London Museum unveils four new food and drink venues for Smithfield opening

Hospitality company Green & Fortune and London Museum have announced plans for four food and drink venues at the museum’s new home in Smithfield, central London, which opens to the public on 28^th November 2026. The venues – an all-day restaurant, a bar, a 24-hour café and a residency space for emerging chefs – will be overseen by British chef Robin Gill as food curator, working with Green & Fortune chef director Dan Rampat, and are intended to make food a significant element of the museum’s offer rather than an ancillary service.

The four spaces are Clerks House at London Museum, a 140-cover all-day dining room and bistro on the General Market ground floor; Bartholomew’s, a bar on Farringdon Road on the museum’s perimeter; the Temperance Cocoa Rooms, a café; and The Roost, an incubator space hosting a rotating programme of residencies. Several of the venues will have street entrances as well as access from inside the museum. Interiors have been designed by Russell Sage Studio in partnership with Green & Fortune, combining restored original features with contemporary elements.

Clerks House will serve breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, with weekend brunch and Sunday roasts. Menus will include Beef and Lamb from Green & Fortune’s farm in Northumberland and pies curated by Gill, with dishes such as Mutton Stew with Barley, Root Vegetables and Fresh Herbs, and a version of the traditional Billingsgate Sandwich made with hand-dived scallop, smoked bacon and scallop roe butter. A weekly changing wine list by the glass will feature old and new world wines and skin-contact wines from small growers. 

Bartholomew’s takes its name from Bartholomew Fair, held in Smithfield for more than seven centuries. Its cocktail menu will be developed by Mr Lyan Studio, the consultancy founded in 2015 by Ryan Chetiyawardana, working with Green & Fortune head of beverage Joe Boxall. The list will change in response to the museum’s exhibitions and events, beginning with a menu inspired by London Tastes, the museum’s inaugural programme, alongside a permanent London Made selection, a seasonal shandy and a draught London Museum lager.

The Temperance Cocoa Rooms occupies the former Lockhart’s Cocoa Rooms, rediscovered during renovation work. Lockhart’s opened in the 1870s as part of the temperance movement, offering an alcohol-free alternative to public houses, and served Smithfield market workers for 40 years. The alcohol-free café will offer customisable hot chocolates, a bespoke ginger beer, coffee mocktails and a late-night float menu, with pastries, hot carved sandwiches, toasties and soups. A Tamarind and Date Spiced Chelsea Bun references London’s spice trade, and coffee will come from Old Spike in Peckham. The two-floor space will open daily and operate round the clock from Thursday to Sunday. Edwardian Art Nouveau ceramic tiles with buttercup designs, uncovered during the works, will be retained.

The Roost will host street-food operators for residencies of up to six months, functioning as a takeaway counter by day and an evening space for up to 14 diners. Residents after the first will be selected competitively by a panel including Gill and Rampat, with mentoring from Gill and Green & Fortune chief executive John Nugent covering menu development, marketing, operations and finance. 

Nugent said: “The ambition of London Museum will be matched by a hospitality offering and programme unseen in London. The Green & Fortune team, together with our collaborators, Robin Gill and Mr Lyan Studio will collectively create authentic London food and drink experiences for both museum visitors and Londoners alike. Making food and drink, not just part of the experience, but a reason to visit.”

Gill said: “At London Museum, the food alone will be a reason to visit. Working with Green & Fortune we want to curate an experience that reflects the vibrancy of London and tell London’s story through food. We’ll be partnering with the best London producers and nurturing up-and-coming talent in the capital which is an exciting proposition. Bring on 28^th November!”

Nathan Lamb, director of experience and enterprise at London Museum, added: “Food is how London meets. Over a table to share plates and opinions, a coffee to catch up with friends, or a drink before the music starts. In the museum, we will offer four distinct experiences that give people both a place and a reason to come together. Working with Green & Fortune, alongside Robin Gill and Mr Lyan Studio, it will be part of how we tell London’s story, drawing on Smithfield’s legacy as a place that has fed and entertained Londoners for close to a thousand years.”

The opening completes a decade-long restoration of the Victorian General Market, which closed in the 1990s and has been out of public use for more than three decades. The £437m project, developed in partnership between the City of London Corporation and the Mayor of London, is designed by Stanton Williams and Asif Khan with conservation architects Julian Harrap. 

Food Desk

London Museum is set to open on 28 November 2026. For further information, visit the website here.