NEWS: Caravan launches marble-topped Bankside restaurant this October

These beloved coffee champions are opening a new restaurant and here's all the info you'll need to head down there asap!

From Caravan themselves:

Miles Kirby, Laura Harper-Hinton and Chris Ammermann, the team behind the independently owned and operated Caravan and Caravan Coffee Roasters who pioneered the casual all-day dining trend in the capital, have announced they will open a new restaurant in London’s Bankside next month. Joining their first Exmouth Market restaurant and second larger site on Granary Square in King’s Cross, Caravan Bankside will officially open to the public on Thursday 27th October. A flagship coffee roastery and café will also launch later this year. Located a stone’s throw from the new Tate Modern extension, and within easy walking distance of London Bridge, Southwark and Blackfriars transport hubs, the new restaurant is housed on the ground floor of the old Metal Box Factory on Great Guildford Street and will offer a 140-cover dining area and standalone bar. Fans of Caravan’s ‘well-travelled’ all-day food menus will not be disappointed, as along with innovative new dishes, the Bankside menu will include much-loved Caravan classics as well as a selection of pizzas, daily bakes and of course, specialty coffee courtesy of Caravan Coffee Roasters.

Caravan Bankside’s globally-inspired menu takes inspiration from the entrepreneurial New Zealand trio’s extensive travels, with international flavours shining through all dishes. Breakfast and weekend brunch will still feature many of the signature dishes that Caravan has become known for such as ‘Baked eggs with tomato pepper ragout, Greek yoghurt & Aleppo chilli’ and ‘Jalapeno corn bread French toast’. In addition, new creations from Miles and his kitchen team will draw on unusual flavour combinations, with dishes including ‘Lardo biscuits with wild soy wild mushrooms’, ‘Chicken & rice brunch banquet’ and ‘Potsticker dumplings’. The all-day menu (served from noon through to late dinner) will also include new globally-inspired options such as ‘Hot chilli crab claw, coriander & pickled lime’, ‘Mussels with ‘nduja, preserved lemon & oloroso’ and ‘Farmers cheese, pickled green walnuts & cut comb honey’. Joining the classic ‘Caravan espresso caramel affogato’ on the pudding meu will be ‘Chocolate caramel fritters’ and ‘Bay leaf pannacotta & apple jelly’. New on offer at Caravan Bankside will be a selection of house-made cheeses including whey ricotta and labneh, and cured meats such as guanciale, lardo and coffee-cured duck ham, all to be enjoyed with freshly baked bread from the pizza oven or with a selection of house pickles. A preview of Caravan Bankside’s menu will be available at this year’s Frieze London Art Fair, this October, ahead of the restaurant’s official opening.

A focal point of Caravan’s new South London space will be the striking custom-made marble-topped bar – a place for guests to settle for a leisurely drink any time of day, or pick up a cup of Caravan Coffee Roasters’ coffee to have in or takeaway. From early morning until close, the bar will also serve a delicious range of daily bakes such as the classic Caravan ‘Tamarind & date morning bun’ along with a varied selection of freshly pressed juices and house-made kombucha. The bar will also offer a selection of new cocktails, many of which will include herbs and flavours hand-picked from the Caravan King’s Cross herb garden. New drinks will include the ‘Chef’s Margarita’, with preserved lemon, lime and cumin salt and ‘Curds & Whey’ milk punch. Each week there will be a different resident ‘House Cocktail’ and ‘House Juice’, served from vintage milk pails at each end of the bar.

Built in the late 19th century, the historic Metal Box Factory provides an impressive 4,000sq foot space for the restaurant. Similar to Exmouth Market and King’s Cross, Laura has led the design at Caravan Bankside, overseeing all elements of the build and interiors. Ensuring the new restaurant reflects and respects the history of the building, Laura and the team have carefully restored many of the original features, such as the windows, brickwork and columns. The interiors compliment the factory’s unique past, sticking to a neutral palette with clay plaster, lime-washed walls and aged oak. The full-height windows mean the room will be filled with natural light throughout the day, with roller shutter blinds to the south of the restaurant able to retract completely, opening up the space to the outside.