Known for its distinctive Japanese-European cuisine and chef’s table setup, the Frith Street restaurant is expected to reopen its doors in early May.
Sato told Restaurant that attracting a second star has given him the confidence to double down at Humble Chicken, which opened as a relatively affordable yakitori restaurant in 2021 but relaunched a year or so later as a tasting menu-only restaurant.
“We’re knocking the whole thing down and starting again,” Sato told Restaurant. “We want everyone that comes to have the best view and the best experience possible. Being promoted to two stars is amazing but the dream is three. I don’t want to get stuck on two stars for many years like a lot of restaurants do. Now is the time to accelerate. This refurb is a big part of that.”
The site has not undergone a full refit since it launched as Spanish restaurant Barrafina in 2007.
Following Barrafina moving on in 2016, the site has been occupied by two operators - chefs Adam Simmonds and Scott Hallsworth - but, like Sato, neither made any major changes.
The work will see the restaurant take on a new look and feel with its marble kitchen counter finally retired after nearly two decades of service.
A new kitchen counter is to be installed that will seat 13 covers, two fewer than in the site’s most recent configuration.
A new bar area will also be created to the front of the space for pre and post-dinner drinks.
As before, there will be two seatings a night with the price of Sato’s 10-course tasting menu set to increase from £185 to circa £220 to account for the restaurant doing four fewer covers per evening.
Unusually for a restaurant of its level, Humble Chicken is entirely self-funded. The refurbishment will be paid for with operating profits and a £400,000 high-interest bank loan that will be paid back over the next two years.
“Two stars has been a bit of a game changer. Taking out a big loan doesn’t feel stressful because we’re confident that when we reopen our reservation book we will be pretty much fully booked for months. The cash will also be used to pay the staff for the next three months or so and fund R&D.
“We’re shooting for the stars now.”
