Some London locations are breeding grounds for high-quality cooking and memorable nights, and the former Papi site, now Auguste, is one of them. Just a stone’s throw away from London Fields, Auguste, which opened only four months ago, has already made it onto Time Out’s list of London’s best Italian restaurants. It is the collaborative endeavour of chef Mike Bagnall and Dylan Walters, who together created a unique hospitality experience where customers can enjoy natural wines and Italian skewers while being watched over by the signature Auguste clown painting. We sat down with Mike Bagnall to chat about everything from his beginnings in the kitchen in Melbourne to working under Jackson Boxer, his relationship with All Greens, and opening his first restaurant in East London.
Tristan Benhamou: Mike, can you tell me a bit about how you got started in the kitchen in the first place?
Mike Bagnall: I got a job in high school at a restaurant, and it was so much fun. I guess at the time I didn’t really realise the scale of it and, like, how big the world of it all was. I just started cooking. It actually carried all through at the same place. I didn’t go to uni because I had so much fun being in the restaurant; my life was based around that. And then the guy I was working for, his friend had a restaurant in London. And I was at an age where I wanted to travel and move around and kind of expand my knowledge a bit more. And so I got the job to go to London and work for him. I worked there for a couple of years and then it just kept going. It all was all very, like, ‘go with the flow’, but definitely with a clear plan of always being in the kitchen.
TB: What are the places that you would say shaped you as a chef?
MB: Working at Brunswick House… for Andrew Vontobel-Newman and Jackson Boxer was crazy. I was way over my head and it was just really cool. The way they cooked and the way they made food and the way they ran a big, crazy kitchen. They were really fucking incredible. That was like a big realisation of, like, ‘Oh, wow, those guys I knew were insanely talented’ — that you can practise and learn and train and you can get to that point.
That was a nice inspiration. Seeing people like that, especially, like, Jackson, having built some new restaurants, some crazy things, so you can take it as far as you want. You can go and open a load of restaurants or cook everywhere in the world and make whatever food you want, and as soon as it’s good and it makes people happy, you’re gonna do well with it.
TB: How did you go from working with Jackson Boxer to opening your own place?
MB: I’ve always done, like, pop-ups and events and, kind of, when I wasn’t working in kitchens, would be, like, surrounding myself with people who did the same, or, like, always saying yes to doing a shift somewhere. And always just kind of, like, jumping in and out of the scene and being around it. And then, just like that, I got a residency [Elmer at the Montpellier]. And then things grew, and then I got the opportunity through that previous owner, Matthew and Charlie, to open here.
They had Papi and then moved on to The Golden Tooth. So, the place was available, and we kind of just slipped into that. And the concept wasn’t always necessarily going to be this, but it’s very organically what it grew into. And I think, in terms of being, like, the 1st restaurant, if you’re, like, going into it, you need to not stick to that set plan.
TB: Can you explain to our readers in very few words what is Auguste?
MB: Auguste is a restaurant that serves regional Italian food. A very modern take, a very London take, and very lovely wine and drinks. It’s like every other restaurant, isn’t it? There’s some food and beverage. The Time Out thing was cool because there’s so many cool places on that. Especially in the area, there’s lots of Italian restaurants. They’re all so good, like Lardo and Tiella. Marta [Sandini] and Dara [Klein] are so sick, and it’s great to be on a list with them too. Tiella. Marta [Sandini] and Dara [Klein] are so sick and it’s great to be on a list with them too.
TB: Why did you pick All Greens to be your produce supplier for Auguste?
MB:
I’ve been working with All Greens for a while at Elm, and it’s just consistent. It’s always kind of the same. I don’t know, it always shows up, you know what I mean? There’s so many other suppliers that develop a brand and then tag on this massive price. With those ones, you don’t really know what you’re paying for. Most of the stuff they get just comes from the same market. And then, once in a blue moon, they’ll get something special in and they say that’s their, like, major selling point, which I don’t really like, whereas my working relationship with Rhys is him texting me pictures of all these amazing things he’s gone and found. And then I’m like, ‘Oh, I want a box of that, I want a box of that, I want a box of that.’ And he makes sure I get really nice shit. We wait for the Monday when he sends us what he’s got, and then our menu starting on the Wednesday is, like, built from that.
Obviously, we stick to what we do, but, you know, we can sub in, like, all the sexy veg you’re getting and all the amazing fruit, like those peaches that we just tried before, the melons. It’s like, I’m not gonna do melon with prosciutto unless you’re getting insane, bigger melons in, insane, good material, because there’s nothing you can do to it, you know? You don’t have to be a phenomenal chef to put that together, whereas you can have a supplier like All Greens, you can rely on them to be like, ‘Give me the best melon, please.’ And you’re then gonna be able to produce an amazing dish without having to do anything. You know, it’s just sourcing. So, I think just as much as it’s important to be great at cooking, or if you have somebody who’s good at sourcing amazing produce, half your job is done.
TB: What’s next for Auguste?
MB: We’re opening a bar, it’s called Bar Piero. Downstairs, in the basement, and it’s going to be a very sexy, very cosy little Italian bar, dimly lit, so we’re really excited for that. It’s so much work. I’m good at cooking but terrible at construction, not a handyman at all. But that’s coming along. That’s also gonna be our PDR [private dining room] for special occasions, brands, people coming for Christmas — you can have a nice little getaway down there.
