Restaurant radar: July 2023
Mountain
Drawing on the 'mar y montana' - sea and hillside - cooking of Spain as well as the seas and mountains within the Welsh landscape, Mountain is the new restaurant from Tomos Parry and the team behind Shoreditch restaurant Brat. Described as a wood grill and wine bar it will open on Soho’s Beak Street on 11 July and will serve an ‘uncomplicated’ menu that will feature pink bream served whole, split and roasted on the plancha; grilled lamb chops; and whole braised Anglesey lobster caldereta that will be brought from the grill to the table in ceramic pots for two to three people to share.
16-18 Beak Street, London, W1F 9RD
https://mountainbeakstreet.com/
Dovetale
Pitching up on Berkeley Street, Dovetale will sit within the plush new 1 Hotel Mayfair when it opens its doors this month. Led by Tom Sellers and executive chef Tom Anglesea, formerly of The Laughing Heart, Dovetale will offer ‘a sustainably minded, produce led’ menu of reimagined classics with many dishes cooked over the grill and a raw bar serving top quality seafood. A Knickerbocker Glory trolley is also set to feature, with the ice cream-based dessert made for guests tableside.
1 Hotel Mayfair, 3 Berkeley Street, London, W1J 8DJ
https://www.1hotels.com/mayfair/taste
Pavyllon London
French chef Yannick Alléno this month makes his London debut with the opening of his Pavyllon concept. Set within Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane, Pavyllon London is the more casual of the multi-Michelin starred chef’s restaurants, promising ‘refined neighbourhood dining’ that will be a British expression of his signature modern French dishes. The a la carte offer will be extensive, with a range of hot and cold starters that include a ‘not-so-classic prawn cocktail’ made with fennel and cucumber with dill, trout roe, and parmesan; cheddar souffle, a selection of pasta dishes and mains such as breaded langoustine tails with curry mayonnaise; and a ‘modern’ beef fillet stroganoff.
Four Seasons Hotel London, Park Lane, London, W1J 7DR
https://www.pavyllonlondon.com/
Pearly Cow Margate
Restaurant group Pearly Cow opens its second restaurant this month in the seaside town of Margate. The restaurant celebrates food on ice and over flame with a raw seafood bar and a robata grill in the open kitchen with dishes to include salt-cod tacos; Whitstable oysters, salt-aged steaks; a lobster roll; and a 45-day aged Kentish fillet of beef tartare served with Whitstable oyster cream, Exmoor caviar and charred sourdough. As well as a la carte, it offers a two or three course (£12/£16) Pearly Calved kids menu. The 74-seater dining room will be located within the new No. 42 by GuestHouse that has a beach-front view from the terrace.
16 Marine Drive, Margate, CT9 1DH
https://pearlycow.co.uk/pearly-cow-margate/
GrassFed
Salt chef Paul Foster will make his London debut in Camden’s Hawley Wharf development. His 50-cover GrassFed restaurant will specialise in high-quality grass-fed beef, celebrating 'all cuts of beef from prime ribs to ox cheeks (fish and vegetable dishes will also be available). The launch menu will include beef snag (beef hotdog with truffle mayonnaise, crispy onions and pickled onions); beef rib on the bone to share; and BBQ dayboat fish with smoked seaweed butter. GrassFed will be split over two floors with a rustic interior using materials such as wicker, steel and stones.
Arch S12 Water Lane, Hawley Wharf, London, NW1 8JY
https://www.grassfedrestaurant.co.uk/
Fish Game
Macellaio RC founder Roberto Costa new Canary Wharf restaurant sits directly opposite Dishoom and will serve an ‘ultra seasonal’ menu of British fish and game centre. Led by former The Gun Pub chef Matt Colk, the 60-cover restaurant will have a counter overlooking a suite of ovens and a smart private room with a table for 12 people divided by a vintage cold storage door. Menus are still being kept under wraps, but Fish Game is understood to be a more premium and ambitious proposition than Macellaio RC.
