lawn-green tables an unmistakable canvas for eggs on toast, tumblers of espresso, chickpeas with chard, and other delicious, simple seasonal assemblies. The re-emergence of the Towpath from hibernation, on the eve of British summer time, presages warmer weather, lighter nights, and brighter ingredients.

Keep an eye on De Mori’s Instagram for the opening hours, which, in previous years, tend to be governed by the the weather, with the wine bar remaining open later when the nights get longer.

Elsewhere, and further east, in Leytonstone, one of London’s truly outstanding Thai restaurants — and a seasonal member of the Eater London 38 —will reopen on Wednesday after its own three-month winter hiatus. Chef-owner Sirichai Kularbwong told Eater that the restaurant has been refitted with a new floor, while the kitchen will be introducing new specials.

Michaël Protin/Eater London

“We open Wednesday. There will always be new specials; floor got redone. And for a limited time I brought back Yunan fried cheese [which will be] topped with shaved foie gras and Mission [Chinese] spice,” Kularbwong said.

Asked about other plans and other specials for one of the most thrilling blackboard menus in the city, he said: “To be honest, it’s about re-energising myself and taking note of the nuances that make a dish great. But also I need to have a look around and see what I can get because I want to do things that have not been done yet here (to the best of my knowledge).”

Five to try this weekend will be back on Friday. Before that, start making plans with a two-to-try head start.