Monday Bulletin: Permit Room comes to London and Galvin Restaurants mark 20th anniversary

Catch up on the latest industry news stories of the week from the CODE Bulletin

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Permit Room

London is to get its very own Permit Room, 15 months after the successful Dishoom spin-off made its debut in Brighton (swiftly followed by Cambridge and Oxford). The London branch, Dishoom’s eighth foothold in the capital, will open this coming spring in a four-storey Victorian property on Portobello Road in Notting Hill. The concept itself is an all-day bar-café that harks back to the ‘permit rooms, beer bars and drinking holes’ that thrived in 1960s and ‘70s Bombay when prohibition was lifted. The focus is as much on mango lassi punch as it is on bacon naan rolls. Dishoom and Permit Room are rare in being loved by critics and punters alike. As an “immediately besotted” Tim Hayward wrote in his FT review last month: “Much like Hawksmoor, often mentioned in the same reverential breath wherever restaurateurs foregather, Permit Rooms seems to be managing the complicated challenge of growing without going bad.” As with Dishoom, expect queues out the door.

Galvin Restaurants

A full year of celebrations is nothing less than Chris and Jeff Galvin deserve as the two chefs and brothers mark the 20th anniversary of their restaurant group Galvin Restaurants. There will be special dishes and events at all their venues: from Michelin-starred Galvin La Chapelle, and Galvin Bistrot & Bar in Spitalfields, to their country pub Galvin Green Man in Essex. Save the date for the main event, a gala dinner at Galvin La Chapelle on May 20, cooked by their former head chefs including André Garrett of Corinthia London and Joo Won of coming-soon Korean restaurant Calong. The Francophile frères will be reviving some old favourites as monthly specials at Galvin La Chapelle all year. This month’s is slow-cooked Pyrenees lamb, piperade, niçoise olive, and goat cheese ‘ravioli’.

Small Plates

• Mr Lyan Studio is throwing open its doors for a series of Studio Lates highlighting people, places and products that they’re into right now. The first is on March 4 with FT writer and Martini queen Alice Lascelles. Tickets go live on Instagram on February 4. Tickets are free and space is tight, so step on it.
   
• CODE marketing manager Emma Rochevalier is one half of south London supper club Gem, along with ex-Pollen Street Social chef Kacper Walor. Gem’s next event is at South London Louie in Peckham on March 8, when they’ll be serving the likes of poached oyster nam jim and kombu-cured Orkney scallops. Four-course menu, £55.
   
• The Suffolk in Aldeburgh has a new head chef in Luke Truelove, former head chef at Kerridge’s Fish and Chips. Truelove’s first menu includes Cromer crab linguine, Suffolk seafood chowder, escargots flambéed with Ricard, and, of course, F&C.
   
• Allbright, the women’s members’ club in Mayfair, has entered administration, citing rising rents and the challenges presented by the large site and premium location. An email to members, seen by The Guardian, reads: “While events, networking opportunities, and learning programmes remain in high demand, the social and dining spaces were underutilised.”
  
  
• Ladies of Restaurants’ Natalia Ribbe has a knack for getting lots of brilliant women all in one place. Her next event, the LOR Festival — London Edition, takes place on March 10 at Bethnal Green’s Town Hall Hotel, where there will be workshops, panel talks, and speakers including none other than Marina O’Loughlin. Tickets, on sale now, are £100 and include breakfast, lunch, and a goodie bag.