London & South East Premier Hospitality

Tibits

Tibits
Written by Roma Publications

Tibits

Swiss vegetarian restaurant Tibits has opened its second site in London in a former warehouse on Bankside. Described as a ‘fresh, delicious and easy going’ restaurant, Tibits was founded by the Frei family over 17 years ago.

Work on the Bankside site started in 2013, with its doors opening to the public in July 2017. Work on the site was undertaken by architects Atellier OI.

Speaking to Premier Hospitality magazine, Architect Jonas Seiler said: “Tibits already had one restaurant in London which opened in 2008 but they were looking for a second restaurant and they had the opportunity to get this location in Bankside. Before we started work on the project, we went to the site and tried to get a feeling for the space, how it would work during the day and during the evening and what kind of atmosphere the building had. The site is an old warehouse so we wanted to put Tibits into that space, but also use the characteristics of the warehouse.”

Tibits is an all-day affair so is perfect for breakfast, after work drinks, a leisurely meal or take-away. With over 40 homemade vegetarian and vegan salads, hot dishes, soups, freshly pressed juices and desserts from all over the world, at Tibits you pay by weight, so you can take as much or as little as you want. Dishes include BBQ Aubergine, Avocado-Lemon Torte and Thai Veggie Meatballs. Tibitis is also big on breakfast and believe that customers should ‘start the day fresh’ with choices of delicious homemade birchermuesli, a varied cereal selection, croissants and fresh fruit.

Tibits

At Tibits, guests serve themselves from a food boat, where food is made fresh, daily. This is therefore the centrepiece and heart of the Tibits Bankside location. On the ground floor of Tibits is a bar and counter with a dining room to the rear and small kitchenette. Downstairs there is a smaller room that can be reserved for meetings or closed off for parties.

Jonas said: “We wanted to give off a cosy atmosphere.”

There is also a large communing table where large groups can sit, as well as high tables for those who just want to call in for an early morning coffee and croissant. The site also has a garden patio with glass roof, ceiling and nice atmosphere.

“It was clear that Tibits would need to have some more space in the garden so we spent some time with the local architect to find a solution to incorporate the wish for the garden patio and really make it a benefit for the customers,” added Jonas

17 years ago when Tibits first opened, it was believed that vegetarians had little choice with restaurants overflowing with meat and skimping on veg, so three brothers from Switzerland decided to change this. Christian, Daniel and Reto Feri created a delicious and fresh vegetarian buffet as fast as a speedy fast food joint and as cosy as a corner café.

Today there are 11 Tibits restaurants, two in London, with the Frei family working closely with Rolf and Marielle Hilti, owners of the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world, Haus Hiltl. Both families are united by the desire to explore and expand vegetarian and vegan cooking.

Commenting on working on the project, Jonas concluded:  “It has been very nice and we have been very happy to be involved. It is always very important and very interesting to work abroad. We have done a lot of projects all over the world but London is a very interesting place, so it was nice and important for us to be able to help Tibits get a very good project there.”

Tibits

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Roma Publications