Tomos Parry partners with the Smoking Goat team for his first London restaurant

Brat, named after the colloquial term for ‘turbot’, will serve British produce cooked over open wood-fired grills.

It has the backing of Smoking Goat’s Ben Chapman and Brian Hannon, and will launch above the duo’s newly-opened Shoreditch site​​ early next year.

Parry says the 60-70-cover dining room will have a separate entrance and a "completely different aesthetic" to its neighbour, with two grills surrounded by wooden counter seating.

The chef, who left Kitty Fisher’s late last year, says Brat is inspired by the coastal town of Getaria in Spain, but will not focus on Spanish cuisine.   

“It’s not a big south American-style fire-pit but more that gentle style they use in the Basque country,” Parry told BigHospitality​. “I’m inspired by their approach. They take fish from the sea and grill and serve it with minimal fuss and garnish, it’s not covered in sauces.

“It’s my favourite way to cook but the only downside is all the technical regulations required in London. All the money’s gone on ventilation costs, we’ve had a big extraction put in, but it’s something you’re prepared to sacrifice in order to cook over wood.”

Dishes will include Welsh-caught sea trout cooked over cedar wood with Jersey cream and herbs; slow-grilled red mullet; and offal hot pot with laverbread and potatoes, which is loosely based on the Welsh dish Cawl.

Parry says the menu will also feature some "quite special" Welsh mutton, grilled and served "simply", similar to his approach at Kitty Fisher’s.

“They’re 4-6 years old which is quite old for the sheep to be killed, so they become quite fatty and strong – it’s comparable to Galician beef which are older cows. It’ll be aged for a long time so has a very deep flavour.”

The price point is yet to be finalised, but Parry expects the menu to range from £8-£16, with "nothing over the £25 mark" except the beef or turbot, which will be priced by weight.

He will be collaborating on the wine list with Keeling Andrew & Co, the new wine import company set up by the founders of Noble Rot, to create an "approachable" selection with several sherries they are beginning to bring into the country.

Collaborative partnership​

Parry says his partnership with the Smoking Goat team came about through a long-standing friendship with Chapman.

“I’ve known Ben for many years. We used to chat about restaurants and have very similar tastes. When I left Kitty Fisher’s to open my own place, Ben had a spare couple of months and before we knew it we decided to do something together…it felt like a natural progression.”

Parry will predominantly focus on the food and menus, while Chapman and Hannon – who also founded Kiln – will support the running of the restaurant.

“London is an increasingly challenging restaurant market, so working collaboratively makes sense,” says Hannon.

“I think the benefits of smaller restaurant ventures working together is in bringing together our collective experience and knowledge. We share ownership of Kiln and Smoking Goat with key team members, some of whom started as CDPs not too long ago, so working in this way on Brat is a natural progression for us.”

Parry expects Brat to open for a minimum of five days a week from early next year.