Des McDonald to open Le Chalet on Selfridges’ roof

By Lauren Houghton

- Last updated on GMT

A rendering of Le Chalet at Selfridges
A rendering of Le Chalet at Selfridges

Related tags Restaurant

Restaurateur Des McDonald will open new Alpine-style restaurant Le Chalet on the rooftop of Selfridges from 22 October until late February. 

The winter restaurant concept will have 120 covers, including seats around the bar and dining counter. The restaurant will serve an ‘Alpine-inspired’ barbecue menu and also houses a crab and shellfish bar. There will also be a log cabin on the terrace area and a hot chocolate cocktail bar.

The kitchen will be headed up by Chris Dargavel, previously head chef at On the Roof with Q, while the menu will be overseen by group executive chef of Des McDonald Restaurants Lee Bull. Le Chalet’s general manager will be Fergal Dooley, previously of Holborn Dining Room and the bar will be run by Allan Farrell, former Sushihno bar manager.

Le Chalet will take over the rooftop space that previously housed McDonald’s On the Roof with Q summer barbecue restaurant. On the Roof with Q will close on the 11 October, before the space is converted into a ‘winter playground’ for its reopening on the 22 October.

McDonald said: “I am delighted to be opening another rooftop concept, Le Chalet at Selfridges. On the Roof with Q was such a great success and we’re really excited to transform it for winter.”

Traditional ski chalet

Le Chalet has been designed by Alexander Waterworth interiors, taking inspiration from the idea of a traditional ski chalet, and will feature ferns, timber branches and soft lighting to create a wintry atmosphere.

Selfridges’ food and restaurants director Nathan Herrmann said: “We wanted to create an enchanted winter wonderland on the roof of Selfridges this Christmas.

“Customers to the roof will be greeted with a restaurant inspired by traditional ski lodges serving seasonal wintry dishes and an exceptional hot chocolate bar. We are sure this winter wonderland will be a huge success with our customers looking for a truly magical dining experience.”

Seasonal food

The menu at Le Chalet will take inspiration from Q Grill,​ another of McDonald’s barbecue restaurants, and will use local suppliers and seasonal produce.

“We’ve got a great team at On the Roof with Q and they will be delivering a truly unique Alpine-style BBQ menu for Le Chalet, inspired by Q Grill and paired with hearty, winter dishes,” explained McDonald.

Dishes on offer will include starters such as Cornish crab served with pickled celeriac and Colman’s mustard, and Peppered tuna served with wasabi avocado. Mains will include Buttermilk crispy chicken with blue cheese fondue, Lobster macaroni, and Spit roasted suckling pig with apple and black pudding fritters.

The dessert menu will feature ‘wintry’ offerings such as Eggnog snow egg, Apple streusel with custard, and Brandy and vanilla rice pudding.

Juicery and ‘choctails’

Le Chalet’s drinks choice will include ​The Juicery Après-Ski Menu’, a health and wellness drinks menu. This will serve drinks such as Superfood hot chocolate, Espresso maca, Superpower espresso shots and Superfood teas.

At the hot chocolate cocktail bar, ‘choctails’ on offer will include the El Dorado, which will be a mixture of El Dorado, cinnamon and hot chocolate, and the Nutella, which will be made from hazelnut with Amaretto, dark chocolate and hot chocolate. 

Related news

Show more

Follow us

Hospitality Guides

View more

Generation Next