The Grafton’s new Monday soiree
The Kentish Town Village Table is simply the attractively named new Monday night at The Grafton. “It’s a new community initiative,” says new owner Charlie Baker (don’t forget it’s now under new independent management).
The first event is 14th October and it’s just £12 for three courses. You can expect: 1) seasonal vegetable soup made with a delightful assortment of fresh, locally sourced vegetables; 2) hearty beef goulash infused with aromatic spices, served with homemade gnocchi-pillowy pasta dumplings and home-made pickles; and 3) apple rice pudding with tender pieces of baked apples and warm cinnamon. Arrive at 730pm for an 8pm start and “get to know your neighbours,” they say. Follow @thegraftonnw5
Black History Season arrives
Black History Season, as Camden’s Black History Month is called, is now here – and, with over thirty events between now and December, it’s a pretty impressive and eclectic schedule.
From 1-19 October 2024 (Tue & Thu, 11.30am – 5pm, Sat, 1pm-6pm) you can visit the Camden Black British History Community Hub at 18 Malden Road NW5 to create a legacy of Camden’s Black history. Hidden Voices is the name of the project created to uncover Camden’s Black History, ensuring the borough’s history reflects the diversity of its communities, and is “celebrated and remembered for generations to come.” Anyone can drop in archive material (photographs, correspondence letters, ephemera flyers/pamphlets, particularly from people of the Windrush era) which will be handed over to Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre, so they are recorded as part of history.
Another NW5 highlight is at Queen’s Crescent Library, on 10th October (4pm-5.30pm). Explore Africa! workshops help locals learn about the diverse languages, delicious food, and colourful flags of the continent. An interactive session for the whole family, you’ll be able to hear, taste, touch, and embrace a little bit of Africa through exciting activities. Peruse the full programme, clearly laid out, on the website here.
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Some autumnal openings
On our free Substack newsletter today, you can read all about Sik Faan, the rebooted Carrots & Daikon (subscribe above); meanwhile, other newish arrivals in the area include Italian small plates joint La Tana on Fortess Road, pictured above, whose brief menu includes delights like monkfish with saffron and mussels emulsion, or caprese salad and chicken cacciatora.
Just further north is the saccharine-titled new artisan bakery Sweety Cooky, opening soon at the Tufnell Park end of Junction Road; while south is the now very smart looking former Lady Hamilton as the Old Farm House (due to open any minute now): read who are behind the massive refurb in our earlier story here. Finally, further south still, Ali’s Kebab, which replaces Kent Cafe just by the disused South Kentish Town station.
Kentishtowner turns 15 soon – which (sorry to brag) isn’t too shabby for an independent food & culture site run on almost zero resources. And, as usual, a billion thanks to those who donate.
But to put it into perspective, that’s just under 5% of readers in the last year. If you’re sitting on the fence a bit, maybe just ping over a couple of quid? After all, that’s cheaper than a coffee almost anywhere these days.
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