It’s a ski-lodge-themed leisure space in the Olympic park, but does it deserve a medal? It is impossible to miss Haugen, a multi-floored, pagoda-shaped, alpine-themed fondue restaurant that’s appeared in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, east London. As erections go, it is remarkable. Look out for the multitude of white faux-fur rugs draped over terrace chairs, the twinkling amber lights, the DJ booth and the après-ski vibes. Or the après-retail therapy vibes, because Haugen is a Las Vegas version of a Gstaad mountain lodge that’s been hammered up outside Westfield Stratford on the main drag to West Ham’s football stadium. The ground floor cafe-bistro serves breakfast from 8am and then fondue and schnitzel until around 10pm. The rooftop bar offers ski-themed cocktails such as the Saint Bernard and the Black Diamond. A more formal, pricier restaurant will open on one the upper floors in due course. Haugen is colossal, shimmering and jaw-dropping. To give an idea of scale, the private booking info claims it has potential for “exclusive events of up to one thousand”. That is a whole lot of yodelling and melted gruyere. On the West Ham match day I ate there, all the restaurants in and around the Westfield shopping centre – Busaba, Wahaca, The Real Greek and so on – were protected by barriers. Security guards and police routed the football crowds away from anything smashable, with Haugen being closely guarded. Whether similar measures will be in place come spring 2022, when the nearby Abba Arena opens, is unclear. How rowdy are Abba fans? Will the £200 tickets to watch holograms cavort to Dancing Queen leave any spare cash for raclette, Berner würstel and tartiflette? Continue reading...
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