London Museum will open four new food and drink destinations when it launches its new home at Smithfield on 28 November, making hospitality a central part of the visitor experience at one of the capital's biggest cultural openings of the year.

The museum has appointed Green & Fortune to develop the hospitality offer, working with chef Robin Gill as food curator and drinks consultancy Mr Lyan Studio. Together they have created four distinct concepts, each inspired by London's history and food culture, with venues designed to appeal to both museum visitors and Londoners.

John Nugent, CEO of Green & Fortune, said: "The ambition of London Museum will be matched by a hospitality offering and programme unseen in London.

"We are embracing the opportunity to develop a selection of new and refreshingly different locations in the museum that will shift the dial in what galleries and museums offer.

"It is a tremendously purposeful project and we are proud to be playing our part in it."

The line-up includes Clerks House, a 140-cover restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, alongside weekend brunches, Sunday roasts and monthly ticketed dinner clubs.

Bartholomew's is a street-facing bar overlooking Farringdon Road, with cocktails created by Mr Lyan Studio inspired by the museum's exhibitions and seasonal programme. Food will focus on elevated pub classics and snacks, while the venue is intended to attract after-work visitors as well as museum guests.

The museum has also enlisted Mr Lyan Studio, founded by award-winning bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana. Best known for his former London bar, Dandelyan, where experimental ingredients such as charcoal, seaweed, foraged herbs and house-made distillates challenged conventional cocktail making, Chetiyawardana has since built an international consultancy that blends hospitality, storytelling and design. For London Museum, the studio has created a drinks programme inspired by the museum's collections and changing exhibitions, making the bar another way of experiencing the capital's history.
The Temperance Cocoa Rooms revive the historic Lockhart's Cocoa Rooms, uncovered during the restoration of the Victorian market building. Reimagined as an alcohol-free social space, the café will serve bespoke hot chocolates, coffee mocktails and late-night refreshments, remaining open around the clock from Thursday to Sunday. The venue will also host community groups, talks and events.

Completing the offer is The Roost, a residency programme that will give emerging chefs the opportunity to develop and test new concepts over periods of up to six months. Successful applicants will receive mentoring from Robin Gill and Green & Fortune, while the venue will evolve as different chefs take up residence.

Robin Gill said: "At London Museum, the food alone will be a reason to visit.

"Working with Green & Fortune we want to curate an experience that reflects the vibrancy of London and tell London's story through food. We'll be partnering with the best London producers and nurturing up-and-coming talent in the capital."

Nathan Lamb, director of experience and enterprise at London Museum, said: "Food is how London meets. Over a table to share plates and opinions, a coffee to catch up with friends, or a drink before the music starts.

"In the museum, we will offer four distinct experiences that give people both a place and a reason to come together. Working with Green & Fortune, alongside Robin Gill and Mr Lyan Studio, it will be part of how we tell London's story, drawing on Smithfield's legacy as a place that has fed and entertained Londoners for close to a thousand years."

Expected to welcome more than two million visitors a year, London Museum's new Smithfield home completes the decade-long restoration of the Victorian General Market. Many of the hospitality venues will have their own street entrances as well as access from inside the museum, helping to establish them as destinations in their own right while supporting the museum's wider visitor offer.

The project is one of the clearest examples yet of a museum using hospitality as part of the attraction itself, with food and drink playing a role in programming, storytelling and repeat visitation rather than simply providing refreshments.

About the London Museum

London Museum is transforming two former market buildings in the City of London, the historic heart of the capital. It will play a key role in the transformation of Smithfield into a vibrant new cultural quarter for the city.

The formerly derelict Victorian General Market will open in 2026 as home to the museum’s permanent galleries, cafe, retail and event spaces. The adjacent Poultry Market, set to house the museum’s world-class learning centre, temporary exhibition spaces and collection stores, will open in 2028.

London Museum is designed by Stanton Williams and Asif Khan, working with conservation architects Julian Harrap. It is an exemplar in sustainability and on track to become amongst 1 per cent of buildings worldwide to achieve ‘Outstanding’ rating by BREAAM.

The £437m project has been developed through a partnership between the City of London Corporation and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, alongside support from a range of philanthropic supporters, including Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Goldsmiths’ Foundation, The Linbury Trust and The National Lottery Heritage Fund. A number of individual philanthropists and charitable trusts have also pledged significant support to the project. Global law firm DLA Piper is the project’s inaugural Corporate Founder. 

The launch of the new museum will mark a new chapter for Smithfield, one of the city’s oldest markets, where trading has taken place for almost a a thousand years. The market buildings were designed by Sir Horace Jones in the 1800s, with the General Market closing in the 1990s. 

FOOTNOTE

London Tastes (November 2026 – August 2027) will be the London Museum's inaugural day-to-night programme of events and experiences. 

Co-curated by Ruby Tandoh and Jonathan Nunn, and sponsored by Sainsbury’s, it will celebrate London’s rich and vibrant food culture through a spotlight exhibition, house parties, Shared Late Nights, family events and dinner clubs, as well as influencing the museum’s shop and menus in Bartholomew’s bar and Clerks House restaurant.