Speed is of the essence when it comes to the new model with the business laser-focused on delivering food in minutes to suit Londoners’ busy lives.
Dez Amore operates on two sites in Canary Wharf including this kiosk at Reuters Plaza
speeding up the process
“In Italy, when I used to sit down with my grandfather, we started with antipasto, then primo, then secundo, then contorno – the minimum was three hours for a meal,” said Leonardo.
“Now a sit-down meal can be 45 minutes and we want to reduce this to 20. The food culture is completely different now.
“The time to eat is very short.
“Even though the pandemic has made things more difficult for a business like ours, we think there’s a niche there.
“We offer two very popular kinds of food – pasta for the Italian and burger for the American – and we’re about convenience.
“It might be that people coming home from work simply want an easy life so come to us to eat – we want to make life easy for our customers.
“Perhaps a mum with three children will bring them to eat at Dez Amore for some healthy pasta.
“It’s not fast food, but it is good food that is fast. Our customers understand quality and why it’s important.
“We import ingredients from Italy to ensure the quality.
“We make everything from scratch in our central kitchen so that it’s as fresh as possible when we serve it, but also so that we can do it quickly.
“We are only satisfied when our customers are satisfied.
“It’s about reducing the time to finalise the dishes rather than cutting the preparation time.
“With a sauce, for example, we put in the proper time to make it so that it only takes a minute to finish it in the branch.
“We’ve also moved to smash burgers, which are faster to prepare and serve so customers have less waiting.
“People eat our food at different times. Pasta is more of a sit-down dish, but you can eat a burger anywhere, even while you’re working.
“In Canary Wharf, Wood Wharf is more of a sit-down option, while the kiosk is grab and go.
“We actually see an increase in burger sales after 6pm as people like to have them with a beer.
“With both offerings now in our shops, we’re looking ahead to 2025 and we want to open two or three more locations.
“London is the best city in the world and we want to grow here.”
Collaboration is incresingly the lifeblood of the economy – especially when there’s something in it for consumers.
Everyone loves a deal, right? And this is why Canary Wharf-based fintech startup WyzePay’s latest venture should be celebrated.
The prepayment loyalty app has welcomed 10 traders at MMy Wood Wharf in George Street to its roster of participating local businesses (the Temple Of Art And Music basement jazz club at the venue is coming soon, too).
That means anyone signed up for WyzePay can get 10%-15% off anything sold by them simply by paying through the platform.
They purchase credit with one of the traders using a credit or debit card with their money going straight to that business.
As a thank-you for paying up front, the trader gives the user a discount depending on how much credit they buy.
The more you purchase, the greater the discount.
For example, the user might pay £9 but get £10 of credit if the offer is 10%.
That balance is then stored in a closed digital wallet and the user pays the trader by scanning a QR code on the trader’s phone through the WyzePay app on their device.
Buying credit and paying take seconds, meaning a balance can easily be topped up to cover a purchase.
WyzePay head of business development Anya Markitanova
In essence, the system is similar to loyalty schemes, where customers get something for free as a reward for repeat business.
“It’s basically a smarter way to spend,” said Anya Markitanova, head of business development at WyzePay, which is based at Canary Wharf’s Level39 tech community.
“You use it to get rewards for your money and for your loyalty.
“We all have cards from coffee shops in our wallets with one or two stamps from goodness knows where.
“We forget about them or lose them.
“Sometimes we get all nine stamps and a coffee for free or some other perk.
“What we’re doing is reversing the whole way that businesses interact with customers by allowing companies to reward spending up front.
“There’s no waiting to get a full set of stamps.”
This means there’s always a reward for the customer, however much they spend with a business through WyzePay, with a minimum of 10%.
While the company is already working with the likes of The Grandstand Bar, Obica, Boisdale, 640East, Seoul Bird and Brick Lane Bagel in Canary Wharf, MMy Wood Wharf is something new for the team.
“It’s one of the less well-known locations in the busy ecosystem of the estate – a lot of people do not know that this wonderful, cosy place is there and we’re on a mission to change that,” said Anya.
“It’s our first merchant group on WyzePay because it’s different to the other venues.
“It’s a marketplace with different traders in the same space so, by definition it attracts various kinds of customer.
