A wave of restaurants that are temporary, roving or both is bringing new energy to this city’s already vibrant dining scene. Known as pop-up restaurants and supper clubs, many are run by gifted veterans of restaurants like Noma, in Copenhagen, or Chez Panisse, in California, professionals who might have the creativity and charisma to open their own establishments but lack the money to sign a lease and hire a contractor.
For emerging cooks, these are part recital and part art happening, a chance to dazzle an adventurous and demanding audience. For savvy Londoners, they provide an opportunity to dine ahead of the curve.
Now, informed eaters trawl Twitter and the blogosphere in search of dinners headlined by unknowns who might be respected by their peers but aren’t yet public names. That the locations are often secret, sometimes dramatic and operate in a regulatory gray area only adds to the sense of culinary adventure.
