Your Friday morning essential read. Five local highlights you really need to know, researched and presented with enthusiasm by the team at Camdenist

 EAT: Tattu & Arcade lead TCR foodie explosion 

As Crossrail imminently (finally) begins to arrive at Tottenham Court Road, shiny new things are emerging from the scorched earth around sole surviving edifice, Centrepoint. Opening today is the London debut of

extremely plush, Instagram-friendly

restaurant 

Tattu

. They bring their modern Chinese cooking to the rooftop of the Now Building, which we've previously covered as home to a new 2,000 capacity music venue and 8k wraparound screens at Outernet on the street and basement levels. For those on a slightly less high-rise budget, food court

Arcade

is about to re-open in the shadow of Centrepoint, too. This cluster of vendors previously known as

Arcade Food Theatre

 was a victim of lockdown, but has now been taken over by the people behind a slew of London's best Asian joints, JKS. Expect seven sensational-sounding new food and drink destinations all under one roof, from elegant sushi to tasty sandwiches or fiery Indonesian streetfood. 

 MUSIC: Piano days / DJ nights at St Pancras 

Andrei Piano

is a self-taught musician from Romania who is now a regular tinkling the ivories on the concourse at St Pancras International. He's also the star of a popular YouTube channel, where he posts almost daily duets with passers-by and improvisations, covering everything from pop hits to classical pieces. The video featured above has officially 'gone viral', too, racking up 12m-views-and-counting as 17-year-old Ella plays a faultless theme from Interstellar by Hans Zimmer. The Station is also a destination for late night DJ sets and cocktails, as the historic, recently revamped Booking Office 1869 bar and restaurant now features Friday and Saturday night line-ups of guest and resident selectors, playing tunes from 9.30pm-1am. 

OUT NOW: THE NIGHT

Look out for the latest edition of Camdenist Presents, currently available free from over 100 venues across the borough - and beyond. It's a celebration of the people and places that operate from 6pm to 6am, Grab a copy today.Find out more: camdenist.com

 EXPLORE: Live jazz & ceramics in KX 

The Courtyard at Goods Way is largely seen as a pre-gig pitstop when heading to see a band at venue Lafayette, but on Sundays it is also music hotspot in its own right, with free live jazz from 1-4pm. The exciting 

Sunday Service Live

series includes pianist John Cervantes this week and Clara Serra López next. Meanwhile, just across the square all weekend at Central St Martins, you'll find

92 different makers

 exhibiting and selling masses of beautiful cast clay objects at the real-world return of 

Ceramic Art London 2022.

 VISIT: The amazing life of plants and fungi 

It's good to see big free exhibitions back at Euston's

Wellcome Collection

, the latest of which to open is

Rooted Beings

, a meditative reflection on botanical behaviour. The show looks at the complex world of plants and how they support life on earth, while asking if we can learn from them to become more rooted beings ourselves. Check out the promo video for a flavour of what to expect, and find out more info on dropping by for a visit here. 

 CINEMA: Covent Garden's new picture palace 

A brand new independent cinema dedicated to showing the best arthouse, classic and foreign-language films for London audiences has just opened in a Covent Garden backstreet.

The Garden Cinema

 is a serious movie-lovers paradise, with sumptuous art deco design throughout and a quality programme that currently includes a Marlon Brando season (until Thursday) and vintage musical 'extravaganzas' on Fridays until the end of August.

 THIS WEEK'S ONE-CLICK POLL With controversial tower blocks rising fast or being fiercely fought over across Camden - from Somers Town (Brill Place Tower) to Swiss Cottage (O2 and 100 Avenue Rd redevelopment) & Kentish Town (Murphy's Yard), how do you feel about our neighbourhoods growing upwards? 

LAST WEEK WE ASKED:

With petrol prices 'soaring', what's your current attitude to driving a car?

With only 40% of residents in the borough having their own vehicle parked outside, we kinda knew voting Camdenists would be streets ahead in the beyond-car-ownership game. It seems the trend will only continue, as those with cars sitting parked for most of the day also find it's just not worth it, and look at the growing range of transportation alternatives that don't rely on petrol either...

 HELP BUILD THE COMMUNITY  

 SHARE THE WEEKLY C-MAIL WITH OTHERS use your unique referral link    

 Or share with a click... Email  |  WhatsApp  |  Tweet  |  Facebook  |  LinkedIn You've recommended a total of  people so far.  

Camdenist is collaborative and transparent by design. We invite all locals to participate, so we've built a form where you can send us ideas, propose features, and even contribute your own work.

 Well worth following...