Welcome to Woolwich: The ultimate guide to going out in SE18

merging market: Street Feast, which is coming to the area in two weeks

Two weeks before it’s due to open, Street Feast co-founder Jonathan Downey is taking me on a hypothetical tour of his company’s newest indoor food market.

“There’s going to be a little Tokyo-style diner there,” he says, raising his voice above a nearby power saw to indicate a bare wooden unit in the corner. “That bit is going to be a wine bar,” he adds, gesturing towards a sawdust-covered trestle table and spray-painted oil drum. “Upstairs is going to be our Pool Deck, with pool tables and a shots bar,” he continues. “We’re going to put a big cage of trampolines there. And in the middle… well, I’m not sure what we’re going to put in the middle yet.”

You’d be forgiven for thinking all this — mini restaurants, DIY bars and upcycled bins in an artfully dishevelled location — is business as usual for the collective behind Shoreditch’s Dinerama, Canary Wharf’s Giant Robot and Lewisham’s Model Market. But this new space (speedily assembled within the dilapidated, light-flooded interior of a 1936 covered market) has a crucial difference. Because this Instagram-ready feasting hall is being set up far, far away from the centre of town, in a corner of Zone 4 that plenty of Londoners would struggle to locate on a TfL map.

Welcome, then, to Woolwich’s Public Market: the latest sign that SE18 is on the precipice of an improbable new life as London’s coolest borough.

“My first reaction was that it was too f***ing far out,” admits Downey, remembering his response to initial overtures from Greenwich council about taking over a building that had been unoccupied since early 2017. “But I loved the space. And I love the fact that we can make a real positive difference to this area with what we do.”

South east feast: Woolwich traders put on a fantastic selection of food

Before the market is redeveloped into housing and shops, Public will host a late-night market — kicking off tonight — on Fridays and Saturdays for at least two years. The launch roster of eight food traders runs fr om HENHaus’s gravy-drenched rotisserie chicken and Lava Bar’s ice cream-topped puddings to Yum Bun’s squidgy bao and local hero Rust Bucket Pizza Co, gifted a spot after being controversially evicted from a berth in Woolwich town centre last year.

But Street Feast isn’t the only one rejuvenating an area still mostly known as the site of a centuries-old armoury and the UK’s first branch of McDonald’s. From artists’ studios and galleries, a mammoth print fair, shipping-container villages and ambitious brunch spots to custom bike-makers, craft brewers and a plan for a blockbusting Southbank-style cultural quarter, all manner of attractions are enticing people southwards. And that’s before we even mention the 22-minute trains to Bond Street that’ll be whooshing from a new Elizabeth line station come December.

It’s a place that’s about to start blipping on every Londoner’s cultural radar. Here’s everything you need to know about the Coolwich crew.

Find a masterpiece

Artists' haven: Thames Side Studios in Woowich

Woolwich may be newly hip in some Londoners’ eyes but, as ever, the capital’s artists can justifiably claim to have got there first. Thames Side Studios (thames-sidestudios.co.uk) — a dockyard complex that’s home to a gallery, print studio and more than 500 artists and craftspeople — is the biggest single-site studio provider in Britain.

Thanks to its comparatively cheap rent (on average, £200 a month for 200sq m) it’s long been something of a cult in the art and design world, and has prompted creatives of all kinds — screenprinters, sculptors, fashion designers — to put down roots in Woolwich or nearby Plumstead. As lauded painter, Thames Side member and lifelong SE18-er Ray Richardson notes: “People are starting to realise [Woolwich] is not the end of the Earth.” Based Upon (basedupon.com), a company that has created large-scale pieces of bespoke art for the likes of Donna Karan and Fortnum & Mason, occupies a separate space around the corner.

Along the river by the Royal Arsenal — a short walk from sculptor Peter Burke’s Gormley-esque rusted figures — art curator Lizzie Glendinning has established the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair (woolwichprintfair.com) in a Grade II-listed former carriage factory. Returning for its third year this November, it has featured work by Chris Ofili, Tracey Emin and Frank Auerbach.

