Bun House and Tea Room — London, UK
A few months after opening Bun House upstairs, husband and wife team Z He and Alex Peffly have opened Tea Room in the basement of the former Moroccan restaurant and hookah joint Maison Toureg in London’s Soho quarter.
Both spaces – designed by He’s interiors studio Five Line Projects – are inspired by the classic cha chan tangs of 1960s Hong Kong: invariably, heaving, atmospheric cafés that are open at all hours, and feed a quickly rotating roster of customers with homey Cantonese fare.
Whilst Bun House is a nostalgic mélange of glazed ceramic garden stools and dark wood carpentry and serves the titular buns alongside Chinese street snacks, down a deep green stairwell, Tea Room frames its menu of lethal cocktails and Cantonese fare against a more noir backdrop of rattan furniture by Sika Design, exposed brick, brass and velvet drapes.
Head chef Zhang Chenquan’s menu is a particularly interesting mix of traditional fare, zhooshed up as sharing plates for Millennial Londoners – to whit, Oolong-smoked quail, claypot rice and tea eggs – all washed down with organic Lapsang Souchong and pu-er, or, if you’re feeling particularly daring, bartender Franky Rodrigues’ baijiu infused with toasted maple, five spice syrup and smoked pear.
ADDRESS
23-24 Greek Street
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
Looking for a long-range luxury EV that’s a true Tesla alternative? Welcome to the Lucid Air
We drive the Lucid Air, the high-performance Californian EV that’s a welcome leftfield choice in a sea of Musk-mobiles. Vote Lucid!
By Guy Bird Published
-
Umbrian castle hotel Reschio seduces with 1,000 years of history, now explored in a new book
The estate, home to a boutique hotel and rentable houses, is documented in Rizzoli's ‘Reschio: the First Thousand Years’ – and is open for stays
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Light, nature and modernist architecture: welcome to the reimagined Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens and its modernist Roberto Burle Marx-designed greenhouse get a makeover by Weiss/Manfredi and Reed Hildebrand in the US
By Ian Volner Published
-
Where to eat Italian food in London
From four-course blow-outs to the perfect pizza , food critic Ben McCormack recommends London's best Italian restaurants to have on your radar
By Ben McCormack Published
-
Out of office: from Loewe loafers to volcanic views, the Wallpaper* editors' picks of the week
What the Wallpaper* team have been eating, seeing, wearing and crucially, enjoying, this week
By Bill Prince Published
-
Explore Cornwall's cosiest coffee shops
Cornwall is known for its natural beauty and stunning landscape, here is our pick of coffee shops to enjoy the views and refuel
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Out of office: What the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this week
Team Wallpaper* are hard to pin down. Here's what our editors have been up to this week that might inspire your own downtime, from films to food, architours to musical interludes
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
First look at Soma 2.0: a new nighttime highlight in east London
Fresh from its Soho roots, this newly opened London bar is set to redefine Canary Wharf’s nightlife – not least with its Indian-flavour-twist cocktails, as Neil Ridley discovers
By Neil Ridley Published
-
This new London restaurant bursts with Mexican flair and flavour
Fonda is London’s new Mexican restaurant, courtesy of chef Santiago Lastra, also behind Michelin-starred Kol. As Mary Cleary discovers, it’s serving up colour and creativity
By Mary Cleary Published
-
KOYN Thai brings high-end flair to London's West End
From Samyukta Nair and Fabled Studio comes a new restaurant with food drawn from the length and breadth of Thailand
By Ben McCormack Published
-
Where to eat sushi in London
From high-end hotels to supermarket pop-ups, food critic Ben McCormack recommends London's best sushi spots
By Ben McCormack Published