Some restaurants have that je ne sais quoi that makes you want to describe them by using the vague and lazy phrase 'je ne sais quoi'. Planque deserves better.The Haggerston restaurant matches an excellent modern French menu with an atmosphere that’s too spacious even for East London.The high ceilings and wood-covered generous seating plan remind me of trending Brooklyn restaurants designed by Danish architects rather than London or Paris establishments where the spaces between the tables are as small as the shared plates. Despite its modern feel, you know you are at a French restaurant.The name <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.instagram.com/_planque_/?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Planque</a> of course primes you for it, but also the extensive list of French wines, a pastis among the apéritifs and the French accents of the service staff (or their excellent pronunciation of wine names) can be other indicators. Yet for me, it is the French worker jackets worn by the service staff, the kind that saturates the fits of Broadway Market strollers on a Sunday, that make the restaurant an aesthetically pleasing, cooler-than-thou place.Planque is where you seek extended eye contact with the person who is perfectly explaining to you the spices in the persimmon custard tarte or the bold bottle at odds with the characteristics of the Loire region. Perfect for a wine-heavy splurge with food-forward friends as well as ambience-seeking Londoners you want to impress.<img lazy="loading" src="https://images.aposto.com/1200xauto/2022/10/2/1669106631271.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="0.71" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"><h4 fr-original-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center; margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Chickpea panisse &amp; trout roe</h4><h4 fr-original-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center; margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Photography: Anton Rodriguez</h4><hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">Where: 322-324 Acton Mews, beneath the railway arches of the Overground station, E8 4EAWhat to order: The menu changes seasonally, however, some excellent dishes from my visits were the calf brain, the panisse and the chou farci (stuffed cabbage). Order wine generously and with the aid of the establishment.Duly noted: Planque is also a wine membership club accepting grape enthusiasts by application and providing priorities and privileges such as tastings, discounts, cellar space and more.

It was a pointless walk. Pointless in the way that there was no point A to start or B to arrive in. I was guided by my feet, one following the other like a shadow on a bright day. The last sunshine of November. The wind abetted me from the shore, skyscrapers draught led to the narrow streets of Soho. The usual tourists of Carnaby Street with Liberty, Selfridges, and AllSaints bags were there, and the Christmas-themed window displays as well. A little crowded for my taste. I took refuge in Fitzrovia alleys. The text came while I was contemplating coffee, 'Barbican, in an hour?'<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/10/1/1669043394532.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="0.75" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"><h4 fr-original-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center; margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">An afternoon cocktail at the Barbican</h4><hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">This was the say I entered the Barbican at around 2:00 p.m., I had cauliflower soup at the Kitchen, accompanied by meeting notes. The day I watched Aftersun at 3:20 p.m. feeling like I was skipping school. The day I met a couple of people hanging out at the Martini Bar before attending the London Symphony Orchestra concert, they offered me a ticket if their friend cannot make it, but alas, they did. This was the say I sat on the first-floor carpet to watch the 6:30 p.m. performance before returning to the Kitchen for a pizza session. A dark, gloomy, rainy afternoon metamorphosed into an ingenious rendezvous.&nbsp;London pours - moments, encounters, happenstances. It’s up to you to find your nestle.The tune this week is <a fr-original-style="" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/0M9PhuOZUj71vlV6HXAM4w" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Asaf Avidan - Lost Horse</a>Hazal

A weekly, practical zine to London for those who want to make this city their neighborhood. Every Tuesday.

Aposto London

London pours - moments, encounters, happenstances. It’s up to you to find your nestle. This week we are looking for ours at Barbican, Planque, ICA and Colour Factory.