The top line: Located at London landmark The Whiteley - the former Whiteleys shopping centre in Bayswater - Nela London is the third site for the restaurant that was founded in Amsterdam in 2021 by chefs Hari Shetty and Ori Geller and British Entrepreneur Gilad Hayeem, the second being in Ibiza, which opened in May this year as a seasonal pop-up.
On the menu: The restaurant is known for its live-fire cooking but there is plenty on the menu that isn’t flame kissed. The food offer is divided into five sections – bread and pizza; raw and cured; vegetables and salads; fish and seafood; and poultry and meat, with most designed to be shared. Starters include a very thin and crunchy ‘pizza’ of tomatoes and for di latte to which diner can add San Daniele ham or tuna; as well as scallop ceviche; torched toro with white balsamic; beef ribeye tartare to which langoustine can be added; and Beluga caviar with avocado on a crisp lavash. Seafood plates include a half lobster with guajillo butter and mandarin; and slices of grilled octopus with butter beans while meat dishes include a pressed spring chicken; short rib of beef; and no-bone chicken wings. It is perhaps the vegetables and salads section that is the most interesting, however, and the largest, with options that include an intriguing dish of stuffed vine leaves in a tempura batter; leeks with a mustard dressing, bellper knole Swiss cheese; and baby carrots with pomegranate and Délice de Bourgogne, a triple-cream cow’s milk cheese from France’s Burgundy region. Desserts include Nela’s signature tiramisu that comes in a tin topped with coffee caviar, and a baked Alaska with yuzu-infused meringue that is flambéed tableside.
The vibe: The large 175-cover restaurant is smart and stylish but has something of a hotel feel to it. Diners can sit at a long banquette facing the equally long counter behind which chefs can be seen working at the open kitchen or venture further into the room in which sits a large bar. The colour palette is warm and neutral, with beige coloured seating and oak throughout.
And another thing: The word Nela means pure, which is said to reflect the restaurant’s philosophy of using high-quality ingredients cooked over flame. Nela is open Tuesday to Sunday, but open only for dinner on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
The Whiteley, 163 Queensway, London W2 4BD // https://nelarestaurant.com/london/