LOVENpresents

Loven is a Pizzeria - Bar - Artspace based between Tottenham Hale and Seven Sisters. We specialise in authentic Neapolitan pizza and Italian inspired food.

LovenPresents | Neapolitan Pizza Restaurant and Bar | Tottenham

http://www.lovenpresents.com

Bitten & Written | Noted

And so I down with them; and we had a good dinner of plain meat, and good company at our table: among others, my good Mr. Evelyn…” – The Diary of Samuel Pepys (Monday 3rd June, 1667) Deptford has held a fascination for me ever since reading A Dead Man in Deptford by Anthony Burgess, a fictionalised narrative account of the murder of playwright Christopher Marlowe – a contemporary of Shakespeare – during a brawl in a house on Deptford Strand in 1593.

Pepys was often kicking around Deptford in the 17th Century, mainly due to his position working for the the Royal Navy as Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board – dining and drinking crops up often in his entries.

It was mentioned in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, part of the pilgrim’s route to Canterbury; Pepys’ friend and fellow diarist John Evelyn developed the sprawling Sayes Court and gardens, adjacent to the first Royal Navy dockyard founded by Henry VIII in 1513; Sir Francis Drake was knighted in Deptford aboard The Golden Hind by Elizabeth I on returning from his circumnavigation of the world in 1581, the ship left on display in Deptford for over a hundred years; Sir Walter Raleigh had a ship built here which later fought the Spanish Armada.

The bounciest Grime star to date, Elf Kid, is from Deptford, and rat-a-tats lyrics that reference the area: Hello, my name's Elf All the same people, you already know me Yes, I'm a local pest                                   Deptford Market's local rep – Golden Boy (2015) It’s the most dizzyingly addictive song I’ve heard in ages, and the video bristles with images of Deptford High Street, Pepys Estate, and nearby Lewisham.

Now I have another reason to return: helping out with a few bits at Winemakers Deptford in the high street, a quite brilliant wine bar (biased, yes, but it is a ‘stonker’, as Elf Kid might say), with a great kitchen – crab croquetas; Lincolnshire Poacher soufflé; homemade charcuterie, their own bread and butter…and the owners of Artusi in Peckham are close to opening an Italian restaurant a few doors away.

LOVEN presents | Seventhsister

Photo: Kate AllisonBehind the cold, industrial facade of an otherwise nondescript building on Norman road, locals in the know can enjoy the best of handcrafted pizza in an ever changing environment.

Here’s where warming pizzas and creative cocktails will see you through winter (Photo: Kate Allison)Although I don’t get to meet ‘Fabri’, he is brought to life by an enthusiastic description of the passion he has for his craft.

This is not an oven – it’s the beating Loven heart (Photo: Kate Allison)Whilst Fabri is bustling away in the kitchen perfecting his incredible pizza menu, mixologist Alex, who joins them from Styx, provides a substantial cocktail list of classics and a few of his own concoctions.

Textiles and tables are supplied by local crafts businesses (Photo: Kate Allison)I returned to Loven a week later for their soft opening night and it was a joy to see ‘The King’, as they have named the new oven, up and running and the dining room buzzing.

Words: Timothy Sparrow Images: Kate Allison This is box title LOVENpresents 2 Norman Road Tottenham London N15 4NDOpen for drinks, dining and deliveries from January.

Why Tottenham is the new Hackney with its new bars, clubs and ...

But this, in fact, is Tottenham: the area that looks set to steal Hackney’s status as the cultural and nightlife centre of London.

Performance night at Styx Tottenham’s rebirth began just around the corner from Five Miles on Fountayne Road, where the area’s original warehouse community began to gather 10 years ago: a network of creators to whom the area’s cultural redevelopment owes its greatest debt.

Among the former occupants is 31-year-old Joshua Nawras, who co-founded Rift — the immersive theatre company best known for its 2014 production of Macbeth in the Balfron Tower in Docklands — and more recently events space and bar Styx on the rapidly regenerating Ashley Road, a 10-minute walk north of Five Miles.

Go with the flow: Five Miles club ‘We’ve got a nice little crew,’ says Nawras of the five local businesses that operate out of Styx, name-checking ‘Abs, who does crochet swimwear’ and roti shop Island Social Club, which is housed in a brightly painted shipping container with a corrugated iron roof.

Unlike Hackney Council, Haringey is still willing to give out prized 4am licences to venues in the area (both Styx and Five Miles have one).