East side story

Vicki Pengilley, Bricklayers Arms

Ten years ago, Hoxton was an economic no-man's land, too far from the West End and too close to the East for any business-minded restaurateur to pass more than a cursory glance. Epicurean pleasures were strictly of the East End boozer and pie-and-mash variety, and even this choice was limited to two or three pubs. It was a local place for local people.

"There was only one sandwich shop," recalls Vicki Pengilley, owner of 333 club and the Bricklayers Arms pub. "And certainly no restaurants 10 years ago."

Pengilley moved to the area 20 years ago when she bought the Bricklayers Arms, and she is perfectly situated to judge Hoxton's fortunes. Back then the only custom was from local East Enders and the odd city-type venturing east for lunch. As a result the Bricklayers was open for only five days a week.

Then something happened. In 1993, attracted by cheap rent and its urban location, a whole generation of young British artists moved in. As the Britart of Damien Hirst and Tracy Emin grew in notoriety, so the area blossomed. Now one can find refined Spanish- and Portuguese-inspired food (Eyre Brothers); inventive Greek mezze and entr‚es (the Real Greek); and specialties of Languedoc and Provence all within a stone's throw.

But has Hoxton's bubble now burst? It is nestled between the City and the East End, and some fear that skyrocketing rents (anywhere between £300,000 and £1m for properties) and a growing influx of weekend drinkers will spell the end for the independents in the area, as mainstream chains and famous names move in to capitalize on this growth.

Not so, according to Pengilley. "I don't think high rents will push out the independents - because if it was going to happen it would have already. People don't come here looking for Leicester Square, they want something different. And that's not going to change, even if the popularity grows."

If anything, the ventures that have failed in recent years have been those that have not been willing to adapt their style to the neighbuorhood. And it was noted with some glee among locals that the vodka chain Revolution's plans to come to Hoxton Square and replace the highly popular Shoreditch Electricity Showrooms were scuppered at the last minute.

Indeed, Pengilley predicts a thriving future for the restaurant and bar culture of the area, so long as it remains loyal to the area's identity. "I haven't seen any of the really good restaurants and bars go away. If they're good they will make money - and I make more money now than I've ever done."

The trainers - Hoxton Apprentice and Zen Satori

Hoxton is not the West End, and one doesn't have to look far beyond the glitzy veneer of thronging crowds and bars and restaurants to see that. It is still a low-income area, with high levels of unemployment - 90% of single parents in the area are out of work, and one in three school-leavers is jobless.

Opening on Hoxton Square in early spring, the Hoxton Apprentice aims to be both a commercially viable restaurant as well as providing a training and support environment for disadvantaged people from the local community.

Set up by the charity Training For Life, it is teaming up with local regeneration group Shoreditch Our Way, to create this bold new £2.4m venture. Trainees will be schooled in both front- and back-of-house skills by specialist staff. Logistical support will be provided by Compass Group and Whitbread.

"The industry is really helping us out with this one," says Matthew Morgan, communications manager at Training for Life. "Prue Leith is on our board of trustees and she'll be providing a standard for the restaurant to work to, while Paul Daly will be doing the interior design." (Daly's restaurant/bar Zigfrid is just next door.)

Across the road, the Asian and Oriental School of Catering runs along similar lines. Set up in 1999 by restaurateurs Holland Kwok, Atique Choudhury and Cyrus Todiwala, it was launched to help equip the ethnic restaurant trade with chefs and front-of-house managers as well as offer training and qualifications to local people.

Its public restaurant, Zen Satori, opened in 2002, specializing in Indian, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian cuisine, with an average bill per head of £18. The decor is modern, with 35 fine-dining seats, a 40-seat banquette where fast lunchtime food is served and a viewing gallery where up to six diners can see the chefs at work.

The restaurant is a showcase for what the school has achieved since it opened. "All students work under normal pressures," says Damien Nolan, one of the directors. "It's a commercial venture and it's very important that we are not seen as a student restaurant."

Zen Satori: 020 7613 9509

The chain - shish

Disgusted with the standards of hygiene and the poor quality of food in modern kebab shops, Israeli businessman David Azouri decided that enough was enough. And Shish was born.

This small independent chain began its life in Willesden Green, peddling upmarket kebabs to north-east London for two years before the Old Street branch was opened in June 2003, amidst Hoxton's main parade of bars and restaurants.

Even in the short time that Shish has existed in its Hoxton incarnation, manager Richard Poole has noticed a change in the area, as many new restaurants and bars have opened their doors since last year. But he is also quick to add that none of these have been commercial chain ventures such as All Bar One or Wetherspoons.

"Hoxtonites are anti-change, and simply won't go to these sorts of places. But what is changing is the level of standards - big independent players have come in and raised the bar for sure. This can only be good for the area."