WyzePay users can save 10%-15% with 10 traders at MMy Wood Wharf
“That gives us access to a wider audience who might not even know what they want for breakfast, lunch or dinner – whether it’s gelato, pizza or Lebanese cuisine – but they can use WyzePay with any of the traders.”
A deal with the venue’s basement jazz club – The Vineyard – run by the Temple Of Art And Music, is also in the pipeline.
Anya said: “Personally, I’m a huge fan of the coffee from Badiani, the diet-friendly poke from Maki And Bowl and the Espresso Martinis from Ethika.
“Our platform works very well for people who plan what they’re going to spend, but equally for last-minute decision makers.
“It takes a few seconds to buy credit through the app, so you can do it on the spot.
“Loyalty cards would tend to get lost or forgotten, but we all carry our phones with us everywhere so your WyzePay digital wallet is with you all the time.
“All you need is a charger and a connection to the internet.”
The key to WyzePay is that it doesn’t just work for the consumer.
Obviously Cafe Nero hasn’t just been giving away its 10th coffee for free out of the goodness of the late, crazed emperor’s heart.
“We create value for traders and retailers too,” said Anya.
“As a business, it’s always helpful to have cash today rather than tomorrow and the money goes straight to the trader when a user buys credit.
“Then their customers feel good when they spend that credit and that helps the business create a long-term relationship with consumers.
“There can be a misconception, because we operate a closed digital wallet, that WyzePay is a kind of cryptocurrency.
“That’s not the case. We trade online in Pounds Sterling, the official currency of the UK and we don’t hold any money.
MMy Wood Wharf’s sustainable food market is located in Canary Wharf’s George Street
“The digital wallet is just a representation of the balance a customer holds with a particular trader.
“When you buy credit it goes up and, when you spend through the app with the trader, it goes down.
“The discount with all the traders who have signed up at MMy Wood Wharf is currently 10%-15%, but we actually allow all the businesses to control the level of discount and minimum spend.
“Different discounts can serve different purposes, so the traders can quickly adapt to the ever-changing landscape.
“They might, for example, offer a limited discount at a particular time if they have a seasonal offering.
“People tend to buy less gelato in the colder months, for instance, so it would be possible for Badiani to remind customers they are still there with a bigger discount.
“It’s always more tasty when you get more gelato for your money.”
With WyzePay now live at MMy, it’s hard to see why anyone would pay with a card instead.
One for the cheese lovers, this hot pot is a truly enormous quantity of silken, melted delight, served with plentiful flatbread and garnished with black cumin seeds. The headline halloumi retains its structure, sat in a stretch bath of cheese just waiting to be mopped up
Classic Naples-style pizza served with great rapidity and a wealth of fresh ingredients strewn across its surface. While spicy on the tongue, this expression of a fiery stalwart also features an endearing sweetness in the mouth
While this friendly, gluten free IPA isn’t enough to blow the bloody doors off at a comforting 4.7%, its complex blend of pine and citrus notes should satisfy – especially at up to £1 off per pint, when paying with the app
Already a Wharf favourite since its arrival on the estate opposite Waitrose, the gelato is thick and creamy and the sorbet smooth and sharp. The combination of pistachio and lemon in my cup is a winner, but then what do you expect from a brand that takes its heritage from a store in Florence that started serving top quality ices in 1932?
This is luxury in a bowl. It seems pasta and sauce simply wasn’t enough for the chefs at Dez Amore, who decided to dump a fat lump of burrata in the centre of this dish. If you’re already on track to ordering, adding bacon (£1.40) and Parmigiano (70p), is a natural progression and well worth it
This store is packed with all manner of fresh and dry ingredients, also offering sustainable shampoo and wine from the barrel. The fresh gnocchi is as soft as a cloud on the tongue, ideal paired with fresh pesto
The poke revolution has swept through London and it’s easy to see why. The combination of raw fish and fresh ingredients is pretty hard to resist, especially when it looks like this
Dumplings are, when done well, one of those comfort foods that are far too tempting. These soft, juicy parcels fall into that category – the kind of plate that disappears all too quickly, necessitating a top-up on Wyze and a fresh visit to the counter
For those in the know, Ethika has long been a go-to for quality cocktails on the estate. Snuggled in a corner of MMy Wood Wharf, this excellent bar mixes a sparkling menu with the enthusiasm and charm of its staff. Its salt-rim Margarita is an ethereal, light-touch take on a classic that slips down all too easily. Expect delicate shards of lime slicing neatly through the alcohol
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
New York City looms large in the imagination. It’s the smooth vocals of Alicia Keys on Empire State Of Mind, yellow taxis and the splash of water over Carrie Bradshaw.
