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London's Wapping Project: A Haven to Haute Food and Art, Sans Tourists

Where: Wapping Wall [map], London, United States, E1W 3ST
June 14, 2011 at 11:30 AM | by | Comments (0)

Located in a quiet, village-esque community in East London, The Wapping Project is a favorite among neighborhood residents but less frequently trekked to by tourists, unless they happen to be ultra-discerning food and art connoisseurs.

The hydraulic power station-turned-restaurant/concept space attracts well groomed diners who want a side of artistic esoterica with their cuttlefish starter. It is described as "an idea consistently in transition," where creative installations rotate in tandem with the seasonal food menu.

Jaunted stopped by on a quiet Sunday afternoon, just missing brunch and what we were assured by our local tour guide are epic ricotta pancakes. Instead we picked off of our respective diners' plates, sampling the aforementioned cuttlefish, a goat cheese and tomato tart, and dishes incorporating lamb's tongue and mackerel (though not together). Wapping serves stripped down, accessible haute cuisine, with prices averaging around £15-18.00 for a main during lunch hour.

The highlight of our visit was ducking into a darkened space beyond the dining room, where the pièce de rèsistance of current exhibition, "Yohji Making Waves," is housed. A microcosm of the docklands outdoors, visitors can pay £5 to climb into a paddle boat and ride around an inverted wedding dress that hangs from the room's ceiling, hauntingly reflected in the water below. Other parts of the exhibition, which highlights the oeuvre of fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, are free to see in the dining room.

"Yohji Making Waves" runs through July 14th. You can visit the Wapping Project's cryptic website for, well, their address at least.

[Photo: fairlybuoyant, via Flickr]

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