Homestead, the new all-day dining concept from Sven-Hanson Britt, Tris Hillier and Scott Ward of Unlocked will launch on Tuesday 17th November as the main food and beverage offering for London City Island, the leading culturally inspired neigbourhood on Leamouth Peninsula.
Homestead will openeveryday from 8am – 8pm to fit with the current lockdown measures, serving as a one stop shop for an abundance of incredible produce from a network of trusted suppliers.
The three founders have come together to combine vast restaurant experience with Scott (JKS, Maze) as Director of Operations, Sven (Oxeye and Masterchef Professionals: Rematch Champion) as Creative Director and Tris (Kanvass Projects) as Brand & Communications Director. The three industry experts have made the move to open the venue in spite of the current climate, pioneering a move for the hospitality industry to local London neighbourhoods across the capital, rather than a focus on central London hotspots previously favoured.
For the initial opening period, Homestead will open as a takeaway kitchen, deli and store for collection, with an offering that will reflect the dine-in menu once the restaurant is able to open. Guests will be able to enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner options, as well as an expansive range of fresh produce from Homestead’s Counter. The counter will showcase quality meats, homemade pasta and a selection of cheese and fish, all sourced ethically from British day boats, high welfare farms and small artisan producers, including BH Fish in Poole and Tori & Ben’s Farm in Derbyshire. Choosing and building relationships with these suppliers has been a key part of building Homestead’s identity; providing a simple route for small suppliers to get produce straight to plate.
Once restrictions have lifted, Homestead will offer dining in and drinking options, designed predominantly as a central hub for the local City Island community – crafted as a complete, all-day offering, starting with an extensive breakfast menu in the morning, through to evenings propelled by carefully sourced wines and a menu created by Sven with delicious options for quick suppers through to hours of feasting. The charcoal grill will be an integral part of the menu, used to cook the selection of daily-changing meat, fish and vegetables.
Sven-Hanson Britt says of the launch: “The East London food scene has completely changed over the past few months, meaning everything we knew before about eating out is now different. My family and I have moved to City Island, a hub of creativity and artists in need of a great food offering. Whilst in the pre-opening phase of Oxeye, we had time to think about how to launch a different style of business here at City Island; something that is solely focused on delivering the very best ingredients to our community. It’s all about provenance, the story, the ethics and the traceability behind the products. Ultimately, Homestead is all about community, which we will contribute to by delivering something meaningful to our ever-growing family of neighbours here in East London.”
Tris Hillier says: “Despite the current lockdown measures we actually feel it is a great time to launch Homestead as everyone is at home. It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet everyone and so we are looking forward to launching. We’ve created Homestead as a way of providing for the City Island community, offering food that would have previously only been sold directly to restaurants or impossible for a consumer to directly purchase themselves.”
Scott Ward says: “Homestead is a place that we would be excited about visiting ourselves, with our friends and family. The team we have put together is amazing; we feel very privileged to be able to hire people during this difficult time for UK hospitality, and buy direct from farmers, fishermen and growers who need our support more than ever.”
Take-away options available during the coming options will include salads, sandwiches, quiches and pies, sitting alongside comforting and delicious hot dishes such as Aubergine Massaman curry and Cobble Lane chorizo and peppered salami pizza with La Latteria mozzarella. Freshly prepared hot and cold sandwiches are also available, including a Chicken Kiev sandwich with raw cabbage and Caesar dressing and Banh Mi: crispy roast pork belly, ham and chicken liver terrine, pickles, chilli and coriander.
The kitchen will be led by Executive Chef James Durrant (ex-Maze) who will oversee a team of chefs during service throughout the week. General Manager Martin Renshaw (previously GM at Ruya and various outposts of Jason Atherton’s Social Company), will lead a team of experienced hospitality professionals.
The Bar at Homestead is made for drinking. During lockdown 2.0, Homestead has partnered with Brewdog to bring a mobile bar to Hopewell Square, offering a range of beers to take away. The extensive wine list, provided by brilliant, hand-picked small growers and wine distributors, caters to all tastes, ensuring there will continuously be an interesting and diverse by-the-glass option with a focus on wines produced with viticultural sustainability at their heart.
The draft beer selection comes from Brewdog and Guinness, alongside craft options in cans and bottles. A bar menu will also be available once the restaurant is fully open. Classic cocktails will be available in the bar area and throughout the restaurant, with bottle-aged cocktails available for takeaway to enjoy at home, including bottles of premixed Negroni and Old Fashioned. The shop floor also features a coffee shop, florist and bottle shop.
Homestead will open to the public with its takeaway offering on Tuesday 17th November; more details to follow on the opening on the full site.
London City Island
London City Island is a vibrant cultural and artistic hub situated on an12-acre island on Leamouth Peninsula, East London. The riverside neighbourhood is an example of leading property developer Ballymore’s ambition to deliver innovative developments with design, culture and creativity at their core. Homestead will become a thriving place for the island’s residents and locals to socialise, shop and dine, all under one thoughtfully created space. As the only restaurant offering for the island, the restaurant shares the central ground floor space of Kent Building, which is central to the neighbourhood’s exclusive London City Island Arts Club and where the gym and spa facilities are located. All residents will have access to the entirety of Homestead’s menu from the comfort of their own home in the coming weeks, as the restaurant will facilitate deliveries and pick up orders.
