The top line: Belmond’s Chelsea hotel The Cadogan has a new restaurant. Replacing all-day European café-restaurant concept The LaLee, Willett’s is pitched as a neighbourhood British bistro, albeit a very upmarket one. The restaurant is led by executive chef Michael Turner, formerly of the Gordon Ramsay Group. He knows a thing or two about hotel restaurants having held senior roles at The Savoy Grill and The River Restaurant and brings ‘a produce-led, classically informed approach to modern British cooking’.
The menu: Designed as a relaxed all-day dining destination, Willett’s offers breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, alongside sharing-style Sunday lunches. A daily specials board will ‘evolve with the seasons’. Sourdough crumpets form the signature of the menu at Willett’s, fried daily for a crispy outside and fluffy inside and served across breakfast, lunch, dinner at the bar and as a late-night offering, served both savoury and sweet with toppings including Gentleman’s Relish; mushroom parfait with Wiltshire truffle; duck liver parfait with Yorkshire rhubarb; and Dorset crab. At breakfast, a sourdough crumpet is layered with cep parfait, a poached St. Ewes egg, hollandaise and shaved Wiltshire truffles. Starters include hand-chopped ex-dairy beef with mushroom ketchup, pickles and crisps; and prawn cocktail with Bloody Mary jelly and an English garden salad. Mains feature Sutton Hoo chicken and morel pie with mash and liquor; and soused Cornish mackerel with fennel and Yorkshire rhubarb, alongside pearl barley porridge with Wye Valley asparagus. Desserts include classic British options such as sticky toffee pudding, jam roly-poly and custard tarts. The bar programme focuses on seasonal, low-waste cocktails, including a Willett’s Bloody Mary and a Rhubarb Punch made that involves goat’s milk. The wine list includes around 20 wines by the glass, showcasing British producers such as Hattingley Valley and Chapel Down.
The vibe: Overlooking Sloane Street in one of Chelsea’s most well-heeled areas, the restaurant and bar have been refurbished by Studio Shayne Brady, bringing a contemporary-classic take inspired by Chelsea’s cultural and agricultural history. At its heart is an open kitchen with chef’s-counter seating overlooking the dining room beyond. The bar has been reworked as a flexible space for both relaxed occasions and larger parties where guests can enjoy drinks and bar snacks alongside the full restaurant menu. The interiors use heritage greens and neutral tones, with bronze detailing, antique mirrors and the original 1887 herringbone flooring. The layout also includes intimate booths for smaller groups, giving the option of a more tucked-away, informal setting within the buzz of the room.
And another thing: The name Willett’s comes from the Willett family, the original builders of the 1887 Chelsea townhouse.