1988 is the year to re-live this week, with east London’s Bistrotheque setting up shop in Canary Wharf as part of the Create Festival’s Restaurants in Residency series. Situated in a soon-to-be demolished office building – one of the first 80s new
1988 is the year to re-live this week, with east London’s Bistrotheque setting up shop in Canary Wharf as part of the Create Festival’s Restaurants in Residency series. Situated in a soon-to-be demolished office building – one of the first 80s new builds in the area – the top floor has been fitted with large banquet tables covered in black and white linen, accented by pink neon tubes affixed to floating black Venetian blinds. Waitresses wear a 1980s Joseph dress, styled by Grace Cobb, with input from Giles Deacon.
“1988 is our inspiration because Canary Wharf started being built in earnest then,” Bistrotheque co-owner David Waddington tells us. “We met with Head Chef Jeremy Lee from the Blueprint Café, who has first hand knowledge of that time in London restaurants.”
“When we first thought about an 80s menu, we were thinking Nouvelle Cuisine,” he continues. “But we decided on something more approachable. The dishes we’ve chosen are indicative of a new kind of food that started to emerge at that period. The River Café, Alastair Little, The Walnut Tree, these guys suddenly decided food wasn’t about fussy French technique and hiding produce, they made the produce the focus: simple presentation and bolder flavours, and a strong Mediterranean influence.”
The evocative menu consists of bruschetta with attendant dips such as tapenade and artichoke hearts, as well as salt duck and gooseberry preserve, followed by green pea risotto and a main of coquelet with fresh tarragon in a buttery jus. Taking a cue from the lights, the dessert is a messy pink Pavlova with fresh fruits and cream. Also capturing the spirit of the age is the Mumms champagne pairing menu.
“People have said 1988 wasn’t as big as ‘77 or ‘66,” says Waddington. “But in its own way it shifted the way people started to think about food, fashion and design.”
Bistrotheque is at Restaurants in Residency until Saturday July 23.
Text By Ananda Pellerin
Ananda and Neil visited 88* on Tuesday 19 July at 8pm. Ananda Pellerin is a London-based writer and Neil Wissink is a visual artist also based in London. More from The Hunger, and contact The Hunger here.
