Beard to Tail restaurant and bar brings the true meaning of ‘barbe à queue’ to Shoreditch

This October, the award-winning team behind cocktail bar Callooh Callay is opening its first restaurant, Beard to Tail. Located in a 2,500sq.ft former warehouse and storage facility, Beard to Tail will be designed by Tristan Hay Design and consist of a restaurant of 70 covers and a separate delicatessen area. Open from 9am-11pm daily, it will offer all-day dining from inspired breakfasts and morning coffees, to fat sandwiches, to serious lunches and dinners. Those already familiar with the fantastical cocktails of Callooh Callay won’t be surprised to hear that there will also be an exceptional drinks offering, with a bar serving up craft beers, interesting wines and creative cocktails.

As the name suggests, the extremely carnivorous menu at Beard to Tail will make use of the entire animal, serving less familiar cuts and with an emphasis on grilling, roasting and slow cooking. Head chef Dan Thrippleton (Hix Soho and Hix Belgravia) was brought up in the country and is already well-versed in this philosophy. He will be buying in whole and half carcasses from small producers and butchering the meat in-house to ensure that nothing is wasted. Dishes will include: bearded pig cheeks served with ginger and dill pickle; the signature ‘Rumpie Pumpie’ Suffolk pork rump for two to share; and pulled beef featherblade with green peppercorn hollandaise and grilled flatbread.

The deli counter will serve a range of top quality teas and coffees, sandwiches and small plates and sharing boards. Sandwiches, freshly made at the counter to eat in or take away, will include: a Reuben made with salt beef, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing or sauerkraut on rye bread, and a toasted sub with smoked English ham, Emmental and jalapeños; small plates will be tasters of the restaurant menu, and will range from Umbrian coppa ham, pigs trotters, chicken liver pate, toast, Jalapeño garlic bagels; and Dorset Blue Vinny cheese on celery sticks. Breakfast, which will be served from both the deli and the restaurant, will include Toasted crumpets with home-made breakfast condiments, baked eggs with chorizo and manchego cheese, and boiled eggs
accompanied by bacon croutons, portobello mushrooms and (marmite) toasty soldiers.

Bucking the current trend, the restaurant will take reservations, although the deli will be first come, first served. The bar will serve a variety of craft beers from London and the US, wines from around the globe plus an extraordinary, mainly whiskey and bourbon-based cocktail list. Concoctions will include the signature Andy Warhol, a fresh take on cherry cola (Jack Daniels, Claytons Kola tonic, Cherry Heering and soda, served in an original Campbell’s soup tin), a Beard to Tail Julep, and a potent brew entitled Absinthe Makes The Heart Grow Fonder. Small plates and deli boards will also be available for drinkers to graze on.

Tristan Hay Design is planning a design very much in keeping with the venue’s industrial heritage: a palate of blues and greys together with exposed brickwork, pipes and cabling and reclaimed floorboards. There will also be a proud streak of Shoreditch attitude, with flashes of artwork and colour, customised furniture and fabulous lighting. Following the success of the restaurant’s four day pop-up in June, co-owners Richard Wynne and Kate Crutchley are looking forward to the opening of their first foodie venture. Richard comments: “Running Callooh Callay has been such a crazy and fun journey so far, and a restaurant feels like the next logical step. We were overwhelmed by the response to the pop-up, and can’t wait to open our doors. There are some brilliant restaurants opening in Shoreditch at the moment, and we are excited to be a part of the scene.