Ana Gonçalves and Zijun Meng to relaunch katsu sando concept TÓU

Launching on 5 April, the permanent residency will take the form of a Japanese Americana-inspired sando bar and reflects a partnership between Gonçalves and Meng and food brand licensing platform Sessions.

The menu will feature TÓU’s signature pork katsu sando, which sees an Ibérico pork neck cutlet breaded and deep fried and served with cabbage, raspberry sauce and xo shallot sauce in a lightly toasted brioche sandwich.

There will also be skin on fries with house sprinkles as a side; and a coffee and biscuits sundae featuring homemade coffee ice cream with Biscoff, mascarpone custard and cocoa powder available for dessert.

For the drinks, Gonçalves and Meng have teamed up with Stefano Cazzato to create a large selection of pet nats as the accompaniment to the food, which will be part of an extensive natural wine list featuring more than 40 bins.

“We’re so excited for the relaunch of TÓU at The Globe Tavern,” says Gonçalves and Meng.

“We’ve long had a vision for a space that recalls American and Japanese diners of the 1970s, a space that enables guests to unwind and savour the simplicity of good food, funky wines and the allure of a bygone era.

“The addition of pet nats completes the TÓU concept with the refreshingly light drink cutting through the delicious richness of the Ibérico pork.”

Gonçalves and Meng originally came to prominence through their nomadic kitchen concept TĀTĀ Eatery, which originally launched as a stall on Druid Street market in Bermondsey back in 2015 with a focus on creating fine dining dishes in a street food setting.

The pair subsequently undertook a series of high-profile residencies in the capital, including at James Knappett’s Fitzrovia restaurant Kitchen Table; Curio Cabal on Kingsland Road; and Borough Wines in Kensal Rise.

It was at the latter that the couple gained notable acclaim on social media for their Iberico katsu sando​​, subsequently creating a spinoff concept based around it in 2019 called TÓU back in 2019 that went on to host numerous residences and pop ups in central London.

More recently, Gonçalves and Meng have focused more on working in consultancy roles for the likes of Taiwanese chicken restaurant Mr Ji​​ and Soho’s Korean Dinner Party​​.

Last year they also launched a new concept called Solis, a grilled chicken and steak brand housed within Arcade Battersea​​.