Michelin-Starred Sabor Pulls Its Seafood Counter Out of London’s Hot New Food Hall

Ahead of the opening of London’s white-hot nine-restaurant food hall, Arcade, at Centre Point, one of its most high-profile chefs — Sabor’s Nieves Barragan — has pulled out, replaced by the newly created Nepalese momo and noodle brand Tipan Tapan, which will be led by the former Berenjak chef Arjun Gurung.

The decision was made during the food hall’s soft-launch period, a fortnight before its scheduled public opening this week, 21 April. Eater understands that staffing issues were the reason for Barragan’s pulling out of the project. But with the parent brand Sabor, located on Heddon Street in Mayfair, holding a Michelin star, any doubts over the ability of Saborcito’s staff to protect that brand and dutifully execute its founder’s vision was deemed not worth the risk.

According to a JKS spokesperson, “Tipan Tapan refers to the variety of small starter plates eaten before a main meal in Nepal. Plates are heartily filled with traditional tipan tapans like momo, achars, and choila. On special occasions, tipan tapan unites family and friends in celebration over food.”

Saborcito had planned to bring seafood tapas to Arcade, with a particularly appetising fried calamari boccadillo set to take centre stage. Instead, the Tipan Tapan menu will bring some of the high-volume, mass-appeal foods which are not already available inside the food hall. Namely — dumplings and noodles.

The full menu can be viewed below, one which includes chicken momos, crispy pork noodles, and lamb belly choila — which a source close to the project told Eater is “the dish.”

JKS Restaurants