Australian restaurateur Bill Granger was interviewed on The Monocle Weekly this week. Granger is the ‘Bill’ behind a local hangout of mine, Bill’s in Darlinghurst. Apparently Bill is staking out London. I hope he starts something there. The editors of Monocle comment on the amazing independents popping up in London and that the people running them seem to be Antipodeons or people who have spent time in Australia. There is “something about an Australian restaurant, the way it makes community, brings people together” they say. I agree with Granger of an “identifiable Australian style of eating out.” Must be the milk crates and communal dining table.

My favourite breakfast places in London are Providores on Marylebone High Street and Fleet River Bakery near the LSE. Both have an Antipodeon flavour. Here in The Hague, it is Brasserie ‘t Ogenblik on Molenstraat, it has a very Dutch flavour. Independent retail does add to a city’s sense of community. We need more of it. Here in The Netherlands, I guess we can use beer crates instead.