Root + Bone: Xiringuito, the moveable feast
A white, ethereal structure rests in a parking lot near the Kentish sea; like a paper lantern, it’s lit softly from within with glowing bulbs, and lies in the shadow of a Ferris wheel. Four months later, and almost 300 miles away, a gleaming metal structure sits inside a dimly lit warehouse in Liverpool, steel scaffolding casting striped shadows on the chairs and tables within. Same restaurant, two very different incarnations.
Xiringuito, founded by restaurateur Conor Sheehan and chef Jackson Berg, is designed to be a moveable feast. The project’s first phase took place over the summer of 2016 in Margate, Kent, where the restaurant, inspired by the beach bars of Catalonia, took on a seaside vibe. Its location (near the Dreamland fairground), combined with a stripped-down, bare bones aesthetic, was playful and sweet, with a summer menu designed by Berg.
Designed by architect Asif Khan, and constructed using steel scaffolding, the moveable space is assembled from scratch in every new location — its environment and surroundings shaping its character. From Margate, Xiringuito moved to a new, very different home in Liverpool’s Cains Brewery, a disused warehouse; this industrial setting changed the vibe completely, something Sheehan and Berg found exciting and challenging in turns.
The Liverpool-born business partners both have long and illustrious track records in the food business — Sheehan as front of house for Bistrotheque and Ace Hotel, Berg in the kitchens of St John’s and Bistrotheque. The pair had always planned on opening their own venture in London but have been priced out of their home city, at least for the moment, explains Sheehan.
“Xiringuito was born out of not being able to afford to do a proper restaurant in London and deciding to go down the pop up route instead. We wanted to do something completely different and the chiringuito beach bars of Catalonia provided that inspiration.”
Given the high costs of setting up a more conventional bricks and mortar restaurant in London and the high key money involved, the partners approached architect Asif Khan with a brief for something low-cost and mobile. They were visualising something on wheels, an open kitchen or small bar with about 15 covers, so when Khan unveiled a huge structure made of scaffolding, designed to seat 40 to 50 guests with a full bar, it was a surprise; they realised he’d imagined the project on an entirely different scale.
“The A frame structure was Asif’s idea, something that would use the minimum amount of material in a cost-effective design. The beauty of it is that we can start afresh in each new location, renting the scaffolding from local suppliers and avoiding transport costs in the process. Wherever we are, we use local tradesmen, so the structure belongs to the place — built by local people, using local supplies — and each structure is completely different.
“The Margate structure had a curve in the middle of it, which meant that when the sun was going down, the most amazing light would filter through the restaurant. It was a super bright, summery space, with colourful chairs, a yellow plywood floor, and a covering that amplified the light inside,” explains Sheehan.
“On the other hand, Xiringuito’s Liverpool phase really couldn’t have been a more different — the space really was just a black box with windows, at the back of an old warehouse. Aesthetically, it was a pure line of scaffolding down the middle of the room, tables and chairs spread out beneath it.”
The menus, designed by Berg, change naturally from one location to the next, to reflect the changing seasons. “Margate’s menu, like the space, was colourful and summery,” says Sheehan. “Jackson built a very strong relationship with a local forager, who would come by with all these crazy plants and herbs and vegetables that we’d never have heard of, so we’d get them on the menu in interesting ways.”
Both projects were designed to surprise, says Sheehan. “The approach to both the Margate and Liverpool set-ups definitely brought people’s expectations down at first. In Margate, you come through the wasteland of a car park, then suddenly there’s this huge structure in front of you — you’re stepping into a different world, where you can fully perceive the impact of the structure.
“We worried slightly that the Liverpool one would feel like having dinner in an installation, but in the end, there was a warm, night-time vibe. You had to walk through a cavernous warehouse space, and open a little side door off another car park to even get inside. What linked both phases together was a sense of discovery.”
Looking back on Xiringuito’s first two phases (its next destination is yet to be confirmed), Sheehan acknowledges the challenges behind the concept. “The whole thing is a bit mental I suppose — you literally set up a restaurant every six months, and have to build entirely new relationships where you land.
“It was hard to find scaffolders who wanted to help us construct in Margate, for example: they all thought we were crazy, that no matter what our fancy architect from London said, it couldn’t be done. Liverpool was easier; because we had a website, imagery, something to show them so suppliers could visualise what was involved. In the end, we had a quite a few companies interested — it was something a bit different I suppose.”
Stay tuned for details on the third phase of Xiringuito at @xiringuito_rest and at xiringuito.co.uk
