Tea, tomes and Tilda Swinton. A glorious combination if there ever was one. Throw tea-based cocktails into the mix and you've brewed yourself a soirée. That's the aim of Teatulia, Covent Garden's new 16-cover venue, library and retail space, designed by Russell Sage Studios (the designers behind Dishoom).
Swinton has curated the first ‘The Living Bookshelf’ as she calls it, which is a rotating selection of titles (handpicked by a different notable creative figure each month), filling a wall-to-wall bookshelf in the space. ‘Reading and tea leaves go together like breathing in and breathing out,’ the actress and performance artist says of her inaugural selection. ‘Go slow. Take time to brew yourself some harmony. Separate the signal from the noise.’
Discover more London hot spots to visit during Frieze London 2018
Swinton was introduced to the project by Teatulia’s founders Ahsan Akbar and K. Anis Ahmed, writers themselves, and entrepreneurs in tea. A labour of love, Teatulia will have complete ownership of it’s tea’s provenance – a first for a London shop. Every leaf is hand-picked in the Teatulia garden in Tetulia, northern Bangladesh, a tea-growing region lying between the better known Indian regions of Assam and Darjeeling.
By day, the shop will serve six teas, including organic single origin Jasmine Green, Oolong and ‘Bengal Builder’s’, for consumption at home or on-site in ceramic ware by Japanese brand Kinto. In the evenings it will also serve tea-based cocktails (hot toddies to lemongrass mojitos) from a menu designed by Enrico Gonzato, from Dandelyan at the Mondrian Hotel.
The space is as adroit as the menu served within it. Art deco meets mid-century influence in the curved black terrazzo-topped bar, lightened by shelf upon shelf of colourful tea tins; mirrored by the pick-me-up patchwork of book spines (from Zadie Smith to Teju Cole). Here is a spot to turn over a new leaf; both in a book you’ve never read, and a tea not yet tried. There’s a novel idea.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Teatulia website
-
Here’s what to order (and admire) at Carbone LondonNew York’s favourite, and buzziest, Italian restaurant arrives in the British capital, marking the brand’s first expansion into Europe
-
Griffin Frazen on conceiving the cinematic runway sets for New York label Khaite: ‘If people feel moved we’ve succeeded’The architectural designer – who helped conceive the sets for ‘The Brutalist’ – collaborates with his wife Catherine Holstein on the scenography for her Khaite runway shows, the latest of which took place in NYFW this past weekend
-
How to travel meaningfully in an increasingly generic worldLauren Ho explores the need for resonance, not reach, in the way we choose to make journeys of discovery
-
The artistry of Japanese wineFine wine from Japan may not yet register highly on the radars of most oenophiles, but for those who know, it's a hugely rewarding and rich tapestry of flavour. Drinks expert, Neil Ridley visits London's Luna Omakase for the launch of a new dedicated Japanese wine pairing menu
-
From The Fat Badger to The Bull, how Public House is redefining the British pubInside the design-driven food group putting provenance, craft and community back at the heart of pub culture
-
Guests dined on Bangladeshi-inspired cuisine at the Serpentine Summer Party 2025The party marked the 25th anniversary of the Serpentine Architecture Pavilion – and celebrated this year’s design by Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum and her Dhaka-based firm
-
Rémy Martin and Anish Kapoor: art meets cognac in LondonThe cognac house and the artist unveiled a limited-edition XO decanter and a new sculpture in London at a recent event at the Institute of Contemporary Arts
-
Cocktail hour with Stanley TucciWallpaper* catches up with the consummate epicurean to discuss his culinary no-gos, Tucci-esque travel habits and how to make the perfect martini
-
Mark your calendars for Mount Street Neighbourhood Summer Festival, a feast for the sensesThe event, 12-14 June 2025, showcases the mix of food, art and community in the heart of London’s Mayfair. Here's what to expect, from afternoon tea to aperitivo, film screenings to biodynamic flowers
-
Healthy chocolate? Eat it at Makers, London’s new Lebanese chocolatierLocated in Chelsea, Makers is a new ‘healthy chocolate’ shop offering treats free of refined sugar, seed oils, wheat and dairy – and it tastes delicious
-
Inside Domaine Evremond, the UK’s first subterranean winery‘Sparkling wine should be fun.’ We tour Domaine Evremond in Kent, a winery steeped in the English countryside
