featured image

Charlotte St

By Hannah Ralph. Images by Christian Coop.

11 Months Ago

There are some cities that are famous for street food. And then, there are some cities that have famously foodie streets. New York has Restaurant Row, Paris has Rue Cler, and here in London, we have Charlotte Street, the elegant, epicurean arm of north Soho with enough restaurants to last you a week. Question is: which will you reserve first?

So the story of the street goes, by the end of the First World War, Fitzrovia still didn’t have a name — not really. Back then, ask a local where they lived and they may have told you ‘near Oxford Street’ or ‘near Tottenham Court Road.’ And yet, a revolving door of ramshackle bohemians and intellectuals had already started to give this neighbourhood shape, drawn in by the small collection of drinking dens and eateries that, even back then, defined these streets.

It was ‘Queen of Bohemia,’ Nina Hamnett, who helped nudge Fitzrovia towards its name. Hamnett, who had moved from the UK to Paris at just 22 years old to model for the some of the great artists of the time, decided that the Fitzroy Tavern (an ode to nearby Fitzroy Square) was just about the nearest thing she could find to a Parisian café in London — and she claimed her corner of it for nigh on two decades. Other, similar, types followed until, at some point in the 1930s, the area was named Fitzrovia in response to the pub’s pre-eminent society status.

Charlotte Street, meanwhile, had been named in 1763 following Queen Charlotte’s marriage to King George III two years prior. Before the First World War, the street was a largely German community, even nicknamed Charlottenstrasse. When they were forced out during the war, the new crowd moved in, defining Charlotte Street’s interwar period as one long, philosophical, artistic booze-up. It’s remained one of London’s most illustrious meeting spots ever since.

Norma, a marbled, mosaicked townhouse at Charlotte’s Street southerly start, is an impeccable escape to the most romantic, nostalgic iteration of the Mediterranean island. Attard reckons that you should book Table 6, saying that “it’s a romantic little nook, perfect for dates,” or alternatively hire the private dining room, called Etna, upstairs.

On the menu, spaghettini fritters, just one pick from a small list of sublime snacks, is Norma’s ode to the Sicilian staple of fried, leftover spaghetti. In Attard’s kitchen, just-cooked spaghetti is tossed with parmesan, chicken stock and eggs before being twirled and set in the fridge overnight. Come service, they’re coated in more parmesan and deep-fried to perfection. Norma’s burrata, with seasonally shifting accompaniments, is one of the gooiest you’ll ever eat; the flavourful whole fish — pan-fried just as Attard’s mother would back in Malta, simply and with flour — falls apart on your fork.

Other standouts include the saffron arancini, the silky tagliatelle and tiramisu, but it’s a good job Norma has so many spectacular signatures on a street packed with this much choice. “Charlotte Street is fantastic because there are so many options, and yet everyone is busy. I think that element of competition keeps us all performing at our best.” But just how friendly is the rivalry? “If any of the restaurants have an emergency with produce, we’ll help out.” Attard shoots a smile. “We’re just that kind of street.”

Follow the scent of tandoor spices, the sound of clinking cardamom Old Fashioned’s and the glint of fairy lights bouncing off loaded tiffin tins and you’ll soon find yourself at Mowgli, Charlotte Street’s modern, authentic curry house, just across the road from Norma. Chef-entrepreneur and founder Nisha Katona wanted to show Brits how real Indians eat at home. Now, with 14 restaurants and legions of fans, it’s mission accomplished. The Charlotte Street opening ¬— in a “sweet little building that feels like it was always Mowgli,” Katona has said — is the first in the capital. Like its fellow Mowglis, there’s an emphasis on vegetarian cooking, with a menu to suit every dietary requirement. However, you should try the yoghurt chat bombs, which are a sensation!

Head back across the street to Norma and then a little further north, and you’ll hit literary boozer, The Fitzroy Tavern. Firmly seated at the top table of historic London pubs, this famous watering hole became the intellectual epicentre of the city between the First and Second World Wars, with regulars including George Orwell, Virginia Woolf and Dylan Thomas. Separated by Victorian-style snob screens, the pub’s right-hand nook is the cosiest.

