Chefs Tom Brown and Brad Carter confirm revamped Island opening date

Barworks founder Marc Francis-Baum has partnered with chefs Tom Brown and Brad Carter to launch the George & Dragon in London’s Clerkenwell on 16 September.

The project will see the Peasant, a Grade II-listed pub dating back to 1889, being transformed into a 110-cover venue spanning a ground floor pub, a 60-cover restaurant on the first floor and a small outdoor terrace.

Francis-Baum, who sold 16 pubs to Urban Pubs post-Covid but continues to operate two Mare Street Markets in London and two pubs in Mayfair and Soho, acquired the Peasant on 240 St John Street in March.

At the time, Brown and Carter had been operating their restaurant Island above Mare Street Market in London’s King’s Cross since June 2025, but had been facing “some challenges with sharing a space with Mare Street”, which was turning over 600 covers.

Francis-Baum knew the pair were looking for opportunities to grow the brand and therefore suggested that they take over the upper floor of the George & Dragon, which offers a “more intimate, cozy dining room” suited to Island.

As a result, the pair revealed plans to move the surf ‘n’ turf restaurant to a new site in London, keeping the location a secret at the time of the initial announcement earlier this month.

All staff at Island King’s Cross have been retained and the restaurant will continue to serve its core menu with the addition of a blackboard through which guests can order meat and fish by the weight, showcasing suppliers such as Paddock Farm, Txuleta Meat, Flying Fish and Shrub Provisions.

Carter told The Caterer: “Obviously, this kind of concept [with a pub and upstairs dining room] works really well. A lot of other successful operators have done pubs like this. One example is One Club Row [in London’s Shoreditch] – they’ve done a really good top floor restaurant, which is almost very different to downstairs, but it feels quite connected.

“So our vision is that Island will be on the top floor and be somewhere nice you can go and have a bit of a feast. And then downstairs you can go from your pint and your bowl of pork scratchings to your full-blown bit of Island food or a steak off the board.”

Carter shared ambitions for the relaunched Island to “create a surf ‘n’ turf trend” across London, as well as for its Sunday Roast and desserts, both of which had been popular back in King’s Cross, to become firm favourites.

“We want a place that’s for everyone. But we also want to stay focused on what we’ve been good at this last year as well,” Carter commented.

Francis-Baum added: “We’ve always done pubs, but we’ve never done pubs with amazing food. We’ve done all right food and accessible food, but this is the first time that we’re doing something like this.”

Francis-Baum founded London-based hospitality company Barworks in 1995, which grew into a portfolio of 23 sites, including Two Floors in Soho and Mare Street Market.

In 2015, Barworks received the Pub and Bar Award at the Cateys.

In 2010 Francis-Baum also founded Camden Town Brewery together with Jasper Cuppaidge, who was then the proprietor of the Horseshoe pub in London’s Hampstead.