Two minutes with Honey Spencer and Charlie Sims, co-founders of Sune
When did you first begin picturing Sune together? Was there a turning point when it stopped being an idea and became something you knew you had to do?
Our plan has pretty much always been to open a restaurant. We met working together at Jamie Oliver's 15 back in 2012 and on one of our first dates, I said to Honey we'd open somewhere together one day. We always envisioned a fun, bustling neighborhood restaurant somewhere in our own community. Somewhere casual, but ambitious. We had our first son in Copenhagen in December 2019. Our plan was to move back to London in 2020 and do something then, then we all know what happened in 2020. We moved back to London and spent many days during lockdowns walking through our neighbourhood and walking past sites and dreaming up what they might look like if we were to open them. The search really started in 2021 and eventually this site at the bottom of Broadway Market was brought to our attention in spring 2023 and we just knew it was the one we had to go for. We had actually spoken about the site for many years and what potential it had. It had just never been anything that special, but we knew we had the chance to change that. We got the keys a few months later and opened that November.
Between you, there’s more than 35 years of hospitality experience. What are some details at Sune that guests might not consciously notice, but still feel?
I think just the level of execution of the hospitality. We, but also many in our team, have such a variety of experience, including very high end dining. I think this enables us to achieve an elevated level of hospitality for what might be expected in a fairly relaxed neighbourhood restaurant. This isn't necessarily even conscious on our part, but I do think our experience frequently allows us to raise the bar of our guest experience to a special level.
Honey, we have to ask about wine - is there a bottle that changed the way you think about it? What made that bottle so memorable?
I was lucky enough to tag onto a trip to Burgundy's Chambolle Musigny. I sat in a cellar with tears in my eyes at how good the wine tasted and how momentous it all was! That was one of the 'big moments', but in all honesty my love for wine is in the every day. Finding new producers, discovering off the beaten track regions, or stumbling across wines that deliver real value for money to serve to our guests at Sune. That's what it's all about!
To hear more please get in touch with ianthe@toniccomms.co.uk