The pop-up eating and drinking establishment is as ubiquitous as London’s other current obsession, the flash mob (is there anything they won’t ‘pay homage’ to in Liverpool St station with a camera rolling?), but are any of them worth the space they inhabit?
Bistrotheque founders Pablo Flack and David Waddington have been hosting arty guerilla dinners in disused buildings for years and in October, they’re taking over the Masonic Temple at Andaz for a 3 night ritualistic supper club – good luck booking a table!
But you know that a good thing has been spoiled when premium spirit brands try to get in on the act by errecting ‘ice bars’ in…ahem, already existing posh watering holes, signposted with oversized advertising – surely that’s cheating?!
So, cynics will probably pan the upcoming Central Perk replica coffee shop as the most grotesque of the lot, but unlike the masquerading ‘ice bars’, the new fleeting addition to Soho’s cappuccino scene doesn’t take itself too seriously and is shamelessly nostaglic and just on the right side of twee.
Sipping a coffee next to show memorabilia like Rachel’s wedding dress will not bring you any closer to your favourite Friends characters and it will no doubt be so packed that you and your ‘urban family’ won’t be able to bag the centre sofas, but it could be a fun alternative to after-work drinks.
If you’re still unsure about taking that potentially painful trip down memory lane, Gunther (no really, he’s actually opening the cafe on 23 Sept) and co are offering a FREE COFFEE voucher to download from 14 September – could that BE any more generous?
Central Perk in London, 24 September-7 October, 67 Broadwick Street, London, W1F 9QX.