The Dairy’s Robin Gill to kick off London rooftop pop-up The Gardening Society

From 27 May to 4 September, the culinary event from the team behind London-based bar and dining pop-up Night Tales will take place on the roof of the John Lewis flagship department store on London’s Oxford Street.

Open from midday to evening – and until 11pm from Thursday to Saturday ‒ it will begin with Gill’s cooking for a month, followed by Rob Dann from lobster site B.O.B’s Lobster for the next month, finishing with McDonald for the final 30 days. The site will accept bookings but also reserve space for walk-ins.

Each chef will serve their signature dishes for lunch and dinner, plus a range of newly-developed recipes.

Gill will be serving dishes along the lines of his The Dairy site, as well as brand new opening, Counter Culture, which specialises in quick, small plates using pickled and fermented produce. Plates on offer will feature cod, smoked roe and BBQ peppers; sour potato flatbread with n’duja and cultured cream.

B.O.B’s Lobster will serve dishes including lobster rolls, a new lobster melt on sourdough, fish tacos, and lobster Benedict.

Lastly, Shotgun’s offerings will feature low and slow barbecue cooking on the roof, with cuts of meat by the pound including brisket and pork belly. There will be snacks such as suckling pig stuffed pretzel roll with bacon jam, and sides such as sweet corn ‘esquites’, butter-topped corn with chipotle mayonnaise and pecorino cheese.

There will also be a cocktail menu from the team behind Night Tales, Background Bars, with options such as the Sunday Tonic, with ginger infused gin, rhubarb, and homemade tonic bitters; Rose Spritz with rosé, garden herbs and berries; and British Garden Julep, with gin, pea syrup, lemon juice and ginger ale.  

The pop-up will also see a selection of juices and coffee, plus yoga classes on Tuesday mornings from instructors at ‘modern yoga’ group Fat Buddha, and games and events on the lawn, including boules tournaments and family events.

Created to appear as a rooftop garden, the space has been designed by gardener Tony Woods – who was previously named RHS National Young Garden Designer of the Year ‒ including a green lawn area, flowers, and a vegetable patch. 

The site will not be the only rooftop pop-up on Oxford Street; Selfridges department store has also hosted a series of "On the Roof..." pop-ups from the Des McDonald group, including Vintage Salt and current incarnation, Forest.