Dandy Cafe moves from shipping container to permanent restaurant

The neighbourhood restaurant is the brainchild of Australians Daniel Wilson and Andrew Leitch, who launched the pop-up in London Fields in 2015.

Now the duo are relocating the restaurant, which has been rechristened Dandy, to a 50-cover site overlooking Newington Green.

Wilson trained as a sourdough baker and moved to London in 2012 to work with natural wine at both Noble Fine Liqour and PxFranco, while Leitch has worked at MacIntyre Coffee in Hoxton.

Dandy is designed to be as ‘inclusive and low key as possible’, serving sharing plates priced from £6 a dish, alongside coffee, beer and natural wines.

Dishes will include shawarma-spiced lamb belly, baba ganoush and cauliflower; burnt onion broth, spring leaves and hay-smoked labne; and radicchio with blood orange and miso.

“I want to share a story in the dishes we create through taste, texture and presentation,” says Wilson, who is also head chef.

A 30-cover terrace will offer al fresco dining in the warmer months, while groups of diners can book a 20-cover communal table at the front of the restaurant.

The all-day restaurant will open for reservations and walk-ins seven days a week for breakfast and lunch from 8am-4pm, and for dinner from 6pm-11pm on Wednesday-Saturday.

Dandy will open its doors on 5 April.