The modernist, minimal design of the 110-seater restaurant is an eclectic and continually packed out addition to the local scene. Guests are asked to mix and match from small dishes of mezze, skewers of lightly marinated meats, fish, chicken and vegetables, steamed rice, couscous and breads. It does about 1,000 covers a week and after six months boasts taking more than £700,000.

For Poole, the immediate success of the restaurant is significant of the growing status of the area: "A while ago there weren't that many places to eat but now people are realising they can come and eat a variery of foods in the area."

Tel: 020 7749 0990

The new boy - cru

When Brendan Murdock decided to open a restaurant in Hoxton, he knew the going would be tough. "If I just wanted to make money, Hoxton certainly wouldn't have been my first choice of location," says the proprietor of Cru.

"You have to build a relationship with the area. The customers around here know exactly what they want, and don't want what everyone else has."

Opened in September 2002, Cru is a high-end venture that epitomizes the growing culinary demands of the area. Its modern version of Mediterranean cuisine, together with its highly comprehensive wine selection, have already ensured the restaurant's burgeoning reputation as one of the area's best. And Murdock predicts turnover will increase beyond its first annual level of more than £1m.

"There is a breadth of market now that caters for many different needs. It's still unpredictable but even in the year we've been here I have seen a multitude of new openings. And the ones that have succeeded are the ones that have played the game."

The 120-seater does 800 covers a week, with most custom coming towards the end of the week. The cost of a three-course, set-menu lunch is £14.50, excluding wine, while the average spend at dinner ranges from £45 to £55 for two.

However, Murdock is under no illusions about the needs of this particular market. Direct mailing, regular wine-tastings and changing the restaurant's artwork every few months are some of the methods used to encourage new custom; but this enthusiasm for promotion must be tempered with an awareness of the area.

"At the start we had a lot more suits, so we stopped marketing to certain companies so we could keep the balance right. I don't think the locals like to see a lot of suits hanging out on Thursday and Friday night."

Tel: 020 7729 5252

The old hand - eyre brothers restaurant

David Eyre is a Hoxton institution: in 1991 he took over the Eagle and quickly forged a name for himself at a time when there simply weren't any restaurants in the area. In fact, if it weren't for him, most British pubs might still be serving baskets of scampi and deflated steak and kidney puddings. The Eagle is often cited as the original gastropub, although Eyre is quick to distance himself from the label. "All we did was serve scallops instead of scampi, and as for the label… it sounds like a stomach disease."

Things have changed now. Hoxton is teeming with restaurants and Eyre has left the Eagle, and business partner Michael Belben, to open his Eyre Brothers restaurant with brother Robert.

Opened in August 2001, the new restaurant has progressed more slowly than expected, Eyre says, although it has seen a 20% rise in revenue each year. "Rumours of the demise of the area are grossly exaggerated," he says. "It's simply a hugely dynamic area that is constantly changing. Even last year things were different."

Eyre Brothers is representative of a new breed of high-end restaurants that have opened in the area as a result of its increasing affluence; but business can be tough when there are no theatre or cinema crowds to bolster numbers.

Covers for the 102-seater restaurant are at 100 in the evenings and 80 for lunch. A meal for two costs between £50 and £70.

Ten years ago the area was run down and completely devoid of local amenities - to buy a pint of milk required a long walk. Now, although it still retains something of its seedy glamour, the added wealth that the streams of art galleries, publishing houses and - most importantly - paying punters have brought has diversified the market and smartened the place up. A good thing in Eyre's opinion: "If you take away the graffiti and the bike thieves then the area really is quite nice. It will carry on changing, but only for the better."

Tel: 020 7613 5346

The entrepreneur - zigrid

Paul Daly has been in Hoxton for a long time. When he moved there along with artist Gary Hume in 1988, just about the only revellers in the square on a Saturday night were the rats. "Back then you wouldn't live here, and you certainly couldn't leave your car here, and now it costs more than Soho Square to park here." But Daly is still around, having outlasted pretty much everyone else who moved there in the 1980s.

Daly graduated from Goldsmiths as a sculptor along with many of the artists who later made the area famous. But it is primarily as a designer that he has made his name. Then there's also the little matter of his shares in the Elbow Room, and a financial interest in Arthur Baker's Harlem.

Zigfrid is his first solo project, and Daly certainly knows the area well. "The one thing in this part of London that can kill a vibe is suits," he says. "Despite its increasing popularity, Hoxton is still very fringe - that's what I like."

Daly opened Zigfrid in September 2003 and after the first four months of business he is happy with progress. The turnover is on course to hit the million mark by the end of the first year of business and Daly sees this getting better. "I'm hoping there will be more and more people coming to the area, which is great for business. The best crowds are the crossover ones - with a mix of locals and those new to the area. The only thing that will change is that everything will get bigger."

As for the expected swath of chains that have been predicted to overrun the area, Daly is less than confident that they could succeed. "They would need a clever local to help them out if they wanted to crack this market," he says. "People certainly won't go to a large chain on Hoxton Square when there's so much other choice on offer."

Tel: 020 7613 1988