Opposite The Fitzroy, be sure to make a booking at Carousel. The concept is simple: wine bar in the front, guest chef residencies in the back. But like with all simple concepts, it requires perfect execution. Luckily, founders Ollie and Ed Templeton — who started Carousel in Marylebone back in 2014, moving to Charlotte Street after some 300 residencies — have been doing this long enough ¬to know what makes a smooth operation. First, an exceptional front of house team who come loaded with wine expertise as standard; second, a tasty line-up of exciting chefs getting traction for exceptional cooking in their home cities; and third, an environment that feels occasion-worthy without being stuffy. This year has seen pop-ups from the likes of Federico Sisti of Frangente, Milan (his braised onion, cheesy risotto and not-too-sweet white chocolate mousse showed off his signature generosity), plus Ben Norton of Husk in Nashville and Victor Liong, from Melbourne sensation, Lee Ho Fook. End the evening with a perfect digestif and head back out into the night, full and inspired. Just next door to Carousel, you’ll find Vagabond — a wine bar with a difference. In a world where obscure, boutique and pricey wines are often reserved to the bottle, Vagabond’s pour-your-own machines unlock a world of niche producers across some 100 bottles — all available by the glass. Book in on Wednesday for the cheese and wine masterclass (five wines, plus five cheeses, equals infinite fun).

Keep heading north along Charlotte Street until you get to Rathbone Street, and look for the blue building opposite, just in the shadow of the BT Tower, where you’ll find Lisboeta — the place to be for a taste of Portugal. As soon as you spy the long, buzzy bar, it’s clear that Lisboeta is Charlotte Street’s place to snack and be seen. The bar, made using reclaimed Lisbon’s tramcars and topped with Portuguese limestone, is styled after the traditional pharmacies of Chiado, except, instead of medicine, stocks local wines and Port. It’s Chef Nuno Mendes’ “love letter to Lisbon,” with a menu of petiscos and tachos inspired by his grandmother and father. Head up to the first floor dining room to find his handwritten letter to Lisbon, hung beside pictures of the Feira da Ladra flea market and other illustrious city haunts, then tuck into Bacalhau à Brás — a soft salted cod served here under a stack of matchstick fries

Keep strolling north and you’ll come to the slick, glassy frontage that signals Gaucho, part of the capital’s foremost restaurant group focusing on exceptional South American cuisine and world-class Argentinean fare. A recent makeover has taken the brand from glitzy and kitschy (be gone, cowhide and chandeliers) to modern and tasteful, with supple leather banquettes and a palette of inky blue and ochre. What has remained, however, is London’s best steak dinner. The Black Angus beef served at Charlotte Street — bred in Argentina on 17 different types of grass — is even 100 per cent carbon-neutral. Book the Beef Bar countertop experience (limited to four seats) or the monthly supper club for a special occasion. Meanwhile, empanadas, beef carpaccio and ceviche make the perfect trio of appetisers.

If you’re looking for a laser-sharp Japanese sushi fix on Charlotte Street, Kazu is the place to go, just across Tottenham Street from Gaucho. Notable by the midnight blue awning, the unassuming dining room inside is plainly Japanese in décor, with nothing more than simple woods, matte black detailing and a sturdy sushi counter. Behind it, chef Dham Kodituwakku brings more than three decades’ worth of experience and expertise in sourcing authentic Japanese produce. His knife skills, too, are lauded throughout London. Here, the wagyu is wafer-thin, the black cod is fat and creamy, and the tempura batter on your prawn light as a feather. The sake collection isn’t to be sniffed at, either, while the mixed Chirashi bowl has all the sashimi you could hope for.

Think somewhere as delicious as Charlotte Street would be Michelin star free? Not only does the street’s most exclusive reservation have one Michelin star: it has two. Just a little further up from Kazu, and within spitting distance of the BT Tower, Kitchen Table is an intimate affair behind a blink-and-you’ll-miss it door, seating only 15 diners in a horseshoe counter over which countless culinary explanations have shared. The brainchild of chef James Knappett and his sommelier wife Sandia Chang, the menus here change daily, with each course celebrating one star ingredient, such as oyster, deer or truffle. The ingredients are listed, nightly, on the blackboards that surround the bar, where you’ll also find scribbles of praise from world-leading chef guests like Thomas Keller. At £300 per tasting menu (excluding drinks), it’s one of the expensive restaurants in the UK. But with ingredients this carefully and sustainability sourced (Kitchen Table is a big advocate of daily foraging) and dishes so good a third Michelin star is surely round the corner, it feels almost like a bargain.

And so our journey through Charlotte Street comes to a close. As the spine of Fitzrovia, discerning diners are truly spoilt for choice by the street’s international range of restaurants, from counter-top gourmet, to Michelin star dining, all within a strollable 450-metre stretch. There really is nowhere better to whet your appetite.