Queer nightlife entrepreneur opens ‘inclusive’ neighbourhood restaurant

Yes Please is billed as an intimate, inclusive space and features sharing tables to encourage a community vibe. 

Head chef Jerome Slesinski (Coal Vaults, LASSCO) has created a sharing-orientated menu that features the likes of pink burrata with hazelnuts and lovage oil; fried artichokes with chilli shallot sabayon; blackened corn-fed chicken with pickled grapes, Pedro Ximénez jus; and clams, mussels and prawns with broad beans, rosé and chilli. 

There will be a focus on oysters, which are sourced locally from Essex by Sutton & Sons. Fermentation is a focus at Yes Please to maximise the life span of produce and intensify flavours; dressings will incorporate fermented liquids, for example.

The camp theme continues on the drinks menu, which majors on frozen cocktails, including a pale pink Paloma slushie made with fresh grapefruit and chili.

As well as having a diverse restaurant and kitchen team, Yes Please say they are keen to support queer suppliers where possible. Bread comes from Spence Bakery located just up the road in Stoke Newington, and natural wine is sourced from Otros Vinos.

Where queer suppliers aren’t available, produce is largely sourced from London-based suppliers and traders on Ridley Road market. 

Yes Please says it is proud to join the thriving LGBTQ+ neighbourhood of Dalston and wider East London and points out that Yes Please is one of just a handful of queer venues that do not to take the form of a nightclub or bar.