Good neigh-bours: meet the esoteric pair behind Goodbye Horses
Goodbye Horses is an odd name for a wine bar
AY (pictured right): It’s named after a song by Q Lazzarus. It’s a track that means a lot to many people on the team, but the two words also sound cool together. Blue Million Miles (a lyric from a Captain Beefheart song) was also in the running. We came up with over 300 different names so we have a quite a few more concepts we can open.
The setup of the site is also atypical…
GDV (pictured left): Yes, it is. The space dictated the shape of the project. Goodbye Horses (which launches late this month) and our coffee concept Day Trip (which is already open) share the same space. Day Trip closes at 5pm and essentially becomes the Goodbye Horses kitchen, with the counter that people sit around becoming the pass.
AY: We also secured a small former retail unit across the road for our The Dreamery ice cream shop. We’re hoping to get that open sometime in August because to open an ice cream place any later in the year is a bit ridiculous.
Tell us about the design
AY: We've worked with a Swiss architect called Leo Banchini and this is his first project in the UK. His spaces have a sense of calm. Goodbye Horses has an oak bar and lots of interesting textures including a floor made of compacted mud and clay, rough cast walls that have a volcanic feel to them, a cork ceiling and linen curtains and feature a mural suspended over the bar on a wooden frame designed by an artist called Lucy Stein, who is inspired by British mythology and folklore. When the curtains are drawn it creates a womb-like effect.
GDV: Goodbye Horses seats about 40 people. Day Trip is much smaller seating just four people, but we have a few other places people can sit when it’s busy including a beautiful garden.
Would you describe the project as a neighbourhood venue?
AY: Yes. But I also like the idea of people making a little pilgrimage to us. With this in mind, most of the tables will be left free for walk-ins but we will also take some bookings. I have been looking for a site in a residential area of London that was separate from the city itself for about three years. They’re not easy to find. In this area De Beauvoir (an upmarket largely residential area between Islington and Hackney) as in many others street corner pub sites are being turned into flats. Recently, one of the previous owners of the sites had tried to do exactly that. The council denied their application but - unfortunately - they'd already ripped out all the original features.
How have the locals been?
AY: We did have a few objections when we looked to get the licence reinstated (which had lapsed). But in general people were happy once they got to know us and understand what we’re trying to do here.
Tell us about the wine programme
AY: We will be focused on natural wine and by-the-glass will be key. We will serve six wines on tap and around 14 by the bottle. Keg is an especially good fit for wines that haven’t been doused in sulphur because they are a little more volatile once open and have a shorter shelf life.
GDV: For keg, we are working with Uncharted and Modal Wines but our wine director Nathalie (Nelles, previously at Noble Fine Liquor and Wright’s Wine) will also be working with some producers directly. We will also offer some great beers that have a flavour that is natural wine adjacent including some from US brewers that are rarely seen in the UK.
What sort of food will Goodbye Horses serve?
GDV: Our head chef Jack (Coggins) previously cooked at Papi, Planque, The Baring and Hot 4 U. The food will be fun and approachable modern European. The kitchen may be small but there will be a good selection of food; it will be possible to come in and have a full meal as well as just a snack. Dishes on our launch menu include sardines on milk bread; clams, courgettes and summer savoury; oxtail ragout and broken rice; and bread treacle ice cream with puffed rice granola and blackberries.
You have a huge number of vinyl records on display…
GDV: We have about 4,000. A lot of them were sourced from auctions where you get huge boxes that contain a few gems but also a lot of random things you would not want to play in a hospitality setting. We’re slowly going through and organising them. We will play albums from start to finish. A lot of money has been invested in our sound system - we have eight tube amplifiers and four refurbished Lancaster speakers which work together to create a warm, quadraphonic sound. The setup makes us look like we’re a party spot but that’s not the case at all. A powerful system allows us to set the volume in such a way that people can hear the music perfectly but don’t feel the need to raise their voices.
Tell us about your backgrounds
AY: Before this I worked in tech. I have started quite a few businesses, including a software product that made it easier to manage real estate portfolios, with the aim of getting to the point that I could do something like this. I did work in a Japanese restaurant in Norwich as an assistant general manager for a few years when I was a student, so I do have some experience of hospitality.
GDV: I'm originally from the Netherlands. I'm officially a PE teacher but I have been involved in hospitality since I was young. Coming to the UK has been a step up; the hospitality here is on another level. My first job in London was working for Nuno Mendes at Taberna do Mercado. I learnt a lot from those guys. Following that I got a GM job at Brilliant Corners (a Japanese restaurant and music venue in Dalston).
How did you meet?
GDV: I met Alex while I was helping to launch a restaurant in Suffolk called Greyhound Inn just over a year ago. He reached out, and we ended up going for a few walks in the countryside to talk about hospitality. We soon realised that we were very much aligned in terms of what we wanted to do and what a great hospitality venue and space looks like.
