Colourful Tins of Spanish Seafood Are Having a Moment on London Menus and Feeds

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

News of the week

It would be hard to overstate Sir Terence Conran’s impact on London’s restaurant scene; so many of the dining rooms and dishes served within them that went on to shape how the capital ate were, at least in some measure, the result of his creativity and drive. When the sad news of his passing broke this week, it was fitting that the tributes paid to him were as thoughtful and judicious as the man himself. RIP.

Reasons to be (cautiously) cheerful of the week

The truly nightmarish aspect of Britain’s gradual sort-of recovery from novel coronavirus has been quite how long it has taken. Economists may originally have crossed their fingers for a V-shaped recovery, but like the chronic, enervating symptoms of so-called “long” COVID, this thing has just dragged on and on, claiming jobs, livelihoods and lives as it goes. All of which makes it doubly joyful when somewhere that shuttered its doors at the outbreak of the outbreak reopens them again: it’s a sign that businesses, and, more importantly, the people that work in them are finding ways to carry on. Sadly, it seems safe to assume that many won’t be so fortunate, but for the time being it’s important to celebrate the wins as they come.

Eerie prognostication of the week

That tinned seafood renaissance celebrated last week? Definitely a thing – now one with its very own subscription service for diners at home. London restaurants have long served anchovies and their cousins in puddles of olive oil, but the in-tin look is a newer arrival. Photogenic packaging, rich saltiness which pairs with wine bars’ predilection for high-acid, natural bottles — no wonder it’s on the up.

Technique of the week

Eating Padella’s cacio pepe after three hours’ queueing like.

Cursed tile of the week

Categorically do not mosaic on a kitchen floor.

Alt cover art of the week

Almost certainly an improvement.

Dishes of the week

It’s a stuff-that-should-never-rightfully-be-stuffed-with-cheese-stuffed-with-cheese showdown!

Shot of the week

From the popular account @SymmetryLunch.