Above: East London’s New Upstairs Love Letter to 20 Years of Hospitality, Friendship and Good Sense...
In an era where restaurants appear, disappear and rebrand faster than a Shoreditch pop-up, there’s something quietly heroic about longevity. Even more so when it’s celebrated not with bombast, but with a small room, good lighting and a very good idea.
The team behind Faber, The Somers Town Coffee House and The Victoria are marking two decades of friendships, graft and hospitality by opening Above: an intimate 26-cover restaurant tucked, quite literally, above The Victoria in East London. Think of it less as a flashy new launch and more as a greatest-hits album — the tracks you still love, remastered with care.
“This has felt like a hobby alongside a brilliant day job,” says business partner Matt Ward, which feels both charmingly modest and deeply relatable to anyone who’s ever tried to keep a restaurant alive in the last few years. “We wanted Above to feel like a gathering of friends — intimate, colourful and celebratory — where every dish and drink tells part of our story.”
The story, it turns out, is a good one. Twenty years of opening doors, serving pints, cooking food that people actually want to eat, and forming the sort of supplier relationships that don’t vanish at the first whiff of adversity. This is hospitality built on loyalty, learning curves and the occasional trial-by-fire.
Founder Anthony Pender is candid about the journey. “In the early years, I won’t lie, I had a hell of a lot to learn,” he says. “Being here to celebrate this is a massive testament to an incredible team.” There’s no mistaking the pride — earned, not performative.
It feels especially fitting that Above sits above The Victoria, a proper East London boozer that still pulls pints with conviction while quietly earning a reputation for excellent seafood. Downstairs offers oysters, British fish and pub comfort; upstairs, a discreet staircase leads to something more nostalgic, more personal. Standing on the pavement, it’s genuinely difficult to decide which door — or mood — you’re in the market for.
Inside, Above is bright, colourful and designed to make you feel happy before you’ve even looked at the menu. The food itself is comfort-led but thoughtful: a rotating selection of dishes the team has loved cooking over the years, alongside favourites beloved by friends and long-time guests. Seasonality and sourcing remain central, with trusted suppliers taking their rightful place in the spotlight.
The cocktail list is equally personal. Built around “what we actually want to drink”, it pulls from a back catalogue of favourites — the ones that always reappear, no matter how many new ideas come and go. Most striking is the collaborative nature of it all: contributions from team members past and present, spanning every venue, every era.
Above will open on Friday and Saturday evenings from 5pm, deliberately limiting covers to keep things relaxed, personal and — crucially — fun. There’s no rush here, no need to turn tables like a conveyor belt. Just good food, good drinks and the quiet confidence of people who’ve earned the right to do things their own way.
Reservations: www.thevic.london/above-the-vic