Gladwin brothers launch The Shed restaurant & bar

Situated in Palace Gardens Terrace, The Shed is currently undergoing a soft opening and is officially launching on 23 October. The Gladwin brothers - Richard, Oliver and Gregory – will bring together their individual skills and experiences to run the 50-cover restaurant, which will serve a menu of British small plates and produce fresh from the family farm.

“We’ve always had this dream and the prospect of bringing all of our skills together and having one outlet to show off our combinational skills is so exciting,” said the restaurant’s head chef Oliver Gladwin, who has previously worked in the kitchens of Oxo Tower, Launceston Place and Just St James, and latterly alongside Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at River Cottage HQ.  

“My two brothers and I were brought up on a vineyard in West Sussex, my mother and father were both professional chefs and our life was always based around having good food, fresh produce that came from the farm and good wine that we made ourselves.

“We raised investment through people who believe in us, our friends and family.”

Farm to fork​

Restaurateur Richard Gladwin, 28, will manage the new venture, having stamped his mark on the hospitality scene in London and New York over the past decade, including the openings of the acclaimed Brawn in Shoreditch and Bunga Bunga in Battersea.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old Gregory Gladwin will supply the restaurant with his own hand-reared livestock from the family farm at Nutbourne in West Sussex, also sourcing premium produce from other local suppliers, with a natural emphasis on the seasonal and the foraged.

Speaking of the prospect of working with his brothers at The Shed, Oliver added: “It’s actually been very stress-free – we get on so well and we spend pretty much every hour of our days here at the moment.

“To be constructive with criticisms during service will actually strengthen our relationship. There can be some sarcastic jokes between us from time-to-time of course, but we’re brothers and we do get on very well.”

The Shed’s menu will range from individual ‘mouthfuls’ of West Mersea Rock Oysters, to sharing plates of home-cured Nutbourne Fennel Seed Salami; from slow cooked dishes of Rabbit Ravioli or Cured Hotsmoked Pheasant Breast, to fast cooked Sussex Rump Beef Steak & Mustard or Crispy Pollock, Lemon Potato Vinaigrette with Foraged Chickweed.

The wine is sourced from independent suppliers, including the Gladwins’ own Nutbourne Vineyard, and The Shed is using the Sussex-based Hepworth Breweries & Co for their beer.

More restaurants...​

The restaurant’s rustic interior was created entirely by Richard and Oliver and the restaurant team. Everything was personally sourced and built;r reclaimed furniture, exposed brickwork, wood, candles, mixed level seating and farm equipment are all bought together under an eight foot tractor bonnet hanging from the ceiling.

The venue also includes a separate bar area and the Butchers Table, allowing for butchery and cooking demonstrations and private dining for up to 14 guests.

Oliver Gladwin went on to reveal that, based on the success of The Shed, he and his brothers hope to open more restaurants together in the future.

“We would definitely branch out, that’s part of our plan,” he said. “This restaurant is so intricate in its own way that to make loads of these wouldn’t be possible.

So the next concept might be slightly different, maybe simpler in the food offering. When I worked with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall I built a wood-fired oven in my garden and I’d love to have a restaurant with a big wood-fired oven of its own, serving things like river beef and stone-baked sour dough and flaming mackerel.”