Robin Gill to relaunch The Manor as an Italian restaurant while closing in on first central London site

By Georgia Bronte

- Last updated on GMT

Robin Gill reopens The Manor as an Italian restaurant while closing in on first central London site

Related tags Restaurant London

Clapham based The Manor will close on New Year’s Day as chef patron Robin Gill gears up to launch his new concept, Sorella, on the same site.

Dean Parker, head chef at the popular South London bistro, will remain at the site, taking the helm of the new Italian restaurant.

The move marks the start of what looks set to be a busy year for Gill’s The Dairy group, as it is believed to be opening an ‘ambitious’ central London site sometime in 2018.

Sorella’s menu will take inspiration from the Amalfi coast, where Gill spent time working.

“My time spent working in Campania in southern Italy has probably had the biggest impression on my approach to cooking,” he says.

“Sorella will hone in on all that we love about the Italian attitude to cooking and eating.”

Sorella’s menu will comprise antipasti such as fried olives; crispy anchovies; and truffle arancini with a primi menu including “Julie Girl” cuttlefish linguine; cep gnocchi with girolles; and a seasonal ragù starting with venison pappardelle. Larger secondi will comprise large cuts of meat, served family-style, as well as a daily fish dish.

Sweet options will include Pump Street chocolate with fennel gelato, alongside a frozen affogato with homemade coffee liquor.

Drinks options will maintain the Italian theme, with the likes of seasonal bellinis, a cherry smoked negroni, a bergamot Garibaldi and a house spritz.

The group has been working closely with Indie Ecologie on their share of a farm in Sussex, where famers take restaurants’ food waste and turn it into nutrient rich compost used to fertilise their section of the land.

The produce from the farm then dictates what will appear on the restaurants’ menus.  

“It has been a dream of mine for years to open an Italian focused restaurant and now we have a farm that dream will become a reality,” says the chef.

“We will be working with the farm and our beloved suppliers to create a true neighbourhood Italian restaurant showcasing produce in a simple but thoughtful way.”

On the site of The Manor, Sorella will be just a few streets away from sister site The Dairy, which opened in 2013. The group opened another restaurant in the same area, Counter Culture, earlier this year.

Gill recently closed his Paradise Garage restaurant, admitting extended building work on a hotel opposite and muted growth in the local area began to impact trading.

 

 

Related topics Restaurant Openings Casual Dining

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