Canal is the first west-side venture from Ham Restaurants (Crispin, Bistro Freddie), and it’s bringing the group’s signature design and produce-led nous to a waterside spot in Westbourne Park. Right on the Grand Union Canal in Taxi House – a redevelopment of the London Taxi Drivers’ Association building – the all-day bistro is set to be a hit this summer and beyond for its seasonal menu, sunny terrace and industrial-style dining room.
Dom Hamdy – the Ham Restaurants group founder, who started out selling Scotch eggs at Borough Market more than a decade ago – was approached by Mason & Fifth to open a restaurant in the third and largest of its collection of boutique guesthouses. He immediately fell in love with the waterside location, and tells Broadsheet he’s eager to bring a “little Hackney Wick canal-side culture to West London”.
The kitchen is led by New York native Adrian Hernandez Farina, who has cooked at Mayfair’s Humo and Michelin-starred Clerkenwell restaurant Luca, as well as Thomas Keller’s California institution The French Laundry. His British-European menu runs from small plates like Portland crab doughnuts and sea-bream crudo with chilli to larger dishes including a whole brill with bouillabaisse sauce. A playful signature is the “table cheeseburger”: a juicy, ex-dairy beef patty on pillow-soft Martin’s potato rolls, topped with braised onions and pickles. It’s a nod to Hernandez Farina’s American roots and designed to be eaten in between courses. “Why not have a cheeseburger to share in the middle of the meal?” says Hamdy.
Haggerston’s A Bar With Shapes for a Name – ranked number 61 on the World’s 50 Best Bars list – is behind the menu of cocktails on tap. Expect fun sips like a brown butter Old Fashioned or an orange wine Margarita. The bar reduces waste by distilling kitchen scraps into shrubs and mixers, keeping things eco-friendly and community-minded just like the rest of Canal.
The industrial-style space is designed to evoke the maker’s process. The team wanted diners to feel connected not only to the food but also to the artisans behind the interiors. While the space has a monochrome palette, tactility is key. Guests are greeted by a marble bar with hand-chiselled edges, raw concrete columns and hammered glass surfaces, all crafted by A-nrd studio (which worked on the fit-outs for Kol and Kolae).
This attention to detail runs through to the uniforms by London fashion designer Nicholas Daley, which are made with fabric sourced from Italy’s renowned Candiani denim mill, founded in 1938, and feature Daley’s signature wide-leg silhouettes, as well as a kilt.
Canal
11B Woodfield Road, London W9 2BA
020 8176 6073
Hours:
Mon to Fri 8am–midnight
Sat & Sun 9am–midnight