It’s impossibly tall skyscrapers, hip-hop, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly and Jules Munshin playing over-excited sailors in On The Town.
It’s Central Park, Central Perk and the Ghostbusters piloting the Statue Of Liberty through Fifth Avenue.
Countless heroes and villains in every kind of drama have made it their home in literature, on stage and across screens big and small.
Often those characters are portrayed living in loft apartments – open spaces with high ceilings and large windows, typically featuring exposed brickwork and concrete, hinting at former lives as offices or places of industry.
London too has had a flush of such properties – albeit on a smaller scale – with warehouses, usually along the Thames, converted.
Many have that NYC-feel, with original features celebrated amid the sleek worktops of fitted kitchens and cleverly cantilevered mezzanines. They are now, however, few and far between for enthusiastic buyers.
Homes at 8 Harbord Square are completely open-plan in the style of New York lofts
It’s styled by Karakusevic Carson Architects as a brick-built structure that wouldn’t look out of place in New York’s meatpacking district – a chunk of the city that became a hotbed of fashion design, culture, dining and residential property in the 1990s and 2000s.
Its story – of industrial decline followed by regeneration – is not dissimilar to Canary Wharf’s.
The difference here, of course, is that 8 Harbord Square is newly built, with none of the potential problems of an industrial conversion but all of the style of a chic, period loft.
“There are 82 apartments in total, spread over 12 storeys and they are very different to anything that we’ve ever built or sold before,” said Melanie Conway, director of residential sales at Canary Wharf Group.
“We’ve stripped everything back, so there’s exposed brickwork and concrete ceilings – the decor is very raw – with huge Crittall windows to let lots of light in.
“There’s a real openness to the lofts.
“They are very unusual – buyers are used to seeing apartments with bedrooms and living spaces laid out.
“Here, it’s very much up to the buyer how they want to live in them.”
The majority of the building’s floors – excluding the penthouses which have already sold – are split into eight apartments in two configurations.
The Prospect Lofts are just over 800sq ft of open-plan, undivided space.
Each comes with a fully-fitted kitchen in stainless steel, with Siemens appliances including a built-in washer-dryer.
Heating comes from cast iron radiators arranged along the walls, while ceiling fans provide air circulation throughout.
The only walls are around the bathroom, which includes a black-framed shower cubicle, a free-standing bath and double sinks.
These properties are single aspect and are located in the centre of the building.
The Gramercy Lofts are similar in every respect, except that they extend to a little over 1,000sq ft and are arranged on the four corners of each floor with twice as many windows.
“We’ve been holding off on a big launch until the building is nearly finished, because the best way for buyers to understand these spaces is to walk into them,” said Melanie.
“We’re expecting people to be able to move in by the end of the year.
The building has been styled to echo properties in NYC’s meatpacking district
“It’s been very interesting to see who has bought here already – it’s a real mix from young couples to downsizers who love the warehouse style, and even students.
“It’s a design that appeals to lots of different people because you can move everything around.
“We could have dropped the ceilings and put in walls to create a typical layout, but we wanted to keep everything real.
“There’s not much decoration to be done and very little maintenance as there’s hardly any wall space that needs painting.
“The properties will also stand the test of time from a design-point of view – they won’t date.
“People buying here might be looking at older warehouses, but 8 Harbord Square is newly built so there won’t be unexpected leaks or any issues like that.
“They’re also really well insulated because they have been designed as homes. They are new, but also really cool.
“They’re very tranquil too, overlooking Harbord Square Park – an oasis of calm away from the bustle.”
The event runs for four days from September 20-23, 2023, with offers, pop-ups and installations.
V– SCROLL DOWN THE PAGE FOR A SELECTION OF OFFERS – V
“Wood Wharf feels very much like the residential district of Canary Wharf and, with 8 Harbord Square offering warehouse-style living, the takeover seemed like a great way to promote the building,” said Melanie.
“New York sits very well alongside the buildings here and on the estate as a whole.
“Right now it’s about awareness and it’s also an opportunity for people to discover what it’s like to live here.
“From the moment people leave one of our stations, the whole estate is managed by Canary Wharf Group.