Be Woolwich merry

Watering hole: The Woolwich Equitable in SE18

Can an area possibly be bracketed as “up and coming” if it doesn’t have at least one microbrewery? You’d think not. Thankfully, Woolwich passes the test with Hop Stuff Brewery (hopstuffbrewery.com), an ever-improving local success story launched in 2013 and boosted by a £1.5 million crowdfund. As well as a quartet of Woolwich-inspired brews — such as Four Hour Session, named after the drinking breaks once afforded to munitions workers — Hop Stuff also has a pair of taproom bars (in the Royal Arsenal and nearby Deptford).

Pub-wise, The Woolwich Equitable (woolwichequitable.com), smack bang in the middle of town, is the best bet. In the grand, double-height interior of the former Woolwich Equitable building society, it’s all thick velvet curtains, salvaged cinema chairs and chintzy wallpaper. There’s a secret snug, regular open-mic events and roast dinners on Sundays.

The beautiful South

Manufacturing in this part of London used to start and end with cannons, shells and even torpedoes but, pleasingly, SE18’s makers have since diversified a fair bit. Saffron Frameworks (saffronframeworks.com) — founded by Matthew Sowter, a former amateur racing cyclist — specialises in bespoke, meticulously hand-crafted bikes made to a rider’s specific geometry. Sadly, Saffron’s growing reputation (Sowter won a 2016 Outstanding Finish Award at Bespoked, the Oscars of the bike world) means that the waiting list for one of his bikes is at least six months.

You could console yourself by picking up something from the characterful interiors hub Raw Studio (rawstudio.co.uk). Founded by designer Nick Rawcliffe, it has a knack for unusual, playfully conceived pieces. Think eerie lamps based on the dark side of the moon, a minimal chess set you can roll up into a tube, and even luxe “flat pack” chairs named after Nineties rappers. Choose from the Biggie bench, the Tupac chair and the Diddy stool.

Creative hub

CineviewStudios.com

There are existing cultural initiatives bubbling up in the area (the Charlton and Woolwich Free Film Festival, for instance, will return for a third time late this year) but little can compare to the blueprints being unfurled for a creative district within the old Royal Arsenal grounds. Officially approved last March and set to cost £31 million, it will be an ambitious arts playground comprising a 450-seat theatre, a courtyard for outdoor performances, a music venue, a museum, rehearsal studios and workshops. It will also have a riverside restaurant and act as a base for dance and theatre companies, including Dash Arts, which will be relocating from east London.

The obvious caveat to all this is that it’s some way off (phase one of the project is due to open in 2019). However, there is now another, alternative way for SE18 residents to broadcast their enthusiasm and simultaneously show some local pride. Coolwich merchandise (coolwich.uk) is the brainchild of Derry-born lawyer and Woolwich transplant Gavin McDaid. “I was inspired by the great things happening in the area,” he explains. “So I wanted to create a fun, unifying message for local people to get behind so we could feel positive about the changes in the area.” So far, his Coolwich-branded T-shirts have proved a hit.

Get a southful

Street Feast: Yum Bun is amongst the new arrivals in Woolwich

Street Feast’s sauce-smearing arrival is a huge culinary deal for SE18. But there are other appealing gastronomic options. Clued-up locals pile into Kailash Momo (facebook.com/kailash-momo-restaurant), a gratifyingly cheapNepalese institution with bold flavours, a pleasing homely vibe and killer dumplings (momo).

Elsewhere, The Plumstead Pantry (theplumsteadpantry.co.uk) is worth the slight hike up the hill. Planted at the edge of a picturesque stretch of common, its a pegboard-walled, all-day-brunch affair with an assured, unusual menu (think smashed sweet potato on toast, vegan doughnuts and slow-cooked, coddled eggs) and a lively atmosphere. What’s more, there are regular supper clubs and “Pantrification” DJ nights.

Looking further ahead, Carl Turner — the architect behind Pop Brixton and Peckham Levels — has got planning permission for The Wool Yard: a network of shipping container bars and restaurants, as well as affordable workspaces. Due to open later this year, it will stay up for five to six years and will, Turner hopes, “be a catalyst for creativity and the arts in the area”. So prepare to make a pilgrimage south of the river. Woolwich is finally firing on all cylinders.

Public Market is open from 5pm on Fridays and noon on Saturdays; streetfeast.com.

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