Set to open early this spring, Whiteley’s Kitchen, Bar & Café is described as a ‘maverick’ British restaurant with a focus on seasonality.
The kitchen will be led by executive chef Eliano Crespi, whose career spans a decade across London hotels and who is also a member of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.
Working alongside him will be head chef Jose Jara, formerly head chef with two-Michelin-star chef Henrique Sa Pessoa.
Crespi’s work takes inspiration from ancestral techniques using time, fermentation, and fire-led cooking.
Dishes are designed to be shared and will include charcoal-grilled Suffolk pork with shio koji and mustard jus, handmade gnocchi with cavolo nero, Stilton and toasted English walnuts; and salt-baked English pear served with rooibos-infused crème légère and house-made crumble.
The restaurant will also offer a morning menu of coffee and adaptogenic blends alongside farmhouse bakes, with all breads and viennoiseries made in-house using British organic regenerative flour.
Pastries and baked goods will be led by Head Pastry Chef Samuel November and Head Baker Sebastien Chiono.
Fermentation will be a core part of the kitchen’s work, led by Jelena Belgrave whose practice is influenced by Balkan traditions and Japanese macrobiotic training.
The kitchen operates a dedicated fermentation lab producing house-made ferments and preserves.
Led by Adrian Gonzalez Parrondo, director of bars, the bar programme will also focus on seasonality, with each serve designed to be enjoyed with or without alcohol.
The cocktail, Clouds Over Islay, is made with Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie, house-made amazake soda, and lemon hydrosol. The amazake is prepared in-house by Jelena Belgrave, and the lemon hydrosol is developed in collaboration with ‘head alchemist’ Charlotte Pulver.
The wine programme, led by wine director Eugenio Egorov, will prioritise producers working with environmental care and wines that express origin.
The restaurant’s design will draw on the building’s department store heritage with a contemporary take, with guests walking in through a working show kitchen anchored by a farmhouse table and into the main dining room inspired by early European cafes.