‘Fitzrovia is not Soho’: Locals steaming over dumpling restaurant’s booze bid

A popular Georgian-inspired restaurant in Camden has drawn the ire of local residents as it seeks the council’s permission to serve alcohol until the early morning on weekends and some weekdays.

Fitzrovia small-plates eatery Kinkally, specialising in the twisted ‘khinkali’ dumpling, has asked the Town Hall to extend its closing hours so that it can sell booze to be drunk on the premises until 1:30am on Friday and Saturdays, and 1am on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

In doing so, it aims to cater to more drinkers in the restaurant’s adjacent, “intimate” bar area, ‘Bar Kinky’.

The owners also hope to be able to sell hot food and drink aka ‘late night refreshment’ until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

But locals say the licence variation would be a “slippery slope” towards an area stuffed with “late night revellers” – making it feel more akin to a “nightclub zone”.

They complain that they are already disturbed by patrons’ “high-spirited talking and laughing” carrying through the street, and fear the bar will become a “magnet” for people already out drinking.

The Charlotte Street Association has echoed this “great concern” that Bar Kinky will become an entity in its own right, disturbing the “stable residential community”.

Another resident protested that “Fitzrovia is not Soho”, and warned that “merry drunken customers” are unaware that “extreme nuisance ruins our lives”.

The applicants, Diana Khromova and Alex Militski, of Mid Hospitality Ltd, insist the changes would not affect guests’ behaviour or attract a “noisier” crowd.

They point to a lack of complaints during their trial of similar opening hours over the last 18 months, under the borough’s Temporary Events Notice (TEN) policy.

TENs allow premises to hold one-off licensable events, without the need for a premises licence.

The Metropolitan police said it was prepared for the council to waive through the request, so long as the bar area serves no more than 20 drinkers at a time.

Council officers have also asked that the operators train staff to properly ensure guests leave the venue “respectfully” and without disrupting the neighbourhood.

Kinkally first opened in December 2023 to glowing reviews, and has already been included in Michelin’s food guide.

The Town Hall is scheduled to review the application today.