Chef and restaurateur Adam Handling has confirmed he is to take on the former Byron site in Hoxton Square.
Handling will move current venue The Frog E1 to the site, alongside a new Bean & Wheat Coffee and Beer, and brand-new bar, Iron Stag.
MCA reported last week that Handling had put the Bean & Wheat site in Spitalfields on the market.
New concept Iron Stag will serve “carefully curated bar snacks” designed to complement a drinks range centred around aged whiskies.
Handling said: “This is my biggest venture yet and it’s a very personal project for me. I’ve learned so much from past ventures and whilst I’m proud of them all, I’ve delegated too much of the design concepts to outside companies. This time, I’ve taken on the design of everything myself.
“The Frog E1 was originally supposed to be a test project on a temporary basis, but it became so successful we kept extending the lease. Now, we want to give it a permanent home to give it the revamp it needs. When we first opened Frog E1, it was just me a couple of my chefs painting the walls ourselves and putting on the doorknobs (backwards!) – we were so proud of it when we were finished, and I want to be just as proud of this new site knowing that we’ve done as much as we can ourselves.
“E1 was my first independent restaurant, and its been a great testing ground for what we do best. I want to take everything that people love about it and are familiar with, but slightly elevate the offering, and make it even better.”
The new iteration of Bean & Wheat will be open all day and evening, and include a new and extensive craft beer offering with a fully licenced bottle shop. The beer library will be made up of offerings from smaller producers and all bottles will be available to take away.
Opening at the end of July, the three individual venues will have their own separate entrances on three different streets to ensure that each experience is distinct. Handling will be overseeing all operations at the site, alongside newly-appointed Executive Chef Daniel Watkins who will have responsibility for the food offering across the three venues. Working with Handling on the beverage offering for the group will be renowned bartenders Rich Woods and Matt Whiley. The Frog E1’s current Head Chef Jamie Park, will maintain his role as Head Chef at The Frog Hoxton, and the rest of the restaurant team will be moving to the new site too.
