The kids are back in school and we can't let them have all the fun this month, which is why Yonder has got you sorted with some hot after-work dinner and drink destinations. Or do what I do, and go during work (but don't blame us when you get in trouble with your boss).
We've got four new kids of our own on the block, and last month's most popular Experiences are back for more, but not forever. We'll start rotating Experiences on and off the app more frequently than once every month, so make sure you know exactly when they roll off and extend your favourite so you don't miss out. But I'm sure you trust me by now to know that we've got some goodies waiting in the wings.
Introducing September's Local Experiences
Tayēr + Elementary
Location: Old Street
Experience: 2750 points gets you £72 worth of drinks and food
Fresh back from their summer hiatus Tayēr + Elementary is serving up what they do best: cocktails. A venue of two parts open Thursdays through Sundays, Elementary is a casual all-day spot where refreshingly unique takes on familiar cocktails are poured on tap, alongside the bar’s own-label wine and beer. Every drink is served without garnish in identically squat glasses because “here the deliciousness of the liquid does the talking”. Through the partition at Tayēr is an open kitchen-like theatre, where the drinks are even more profuse, and you’ll forget your proximity to Old Street’s hectic roundabout. Go just once and you won’t be at all surprised it ranks as number 2 on the World’s Best Bars. Yes, the world’s.
Gunpowder
Location: Soho, Spitalfields & Tower Bridge
Experience: 3000 points gets you £80 worth of drinks
A trio of Indian restaurants celebrating family recipes with a modern twist, Gunpowder is one explosive you simply cannot miss. The OG in Spitalfields is teeny, but boasts a huge atmosphere; Tower Bridge has a larger kitchen and therefore a longer menu for its two storeys; Soho is as busy as you’d expect an Indian slap bang in the middle of town to be. Each venue is clearly unique from the out and on the inside, but the one thing they do all have in common is their innovative, punchy menu. Order the bizarre looking (but delicious) venison & vermicelli doughnut, mustard Malai broccoli, Tandoori chicken chop and Gunpowder chaat with Norfolk potatoes.
Granger & Co.
Location: Marylebone, Chelsea, Notting Hill, King's Cross & Clerkenwell
Experience: 1700 points gets you £45 worth of food and drink
What do you think of when you think of Australia? I can’t hear you, but let me tell you what comes to my mind… sunshine, easy-going and brunch. Which is probably the perfect way to summarise Granger & Co. in a nutshell. Head to any of the five restaurants across London and you’ll be served food and drink that’ll make you smile from ear to ear, but that might also be your great taste in company. It’s the sort of place you could go for brunch with your best friend, order a flat white and the ricotta hotcakes (the best thing on the menu IMO) and still find yourself in situ sipping on white peach bellinis and snacking on courgette chips when they bring out the dinner menu at 5pm.
Black Bear Burger
Location: Shoreditch, Exmouth Market & Brixton
Experience: 750 points gets you £19 worth of food and drink
When I was testing this Experience last month, a stranger told me (completely unprompted) that I was about to eat the best burger in London. I think he might be right. I first had a Black Bear Burger as a meal-kit in lockdown, and was hooked on that first bite. Was it the juiciness of the meat paired with the lightness of the bun, the knowledge that they use locally-sourced, high welfare British beef, or simply how darn good their fries tasted? I’m still not sure, but what I do know is that in a city where there are a number of banging burgers to choose from, I’m still heading straight to Black Bear Burger. P.s. the vegan patties hit the same (the image speaks for itself).
The Good Egg
Location: Soho & Stoke Newington
Experience: 1500 points gets you £40 worth of food and drink
With two locations in London, The Good Egg has got you covered from breakfast through to dinner every day of the week. With menus inspired by the flavours of the Middle East, the cuisine of Tel Aviv’s street stalls and bakeries of New York and Montreal, you’ll struggle to decide which dish to go for - the shakshuka? Babka french toast? Aubergine shawarma? Cornbread with honey butter? Good luck.
Angelina
Location: Dalston
Experience: 4950 points gets you £119 worth of food and drink
The ultimate neighbourhood spot, Angelina is a fun and intimate restaurant in Dalston offering an unusual mix of Japanese and Italian cuisines. If you can, bag yourself a seat at the marble counter and watch the chefs work their magic in the open kitchen. Take your pick of the Kaiseki Tasting Menu (10 courses) or the more informal Omakase Menu (4 courses).
We’ve reduced the point value of this Experience so that you can book and pay for the Tasting Menu in advance and then choose whether to contribute more points to the wine pairing when you arrive.
Arcade Food Hall
Location: Soho
Experience: 1000 points get you £25 worth of food and drink
If this is the future of food halls then we can all sleep easy. No more standing in queues or hotly anticipating the vibrating, flashing buzzer alerting you to the readiness of your food, because at Arcade you can do it all from the comfort of your seat. Order food from one of (or all) nine separate kitchens - which include Indian, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern and Japanese - and let it be brought to you, the civilised way.
Fenn
Location: Fulham
Experience: 7500 points get you £185 worth of food and drink
You may know more about Hackney’s Nest and less about her little sister in Fulham, Fenn, in which case now is your opportunity to familiarise yourself. She sits just off Wandsworth Bridge Road in an unassuming corner of Fulham, serving the best of seasonal British produce, from Cornish crab on crispy chicken skin to British pork loin to Cherry Bakewell Tart. She offers you the choice from the a la carte, or a set menu with an optional wine pairing if you’re feeling particularly fancy.