Simon Rogan to open 2-year London ‘pop-up’ restaurant

03-Apr-2011 - Last updated on 04-Apr-2011 at 09:31 GMT

Simon Rogan will divide his time between London and Cumbria

Chef Simon Rogan will next month open a restaurant in London, which will feature a menu similar to that of his award winning site in Cumbria, L’Enclume.

Simon Rogan acquired the lease on a 35-cover venue in London’s Marylebone area, which he plans to open in early May 2011.

Located at 19 Blandford Street, the new site will have a short life of only two years, which is the time remaining on the lease.

However, Rogan says he will treat his new restaurant – which has not yet been named – as an “extended pop-up restaurant”, which will allow him to get a foot in the door of the London scene.

Menu

The food at the new venture will be similar to the menus at Rogan’s L’Enclume, with added twists from the new head chef, Ben Spalding.

Aged 25, Spalding has been working with Rogan at L’Enclume in preparation for the London opening. He previously worked in Gothenberg, Sweden, at Restaurant Lipp, and at L’Autre Pied and Rhodes W1 in London.

Rogan will oversee the London business, but will retain strong control of his two Cumbrian businesses – L’Enclume and Rogan & Co, both located in the village of Cartmel. He plans to divide his time between Cartmel and the capital.

Once the two years of the lease are up, the owners of the London property, Portman Estates, plan to redevelop the building.

The restaurant is located on the former site of Michael Moore restaurant, which closed in February this year.