Start brushing up on your pétanque skills: permanent pétanque is coming to London Fields. Circle13, the pétanque bar that’s temporarily popped up around parks and bars in London over the past couple of years, will settle down on Helmsley Place in summer. Along with a pétanque piste (playing court) Circle13 will have a menu of highballs and a selection of pintxos. It’s founded by Monty Quaia, who has played pétanque – a French game where players throw metal balls to land as close as possible to a target ball – internationally and Marc Sarton Du Jonchay, who has worked in bars including New York’s Gage & Tollner and east London’s A Bar with Shapes for a Name.
“After the success of our London Fields pop-ups over the last two years, we wanted to find a space to allow our community to continue to grow,” Quaia tells Broadsheet. “Londoners are searching for places to create new bonds that aren’t solely based on drinking.”
To that end, its highballs will start zero-proof – but there’s the option to add alcohol. That means its Yuzu and Plum Fizz can become a Yuzu and Plum Collins with the addition of umeshu, sauvignon blanc and vodka. There will also be a hard cocktail list with options like the Rum Negroni Left Hand (Planteray dark rum, Campari, red vermouth and chocolate bitters). “We take inspiration from cultures that don’t consume alcohol yet still create delicious drinks, rather than the traditional cocktail culture of creating mocktails by substituting spirits with expensive zero-proof versions,” Sarton Du Jonchay says.
Basque food has been chosen because “pétanque and Basque food share a sense of rebellious simplicity”, Quaia says. “The pintxo bar offers a similarly low barrier to entry to that offered by the pétanque piste.” Handily, the small Spanish snacks can typically be eaten one-handed – leaving the other hand to lob or shoot.
Chef Sean Donnelly (ex-Andrew Edmunds) will build a rotating menu of pintxos, including charred leek with potato crisp and aioli, and cider-caramelised onion croquetas. Larger dishes will include a “potato crisp runny tortilla bocadillo”.
“We want to bring what we love about the game to more people,” Quaia says. “Some of our favourite moments have been playing games in London Fields, with passersby enjoying the vibe and joining our game.”
Circle13 opens in summer 2026 on Helmsley Place, E8 3SB.