14 Water St, London, E14 5GX
https://fishgamerestaurant.co.uk/
Kima
The team behind Greek restaurants OPSO, INO and Pittabun is opening a ‘fin-to-gill’ restaurant in London’s Marylebone. Called Kima, the restaurant is being launched by chefs and restaurateurs Andreas Labridis and Nikos Roussos with a menu centred on fresh seafood and day-boat fish. Named after the Greek name for wave, the restaurant will on 28 June and be located on Paddington Street opposite OPSO, the first restaurant from the duo, and will have space for 30-covers as well as a fish counter. Diners can choose seafood from the counter, including whole turbot and grouper, to langoustines and hand dived scallops with Roussos and his team taking diners through the different ways each fish or crustacean can be prepared; raw, cured or cooked. Kima will have a ‘waste not, use all’ philosophy, using every part of the fish and animal, with fish bones and spines made into broths served ‘sabu sabu’ style with slices of fish. Lesser-used parts such as the heads will be simply grilled; lightly fried tails will be served with an aioli, while charred fish collars will served with extra virgin olive oil and lemon. Alongside the seafood offering will be selected cuts of meat that will be aged in-house to create dishes such as a rack of lamb served with a bisque-demi-glace sauce.
57 Paddington Street, London, W1U 4JA
https://kimarestaurant.com/
Flat Iron Cambridge
Steakhouse group Flat Iron is finally heading outside of the capital more than a decade since its inception, with a site opening in Cambridge. The 120-cover will open on Market Street and will span two floors within a Victorian building moments from Market Square. The brand’s signature ‘concise’ will feature its flat iron steak alongside other cuts such as sirloin and rib-eye, which can be ordered alongside sides such as beef dripping chips; roast aubergine with tomato and basil; creamed spinach; and crispy bone marrow garlic mash. Like buses, the group’s next non-London site is not far behind, with a site in Leeds due to open in the autumn and a restaurant in Manchester’s Deansgate also incoming.
23 Market Passage, Cambridge, CB2 3PA
https://flatironsteak.co.uk/
Bancone Borough Yards
Borough Yards will be home to pasta brand Bancone’s third and largest restaurant to date. The new restaurant, which follows a successful crowdfund by the company that raised more than £900,000, will feature an open kitchen with counter-top dining, as well as a mezzanine space upstairs for private dining. Bancone executive chef Ben Waugh will oversee the menu, which will include signature dishes such as silk handkerchiefs with walnut butter and confit egg yolk; mafalde with spicy pork and nduja ragù; and cacio e pepe.
Arch 213, 18 Stoney St, London, SE1 9AD
https://www.bancone.co.uk/
Studio Gauthier
Located alongside the new 123V Bakery, Studio Gauthier sees chef Alexis Gauthier serve his plant-based cooking in a more relaxed setting than at his 123V Restaurant located with Bond Street department store Fenwick. Described as a ‘serious Gauthier restaurant’, Studio Gauthier is housed within the BFI building off Tottenham Court Road and will serve a short, super seasonal, bistro-ish menu, grounded in Gauthier’s Cote D’Azur roots but with influences from the Middle East, Israeli, Mexico and Japan. Gauthier classic dishes will feature on the 100% animal-free menu with small plates such as coriander houmous; black kelp ‘caviar’ for two; swiss chard pastis; graffiti aubergine; and morels with a blackberry salad. Gauthier also runs the newly-opened 123V Bakery at the BFI building serving coffee, pastries, self serve salads, sandwiches, and vegan sushi.
BFI building, 21 Stephen Street, London, W1S 1RQ
https://www.studiogauthier.co.uk/
The Portrait Restaurant
Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill chef Richard Corrigan will open his latest London restaurant at the National Portrait Gallery this month. The Portrait Restaurant will open across the top floor of the Gallery with head chef Simon Merrick serving a menu that takes inspiration from some of Corrigan’s most memorable dishes from his culinary career to date – clam ceviche with pickled ginger and lime; poached pork, onion soubise and pickled cabbage. The restaurant will have a chef’s counter while the bar will have a separate menu - crispy oyster croque monsieur is one named dish. Jon Spiteri, formerly of St John, The French House, and Sessions Arts Club has been brought in to oversee the launch alongside former Sucre GM Beth Harding.
St. Martin’s Place, London, WC2H 0HE
https://theportraitrestaurant.com/
Lórian
Launching on 4 July, Lórian is the latest project from Taz Fustok and Jonathan Krauss, the team behind Notting Hill club and restaurant Laylow. The restaurant, bakery and delicatessen will open its doors on the corner of Chelsea’s Sloane Street with head chef Emily Dobbs leading the kitchen team in collaboration with Johnnie Collins from 180 The Strand. It will serve an ever-changing menu with dishes on the launch menu to include grilled homegrown greens with lemon and seeds; new potatoes, pumpkin seed romesco; and salt baked beetroot, horseradish and parsley. To finish off, diners can enjoy a dessert of apple tart and Neal's Yard créme fraiche or choose from a rotation of cakes from Lauren Duncan, founder of Presto London, who is bringing her expertise to the pastry kitchen.
162B Sloane Street, London, SW1X 9BS