The team behind Sune in Broadway Market is going big for its next project. Spencer Large, Honey Spencer and Charlie Sims will open The Poet in Farringdon in November. It’ll be formed of a classic British pub and dining room, a 10-seat chef’s counter and a cocktail bar, with food led by former Aulis head chef Charlie Tayler. The Poet will sit on the edge of the new London Museum in the historic Smithfield Meat Market – one of six “houses” on its fringes that will house independent businesses, charities, and creative and cultural organisations as part of the museum’s regeneration of the area. And in-keeping with the London Museum’s remit of telling the story of thousands of years of the capital’s history, it’ll feature plenty of historical references.
The first part to open will be the British pub and dining room. The ground-floor pub’s design will be inspired by Victorian-era maximalism, and guests will sip ales, wines and spirits under a double-height ceiling. Pub snacks will include a pork pie and a scampi fries Scotch egg.
Above the pub will be The Poet Dining Room, a wood-panelled space with leather seats and an open kitchen serving British pub classics, including a Sunday roast. Spencer’s sommelier skills will shine with a far-reaching wine list that’ll take in well-known producers and regions, and the lesser-known.
Next year, the concept will grow further. On the mezzanine will be Envoi, a 10-seat chef’s table. It takes its name from a term for a final stanza or conclusion of a poem or passage, and the structure of the menu will be based on that of a sonnet – as sonnets have 14 courses, the menu will have 14 courses.
Finally, there will be Shambles: a cocktail bar in the attic. It’s inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which was at its height when the building was finished in the late 19th century. Its name winks at Smithfield’s history – its 15th century usage meant an open-air meat market or slaughterhouse.
The Poet is just one of several new restaurants and bars announced for the new museum: it will also house an all-day restaurant, a coffee house, a bar from Mr Lyan and an incubator kitchen, with food led by Robin Gill (Darby’s, Sorella, etc).
“Smithfield has been at the heart of London’s food culture for centuries, and it feels particularly special to be opening here at such an important moment for the area,” the team said in a statement. “With the historic market entering a new chapter and London Museum making its home here, Smithfield is becoming a place where London’s heritage, culture, food and hospitality come together.”
The Poet’s pub and dining room opens in November; Envoi and Shambles open in 2027.
