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The concept is an expensive food court that has no takeouts or waiting staff but is bafflingly eager for tips
En route to Arcade Food Theatre, near London’s Tottenham Court Road, for my second visit, I chunter inwardly that the restaurant scene often sounds like a chaotic blue-sky-thinking meeting gone awry. “Shout out your ideas, remember no idea is wrong!” the boss cries. “OK, it’s a cafe where you love eggs so much you’re basically a slut!” someone shouts. “We’ll call it Eggslut!” “Build it!” shouts the boss. “Forty-quid paella?!” yells someone else. “Gordon Ramsay: sushi master!?” All are greenlit for 2019.
But then one idea trumps all. “OK, it’s a food court. But a very posh, expensive one. You still queue, order, ship your own drinks and sit open-plan, but it’s £14 for a small ham sandwich. The credit card machine asks you for a tip immediately before every transaction.” Too far, one may think. But no, the Arcade Food Theatre has arrived, boasting a name like a My Bloody Valentine spin-off project and a London location so central it’s literally underneath Centrepoint, within footfall of the hungry hordes who ransack Oxford Street Primark. It should not be a difficult place to sell food. The nearby branch of Chopstix is serving boxed noodles and hot spring rolls (15 for £2.50), hand over fist, from 10am-10pm every day. Yet most things are difficult in this food court – apologies, this “collection of independent kitchens and incubation-focused mezzanine space showcasing emerging culinary concepts”. Continue reading...