Kitchen by Mike

Yes, it's a kitchen, and yes, it's by Mike. But it's more than that, because the kitchen is very much of its time and place, and the Mike is Mike McEnearney, former head chef at Rockpool. Located in a converted jam factory, as the edible part of the ground-breaking Koskela design store, this no-frills people's canteen has no menu, no bookings, takes no credit cards, and gives no table service. So join the queue, choose what you want from the long counter that fronts the kitchen, and take it back to your bare-topped table on a humble tin plate. It might sound bleak, but this is fresh, vibrant food produced by a kitchen that includes not one but three ex-Rockpool chefs and a wood-fired oven. The offerings are so market-dependent they change daily, from sensationally crisp wood-fired pork belly to braised lamb, puffy pizza margherita, crunchy red cabbage, walnut and buttermilk salad, and a seriously good bread-and-butter pud.