Lucky & Joy to open first permanent site

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Chinese-inspired pop-up Lucky & Joy is to open its first bricks-and-mortar restaurant in Hackney later this month.

The 44-cover Clapton site will feature a menu of ‘innovative, broadly Chinese-inspired dishes’, as well as an ‘eclectic’ cocktail list.

Lucky & Joy is the brainchild of former Moro and Rochelle Canteen chef Ellen Parr and bartender Pete Kelly, who met while they were both working at tapas bar Morito in Farringdon.

The concept is inspired by the diverse food and dining experiences the pair shared on their travels together through China, Southeast Asia and New York.

Parr has developed a new menu for the opening that will rotate daily and ‘showcase her personal interpretation of regional Chinese dishes’.

Signature dishes will include Xinjiang lamb chops served with onion and pomegranate; and sesame noodles tossed in a homemade chili dressing.

The menu is also described as being ‘veg-forward’, with Parr ensuring that at least half of the dishes are vegetarian/vegan-friendly (or available as such on request).

Among the options will be a shiitake turnip cake; Yunnan smacked cucumbers; and 'typhoon shelter-style' sprouts.

Kelly’s cocktail list, meanwhile, will feature a pan-Asian twist on a mojito made with coconut-washed vodka, ginger, lemongrass and coriander; and a gin and tonic made with Sichuan peppercorn-infused gin, clear pomelo and aromatic tonic.