Someone recently asked me about my third space—a term that essentially means a space that isn’t your home, or the home of someone you know—rather a public space where you can hang out that feels peaceful. Third spaces tend to be specific to those who live in larger cities, who crave the ability to escape from noisy neighbours or bustling social plans. A place where you can go with a book, or your headphones to sit and watch the world go by.
As you can imagine, most third spaces are in fact restaurants— places curated specifically to host people, bring them joy and drive communities forward. After all, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of slipping into a comfortable booth or armchair knowing full well you’re about to be taken care of.
This is the case for anyone stopping in to any of renown restaurateur Sam Harrison’s five outlets: 1 restaurant, 3 cafes and 1 shop —his 2nd restaurant, opens this November. His main restaurant Sam’s Riverside Bar sits on the Thames in the borough of Hammersmith and is certainly the proverbial third space to many Londoners who seek community, calm, and creativity in a city that can otherwise feel lonely from time to time.
Find out about Sam’s locations here: Sam’s Kitchen, Sam’s Waterside, Sam’s Larder, Sam’s Riverside Bar.
Sam and I bridge the gap between Hammersmith and Montreal during a spectacular heatwave that’s found it’s way to us both at the start of September. While I’m not physically sitting in Sam’s dining room, the hospitable nature of the restaurant and of Sam himself is contagious and has me excited for my upcoming London visit.
We talk about Sam’s foray into hospitality and he walks me through the aspects he enjoys most about the work.
“It really comes down to creating a space for people to enjoy themselves.” He says with a high degree of optimism and enthusiasm.
We talk about how people perceive going out to eat, how that’s evolved with the onset of the Covid pandemic and how it’s affected independent restaurant owners so dramatically.
We also talk about how joy as a restauranteur, is in the little things. Like training up waitstaff to engage with regulars, or how memorizing someones coffee order makes them feel seen. Sure, leveraging different technologies can support the efficiency of a restaurant, but it’s in these small moments that people build connection to other people, places, and food experiences. If we’re not careful and we integrate technology to override these things, that’s where Sam notes he’d be missing the mark. There’s a heartwarming and personable nature to his approach—one that he emphasizes the need for restauranteurs to continue with rather than edge away from. If we take away elements of connection between patrons and restaurant staff then we lose foundational elements of communities that we need.
As we press on, we note how much people’s behaviours have changed in the wake of the last few years. Many consumers are not not only more educated about their food, there’s a clear understanding of the importance of stimulating their local businesses to see them flourish and keep neighbourhoods alive. We dig into this a little more and I note some interesting parallels between Sam’s experience as an independent restaurant owner, and my experience as the daughter of one. Supporting local goes far beyond the advantages of supporting local ingredients and sustainability, it uplifts community projects, stimulates local economic growth, supports families, and creates full circle moments where we can recognize our own humanity.
It’s through this common ground that Sam and I chat through his experiences of building his businesses and the journey he’s been on to develop his latest venture—Sam’s Riverside. Here’s where we dig into the food and the ingredients that truly make our hearts sing. There’s talk of oysters, fresh seafood, and the anticipation of the tide turning the menu from it’s summer staples to autumnal comforts.
After we wrap up my phone buzzes with a photo of the Indian Summer evening sunset right by Sam’s Riverside Bar. Another buzz and it’s the latest menu item he’s testing out—Cornish hake with mussels where I swear my face turned into the bright starry eyed emoji— heavenly. And of course, the photo of fresh oysters with salmon roe and finely chopped jalapeños from a recent pop up Sam ran with the Hammersmith Community Gardens Association.
And there you have it—five of Sam’s spaces that many people call their third space, and a community garden for good measure. I can’t wait to explore them myself so soon!
Thank you so much for your time, Sam! What a pleasure it’s been to learn about your restaurants and our shared excitement for fresh oysters.
Enjoy this week’s episode and Bon Appétit!
Erika xx
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