The husband-and-wife team will launch Waterhouse in August on Ezra Street, just off Columbia Road Flower Market, inside a Victorian warehouse. The opening follows the closure of their British tasting menu restaurant, The Water House Project, in June.
Waterhouse will draw inspiration from Waterhouse’s upbringing in Northumberland, with menus focused on the produce, landscapes and culinary traditions of North East England, Scotland and the wider northern coastline. Throughout the year ingredients are preserved at their peak, building a larder of vinegars, kombuchas, garums, misos and infusions.
The venue will initially open with a 24-cover dining room set within a former pottery studio, featuring an open kitchen. Dishes will showcase seafood sourced from northern waters, including Lindisfarne oysters, hand-dived scallops, creel-caught lobster and smoked fish, alongside meat such as Lake District Herdwick hogget and wild game.
An on-site garden of raised beds will provide herbs, flowers and seasonal produce for both the restaurant and wine bar, with its contribution to the menu expected to increase as the garden develops.
A dedicated wine bar, due to open in September, will offer low-intervention and classic wines, seasonal cocktails and a menu of snacks and small plates. Planned dishes include Lindisfarne oysters with seasonal dressings and Craster kippers served with house-made kipper butter and crumpet.
Waterhouse began his culinary career at 23, his experience including roles under the Galvin brothers at Galvin La Chapelle and Herbert Berger at Innholders Hall, as well as stages at Lyle’s, The Clove Club, The Ritz Restaurant and Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.
Before launching The Water House Project, he hosted twice-weekly supper clubs from his East London flat, events that ultimately became the foundation for The Water House Project.