Peninsula Square Archives

Collaboration between KG Hospitality and Asahi has brought Meantime brewing back to Greenwich via a microbrewery well positioned for events at The O2

KG Hospitality founders Ricardo Guimares and Vineet Kalra outside The Dial - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life — KG Hospitality founders Ricardo Guimares and Vineet Kalra outside The Dial – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

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Visitors to Greenwich Peninsula arriving by Tube, can scarcely have failed to notice a new opening right opposite the main walkway to The O2.

The curvy three-storey structure on the south-eastern corner of Peninsula Square, which once housed Craft restaurant, has been brought back into use via a partnership between venue operator KG Hospitality and brewing giant Asahi.

“We were first in contact about two years ago,” said Ricardo Guimaraes, KG co-founder.

“The lease on their Meantime brewery at Greenwich was up, so they moved operations to Chiswick, but they still wanted to keep a presence in the Royal borough.

“The idea was to have a bar and a microbrewery so they would still be making beer here.

“We looked at a number of units inside The O2.

“They were good, but the logistics weren’t clear.

“Then we spoke to Knight Dragon – they showed us this space and we thought it was a great location.”

The venue includes plentiful screens showing sport on its first floor - image supplied by KG Hospitality — The venue includes plentiful screens showing sport on its first floor – image supplied by KG Hospitality

embracing the curves

Built by the developer as a sister structure to its main marketing suite for the ongoing regeneration of the Peninsula – the two cylindrical towers share a canopy roof – it’s pretty much the first place tourists and commuters arriving via the Jubilee line see when leaving North Greenwich’s northern exit.

KG and Asahi took the space and the result is The Dial – a three-level sports bar and restaurant with a microbrewery at ground level and plentiful outdoor space – which opened its doors a little over a month ago.

“We especially liked the fact we have three floors, which gives us the flexibility to do different things,” said Vineet Kalra, KG’s other co-founder.

“The lower level is a tap room and houses the brewing facilities and then the first floor is focused on sports.

“The rooftop bar, which is indoors and also has a terrace, is used for events, but also as an overspill area if we get busy.”

With sales already exceeding expectations by around 25% in its first month, that’s a challenge the owners are already experiencing – albeit a nice problem to have – thanks to custom from the thousands flocking to gigs and events at The O2.

“There are about 200 shows a year and we’ve seen that, from 5.30pm to 7.30pm, we can be super busy and again, lots of people stop by afterwards from about 10pm onwards,” said Ricardo.

“That’s particularly true for rock gigs where the audiences are aged 25-45 and are looking for a drink – we didn’t think we’d be selling this much beer quite so soon.

“But we’re also nicely busy between 8pm and 10pm.”

Vineet added: “We’re also really focusing on the local community.

“There’s a lot of development happening here over the next few years and there will be greater demand from people living here, so it will be interesting to see how they interact with us and what we’re offering.”

The menu features wings, sandos and burgers - image suppled by KG Hospitality — The menu features wings, sandos and burgers – image suppled by KG Hospitality

sports and snacks at The Dial

KG opened The Dial, more or less back-to-back with the launch of its second Amazing Grace live music venue.

Building on the success of its original London Bridge bar – running out of a converted church – its new Canary Wharf branch at 12 Bank Street has been well received in its first weeks.

That project drew on Ricardo and Vineet’s passion for live gigs, while The Dial taps into two of their other interests.

“Again, it’s about creating somewhere we’d like to come,” said Ricardo.

“Beer and sports appeal to us.

“We like American football, baseball – I love to watch pretty much any kind of sport.

“With this kind of venue in the UK, I think there can be a real lack of energy, so we’re trying to bring the feel of an American sports bar to London.

“We’ve spent quite a bit of time over there and we’re using that for inspiration.”

Vineet added: “That’s true of the food too.

“We’ll be doing things like wings, sandos, burgers, calamari and nachos.

“We’ll also be looking at expanding the menu in the spring and we plan to have a food truck outside too as well as an outdoor kitchen.”

The Dial is located on Greenwich Peninsula - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life — The Dial is located on Greenwich Peninsula – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

brewing Meantime on site

Beer is clearly a key attraction at the venue, with KG already bringing in extra dispensers for outdoor areas and adding taps to its bars to help serve the crowds more efficiently.

Meantime is represented by a series of large tanks ready to hold the beer produced on-site, with the first brew – Citra Pale – now available.

Also in the pipeline is the return of the brand’s much beloved Yakima Red, set to be a permanent addition to the menu as soon as the first batch is produced.

Pints at the venue start at £6 for a Meantime Dial Lager, at a hangover friendly 3.4% ABV.

“We’re brewing beers here every three to five weeks and we’re engaging with local residents to offer it to them first,” said Ricardo. “It’s very important, I think, that we’re Greenwich-focused.

“The whole idea of the venue is that people can have different experiences when coming here. You can come to The Dial and have a couple of pints before going to a show at The O2.

“But then you can also come here and watch a sporting event, whether that’s boxing, football of F1 with your mates.

“We don’t look like a traditional pub so you can also come down, work on your laptop and have a drink or a meal.

“We offer private hire options and can take around 500 people if you want to book the whole venue.

“We’ve also had people visiting specifically for the beer, which is great and we’re embracing new products such as the lager and the Meantime Midnight Nitro Stout, which is proving really popular.

“What’s nice is that The Dial gives the brewery a home here again – it’s a place where people want to go and this is a great location for that.”

Vineet added: “We’re always learning and this venue will be no different.