The Prospect is the smaller of the two layouts stretching to 800sq ft
“There’s also security on site, 24-hours a day and a high level of cleanliness and service across the estate.
“Well known as a commercial area, for us it’s about communicating how much the Wharf has changed even since work began on Wood Wharf in 2015.
“People are now investing their time and money into coming to the estate as a leisure destination – the shops, the bars, the restaurants and so on.
“The transport is fantastic and, while people were initially buying here because they worked locally, we’re now seeing them make their home here and work elsewhere.
“People just love it.”
Show apartments at 8 Harbord Square are now available to view with prices for a Prospect apartment starting at £770,000.
Patty & Bun will be serving up its Classic American burger with a free cocktail for the takeover
AMERICANA ON THE WHARF
Mini Manhattan – that’s what they call the Isle Of Dogs – so what’s this takeover all about, anyways?
Wood Wharf is set to be transformed into the Big Apple for four days from September 20-23, 2023.
Running 11am-7pm, expect big yellow taxis, break dancers, chess tables in Harbord Square, a subway station and an authentic US school bus serving up hot dogs and pizza by the slice.
Have a nice day now.
In addition to the various special events that will be taking place over the four days, many of Wood Wharf’s businesses will be getting involved with the takeover, adding further layers to the immersive experience. Here are the deals to look out for:
Free Manhattan cocktail
Head down to the corner of Water Street and Park Drive, where Mallow will be adding a very special item to its entirely plant-based menu for the duration of the takeover.
Order its French Dip – featuring portobello mushrooms, caramelised red onion, horseradish cream, red wine jus and butter pickles – for £15 and you’ll receive a Chocolate Cherry Pie Manhattan for free to go with it.
The cocktail is made with Bourbon, Mozart dark chocolate liqueur, sour cherry molasses and bitters – for a potent take on a New York classic – and costs £9 on its own.
Mallow will have a French Dip on the menu with a free Chocolate Cherry Pie cocktail over the four days
Fresh gelato and cawfee
Downtown on George Street, visitors will find American flags draped over statues outside MMy Wood Wharf, which inside will be serving piccolo gelato cups with a single espresso for £5 during the takeover.
Mac ’n’ cheese will also be available, as will American craft beers including east coast brew Good Vibrations by NEPA for £7.90 per pint.
NYC flavours
Water Street’s Feels Like June is becoming Feels Like Brooklyn for the duration of the takeover and will be serving up NYC Bagels with pastrami, emmental cheese, pickles and mustard for £7 or with chives and cream cheese for £6.
The venue will also be hosting sets from its resident DJ from 4pm-9pm over the four days.
Free New York Sour
Order up the Classic American for £13 at Patty & Bun on Park Drive and customers will get either a free NY Sour or a can of Coca Cola with their burger.
Hawksmoor is serving three of the best sellers from its actual New York restaurant until Sept 24
Cocktails for £10 each + a free one
Drawing on inspiration from its actual New York branch, Hawksmoor and its bar The Lowback will be offering a trio of the best drinks available at its US location for the special price of £10 each.
So that’s the Manhattans, Cosmos and Dirty Martinis sorted.
But wait, there’s more.
The venues will also welcome tables of up to four guests with a complimentary Big Apple Martini for all diners at lunch or dinner.
Bookings should be made via email to thelowback@thehawksmoor.com quoting NYC x Canary Wharf. Better still, both offers will be available until September 24, 2023 – an extra day after the takeover ends.
Gelato pop-up
George Street restaurant Emilia’s Crafted Pasta is set to step outside its walls with a special pop-up throughout the takeover.
The venue’s gelato cart promises to serve up 100% Italian ice cream – one scoop for £4.50 and two for £6 in either waffle cones or paper cups.
Visitors can expect to choose from creamy mascarpone, Sicillian pistachio, raspberry sorbet and chocolate and hazelnut. There may even be a few bonus surprises from the staff.
The skincare, haircare, fragrance, candle and gift brand will be taking over a corner of Wood Wharf for the NYC event.
Founded in Chelsea (New York City) in 2004, the company aims to create products that will work with all skin types, growing and expanding over the years to meet demand.
For the takeover, its portable cart will be offering samples and cards offering discounts at its Canary Wharf store in Cabot Place. Naturally, terms and conditions apply.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
