161 Lordship Lane - Le Chandelier

[Louisa]

I've been trawling the planning applications site for any further updates and I've come across this one.

planbuild.southwark.gov.uk:8190/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=externalDocuments&keyVal=_STHWR_DCAPR_9567043

It seems a new restaurant called 'Spinach London' will be taking on this site and presumably 'Le Chandelier' will be closing down? The new restaurant is a vegetable focused restaurant according to their Twitter account.

https://mobile.twitter.com/spinachlondon

Does that mean they're vegetarian/vegan? Not sure.

Louisa.

[DulwichFox]

Hi Lou..

I heard about this from Twitter a few weeks back.. Sounds like it will be Veggie..

.. Could do well if its a genuine Veggie place. I would imagine there are lots of Veggies in the area

and some Vegans.. Vegetarian food can be nice even if you are not a veggie yourself.

Let us wait and see..

Foxy

[Seabag]

It's a pretty crap name tho

Why not something snazzier?

[Robert Poste's Child]

SpinachED?

[DulwichFox]

Seabag Wrote:

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> It's a pretty crap name tho

>

> Why not something snazzier?

Like something more offensive ?

Like. mmmhm 'Veggie Farts (ED)'

Foxy

[Seabag]

DulwichFox Wrote:

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> Seabag Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > It's a pretty crap name tho

> >

> > Why not something snazzier?

>

> Like something more offensive ?

>

> Like. mmmhm 'Veggie Farts (ED)'

>

> Foxy

Ha ha 😂😂 It will always be known as

"Veggie Farts" , no matter what they call it from here on in

I feel for them, tiz a cruel world at times

[numbers]

I wish them well but (sorry) I had a little chuckle at 'vegetable focussed restaurant'. Is this part of the current backlash against all the posh burger and endless meat meat meat establishments?

My only wish is that they named it Kale rather than Spinach, as its in leafy ED ;-)

Pop-eye eat your heart out.

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

It's not vegan or vegetarian , if you look through their posts they cook and like links to meat and fish .

[malumbu]

Quality of posts most exceptional. Only looked through it to post about an early exit for the French. Dulwich of course was famed for its vegetables and in olden days lots of market gardening in the area, and down the road big on pears/perry.

[Sue]

numbers Wrote:

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>

> My only wish is that they named it Kale rather

> than Spinach, as its in leafy ED ;-)

>

Cavolo Nero, surely :))

[*Bob*]

Sounds like an Ottolenghi-style thing to me.

Which wouldn't be a bad thing at all if they can do it well.

[numbers]

Sue Wrote:

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> numbers Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

>

> >

> > My only wish is that they named it Kale rather

> > than Spinach, as its in leafy ED ;-)

> >

>

> Cavolo Nero, surely :))

heheh yep!

(altho just may have confused people looking for caffe nero) :))

[Sue]

:))😉

[_Spinach]

Hello all, yes the rumours are true, Spinach will be replacing Le Chandelier. We will be a vegetable focused restaurant open breakfast through to dinner, where veggies have equal billing to meat and fish. As *Bob* rightly deduced, Ottelenghi style is definitely the best way to describe it. I thought long and hard about the name and weirdly it was actually a real toss up between Spinach and Veggie Farts. In the end knowing how many children live in East Dulwich, we figured every one maybe wouldn't want their kids running wild shouting that they 'want to go to farts'! (Maybe we chose wrongly - all publicity is good publicity after all)

Providing everything goes ok we plan to open beginning of October. In the mean time, please feel free to pop your head in and say hi (and if anyone fancies helping with a bit of painting I will be forever thankful!)

[_Spinach]

Also, now seriously considering 'Curly Kale' as the name for Spinach No.2!

[Jeremy]

_Spinach Wrote:

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> all publicity is good publicity after all

Not necessarily... the ridiculously named "pussey liquor" was basically forced to rename after just a few weeks. Probably a good job you avoided the fart route.

Seems a little ambitious preparing for #2 before #1 has opened, in such a notoriously difficult sector! But best of luck to you and your team.

[siousxiesue]

Robert Poste's Child Wrote:

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> SpinachED?

hehe

[TheArtfulDogger]

Better than veggie fartED !

[Seabag]

_Spinach Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Hello all, yes the rumours are true, Spinach will

> be replacing Le Chandelier. We will be a vegetable

> focused restaurant open breakfast through to

> dinner, where veggies have equal billing to meat

> and fish. As *Bob* rightly deduced, Ottelenghi

> style is definitely the best way to describe it. I

> thought long and hard about the name and weirdly

> it was actually a real toss up between Spinach and

> Veggie Farts. In the end knowing how many children

> live in East Dulwich, we figured every one maybe

> wouldn't want their kids running wild shouting

> that they 'want to go to farts'! (Maybe we chose

> wrongly - all publicity is good publicity after

> all)

>

> Providing everything goes ok we plan to open

> beginning of October. In the mean time, please

> feel free to pop your head in and say hi (and if

> anyone fancies helping with a bit of painting I

> will be forever thankful!)

That's a good solid (and good humoured) post there from the new owner, I wish them well and it'll be interesting to have something new on the strip.

I'm interested in the style of food too, as the Ottelenghi vibe is most delicious. I ate at Yosma last nite and loved it. If there was something like that in some way and local it'd be good. Maybe a little background of what the kitchen team and owners have been up to before would be nice to know.

Good luck and all that too.

[titch juicy]

Horrendously overpriced then.

_Spinach Wrote:

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. As *Bob* rightly deduced, Ottelenghi

> style is definitely the best way to describe it.

[LondonMix]

Can't you even wait for it to open (and have a price menu) before being negative?

titch juicy Wrote:

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> Horrendously overpriced then.

>

>

>

>

> _Spinach Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> . As *Bob* rightly deduced, Ottelenghi

> > style is definitely the best way to describe it.

[titch juicy]

It was more a comment on Ottolenghi and my veggie friends moaning about it's prices than anything else.

[titch juicy]

But yes, I hope you do very well. And aren't as expensive as Ottolenghi.

I genuinely hope you do well. I liked Le Chandelier and if it has to go I hope I like its replacement :)

[_Spinach]

Hello Titch Juicy,

Hopefully we will be the perfect medium for you and your friends.

Spinach will follow the same cost margins all Restaurants do to stay afloat. We are not basing ourselves like to like with Ottolenghi just the closest comparison.

We will not be anywhere near as expensive as Ottolenghi. I would imagine some of the reasons his Restaurants are as pricey as they are is because some of the ingredients they use are rare and hard to get hold of and the industry issue of high rent; All his sites are central, and knowing that Five Guys are paying something ridiculous like ?500k a year to be in Covent Garden I dread to think what everyone else is paying.

As soon as we are in and menus are finished (just fine tuning the last bits) we will pop them in the window for you to have a look.

[_Spinach]

Hello Seabag,

A little bit about me, I have been in hospitality for as long as I can remember and opening a restaurant was the life long dream.. This is my first restaurant of my own, my last previous job was operations manager for Corney and Barrow, so as well as being a massive foodie look out for the wine list, I'm big on my wines.

My manager is Jenny, she has come down from Manchester having previously worked in the art word and hospitatlity part time. She realised that she didn't want to sit in front of a computer any more and the restaurant world was where her heart lay. She is big on her beers, so hopefully you like what she has put together.

And lastly is Bryan our head chef. He is English but has been living in Australia for the last ten years working in a Greek Restaurant. He is very passionate about food, and an amazing cook. I've had the hard job of eating the food he has been cooking as we build the menu.

As I said pop your head in and introduce yourselves, we would be happy to meet you.