“We want to ensure this is a home for sports, food and beer where people really feel at home.”

The venue includes a microbrewery with Meantime staff crafting beers on site - image supplied by KG Hospitality — The venue includes a microbrewery with Meantime staff crafting beers on site – image supplied by KG Hospitality

key details: The Dial

The Dial: Home Of Meantime is open at Greenwich Peninsula daily from noon-11pm, Monday-Thursday, until 1am on Saturdays and Fridays and until midnight on Sundays.

Find out more about the venue here

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Developer Knight Dragon eyes acceleration of delivery as deal signed with contractor Mace

Upper Riverside is almost sold out at Upper Riverside

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This moment represents something of a tipping point in the regeneration of Greenwich Peninsula.

There are still 20-odd apartments left in the Upper Riverside phase of Knight Dragon’s mammoth project, so for buyers this is a last chance to get in on one of the angular blocks set along the Thames.

“That’s really been our focus for the last four years, with just over 1,000 properties and it’s very much an established community now,” said Kerri Sibson, chief operating officer at the developer.

“We launched the last building – No. 5 – just as we went into the first bout of Covid, so things stalled for a little while and then subsequently picked up.

“We have a few one-bed and two-bed homes available, so this is a last chance to buy.

“There’s a really strong sense of community across the five buildings at Upper Riverside, which is really lovely and, of course, that’s what you hope for – people who will occupy the space and make it what they want it to be.”

Homes at No. 5 Upper Riverside start at £487,500 with residents’ facilities including access to a co-working space, three gyms, multiple roof terraces and a 15th floor swimming pool.

For those who’d rather rent, No. 4 Upper Riverside offers studio, one, two and three-bedroom homes to let with starting prices ranging from £1,500pcm to £3,000pcm, a selection of contract options and the option to move in without a deposit.

“The rental operation has had a full year now and the rental market is booming, so that has performed really well for us and we’ve been really pleased,” said Kerri.

“Having that option is part of what we talk about all the time for the Peninsula, which is that you need diversity of product to keep your audience as wide as possible.

“If you have just one type of property, it quickly becomes a not very interesting place to be. Rental gives us a different clientele and it definitely feeds into our sales business.

“We haven’t been able to do it yet, but we might be on the cusp of seeing if we could do ‘Try before you buy’.

“I’d like the idea that we could have a rental offer which ultimately means that the money you’re spending on rent becomes a deposit and – although it sends our finance department into palpitations – it would be wonderful if we could achieve that.

“On the sales side, having Lower Riverside has always been the perfect counterpoint in terms of accessibility so we’re not just offering one price point.”

Knight Dragon’s approach to making sure the area it is creating appeals to buyers somewhat sets it apart.

The company has invested significantly in public space as well as an ongoing programme of art exhibitions and events, intended to attract visitors to the area and entertain the now circa 5,000 residents.

That includes the creation of The Tide – an elevated park complete with sculptures including a work by Damian Hirst.

Knight Dragon has also worked to help establish local businesses to serve those passing through, studying and living on the Peninsula, opening a diverse collection of commercial buildings at Design District in 2021.

“That’s been a great success for us,” said Kerri. “It was enormously stressful for all parties getting it launched post-Covid.

“We had businesses really excited and ready to move in and we were behind because everything had been closed for many months, but when it arrived it exceeded all out expectations.

“When we launched, we had a journalist from the BBC asking whether we were worried about people not returning to work, not coming into the office – but that’s hasn’t been our experience.

“We have such a great mix of tenants in the creative industries and they were just really desperate to get in, to collaborate and to feed off each other.

“I’ve been working on this project since Knight Dragon got involved and I’ve found that if you engage with the creative industries early on in any process, the product you come out with is so much more interesting and challenging than if you stick to a very traditional property route.

“You can end up with a very homogenised product with ‘Do Not Stand On The Grass’ signs. We didn’t want that here.”

Knight Dragon has created The Tide leading down to the Thames

With a total of nearly 17,500 homes in the pipeline, both residents and visitors can expect to see a ramping up of activity, as Knight Dragon prepares to announce the next phases of its project later in the year.

“We’re probably around the 30% mark in terms of completion, so there’s still an awful lot more to do,” said Kerri.

“We’ve just announced a partnership with construction firm Mace – which built Upper Riverside and The Tide – and there’s a big push forward in terms of momentum and speed of delivery. There are going to be lots of homes on their way very quickly.

“In the last four or five years, we’ve been very focused on place-making.

“The river bank, back in the day, was a desolate tarmac path that ran along the Thames, so we invested in The Tide to get people to enjoy the area.

“It was important for us that Greenwich Peninsula was not just about homes, but a balance between home and work and a place where people would want to spend time during the day.”

With Mace set to build 20 buildings as part of Knight Dragon’s 40-acre project, the exact shape of the final development cannot be set in stone.

“From an infrastructure point of view, it’s a constant game of moving things around,” said Kerri.

“When we started the project, the Silvertown Tunnel hadn’t been given the green light, so two of our buildings won’t be delivered because now that’s very much happening.

“It’s also absolutely our ambition to redevelop North Greenwich station, although we weren’t able to make our original plans for that site work.

“However, it’s important to remember, from a residents’ point of view, how well connected the Peninsula already is – London City Airport, for example, is a big plus for us.

“There’s a perception Greenwich is further away than it actually is, but once people are here they realise how well connected it actually is – just minutes from Canary Wharf and the City.”

Knight Dragon puts on numerous cultural events on the Peninsula