Penny Squares, part of Canopy by Hilton London City, owned and managed by 4C Hotel Group, is a new dining destination in Aldgate officially opening its doors in mid-March.

Inspired by the international flavours of London’s vibrant East End neighbourhoods, Penny Squares will offer a delicious menu of modern British cuisine: a fresh take on the tastes that define the area, rich with spice and flavour. Never the home of riches and royals, it has been the ordinary people who made the East End so extraordinary, and the Penny Squares menu pays homage to those who have come from all four corners of the world to settle here over the centuries.

Penny Squares is the cornerstone of the recently opened, Canopy by Hilton London City hotel: the brand’s first Canopy hotel in the UK and part of a growing portfolio of locally inspired contemporary hotels that encourage guests to experience their surrounding neighbourhood. Canopy by Hilton London City is perfect for those looking to immerse themselves in London’s lively East End, not least its buzzing foodie scene.

Championing dishes made with local and sustainable ingredients, Penny Squares culinary team is led by Executive Chef, Walid Farag (The Lanesborough, Conrad St. James Hotel, Corinthia Hotel) and team, while Daniel Garcia (L’orchidee Boutique Patisserie, La Dame de Pic, The Berkeley Hotel) joins as Head Pastry Chef.

With conviviality at its heart, Penny Squares’ sharing-style menu features: baba ghanoush with sesame breadsticks, lemon garlic tahini and pitta bread, and hazelnut harissa with cornbread. Smaller plates range from Zaatar braised beef cheek with crushed cumin celeriac, garlic spinach and thyme sauce to Madras Octopus (Madras spiced octopus, curried sweet potato, tomato and chilli), and Chaat masala spiced cauliflower (Battered cauliflower, lemon chilli yogurt) to Slow roasted quail (Baharat spices, confit leg, bulgur wheat, maple charred peppers). Meanwhile, larger plates include Crusted rack of lamb with ras el hanout spices, pearl barley and hibiscus sauce; Grilled Scottish cod, marinated in tamarind sauce, coconut dahl, baby squid, and curry oil; and Grilled vegetable moussakawith nutmeg cream and harissa sauce.

Reflecting the rich history and culture of the East End’s historic textile industry, Penny Squares is named after a quilting technique, once known as redwork. This technique was taught to schoolgirls as an essential part of a young woman’s upbringing in the 19th Century. Penny Squares remembers the embroidered mark left on the city by the talented inhabitants of yesteryear, celebrating the many vibrant cultures that came, stayed, and made this area what it is today.

One of the largest migrant groups to seek shelter in the East End were the 17th Century Huguenots fleeing persecution in Catholic France. Whilst they brought a range of skills from clock-working to fan-making, it was their talents with wool and silk weaving that would go on to make the East End the very centre of London’s textile trade. The interior design of both Penny Squares and the wider hotel reflects the area’s historic textile industry, including floral patterns and woven fabrics reminiscent of the techniques employed by the Huguenots. Penny Squares, in particular, incorporates design elements such as industrial lighting, embroidered curtains and wooden features.

Five minutes’ walk from Liverpool Street – in the eclectic and vibrant heart of the city – the 340-room Canopy by Hilton London City, owned and operated by 4C Hotel Group, opened quietly in summer 2021 (with rooms starting from £249/night). Designed in collaboration with UK-based architects and interior design company ACME, the hotel has two further locally inspired food and beverage venues: Florattica, a roof top bar which will offer breathtaking views of the capital when it opens in Summer this year; and Freedom Café and Bar named after the nearby Freedom Press Publishing House and offering locally roasted coffee by day and unique cocktails, craft beers and wines by night. Canopy by Hilton London City hotel is set to become the ultimate all-day dining and drinking destination.

General Manager, Beatriz Orta, who has previously worked with a variety of brands including GLH Hotels and IHG Hotels & Resorts, comments: “We are very proud of the launch of Penny Squares, a project we have been working on with a lot of passion. We wanted to incorporate the elements of London’s East End into the design and restaurant concept. Guests dining with us can expect to take in the culture and cuisine of the local neigbourhood, rich in heritage, East End London is truly unlike any other part of London.”