Restaurant Radar: June 2021

HUŎ​
Neighbourhood restaurant HUŎ opens its doors in Chelsea this month. Launched by the team behind Notting Hill restaurant ULI the Asian restaurant serves a menu of dishes from around China and southeast Asia prepared by head chef Yam Bahaeur Gurumg using traditional Chinese, Thai, Malay and Singaporean disciplines. The menu kicks off with snacks and small bites such as wok-fried daikon cakes with bean sprouts; five spice pork ribs; and asparagus with black bean, chilli and ginger before moving into sections including fish and seafood, meat, poultry and vegetarian, curries and rice and noodles. The restaurant’s light interior blends bleached timber banquettes and flooring and a white timber raft ceiling and the venue has four additional pavement tables for when the weather permits.
9 Park Walk, London SW10 0AJ​
www.huo.london​​

Ave Mario​​
Big Mamma’s largest and most audacious restaurant to date opens towards the end of the month. Called Ave Mario, the 295-cover Covent Garden venue is billed as a cheeky interpretation of a church where ‘sins are forgotten, not forgiven’. Divided into three sections, the space features a large skylight-lit dining room with a 3,500 bottle wine wall, two outdoor terraces and a 70s-inspired basement with a sunken kitchen. The kitchen at Ave Mario will be run by Big Mamma’s youngest-ever head chef, 23-year-old Andrea Zambrano. He has drawn inspiration from across Italy to create a menu of entirely new dishes, with no crossover with the group’s other London restaurants, the equally irreverent Gloria and Circolo Popolare. Let’s Ave it...
15 Henrietta Street, London WC2E 8QG​​
bigmammagroup.com/en​​​

Los Mochis​​​
Located on the former Geales fish and chip restaurant in Notting Hill, Los Mochis is bringing Mexican and Japanese fusion to west London. The restaurant will serve classic MexiCali dishes combined with Asian ingredients, with a 22-strong ‘Gangster Taco’ menu the core of its food offer, alongside a range of ceviches, tostadas, tiraditos, quesadillas and maki rolls. The two-storey restaurant will house an upstairs bar serving creative tequila and mescal-based cocktails alongside a good selection of small batch artisanal agaves and will be open until midnight.
2-4 Farmer Street, Notting Hill, London W8 7SN​​​
www.losmochis.co.uk​​​​

Fork​​​​
Former The Dairy head chef Richard Falk has opened a restaurant in the East Sussex town of Lewes today (1 June). On the former site of Limetree Kitchen, Fork is billed as a modern interpretation of a traditional neighbourhood restaurant and will serve a modern British menu that’s ‘innovative yet accessible’. Options at lunch include Trenchmore flank with salsa verde, smoked bone marrow and toasted milk bread; salad of British grains with tahini, fresh peas, celery and mint; and Oakfield farm sausage roll with house brown sauce. Evening dishes include Stennington lamb rack and offal, wilted gem, anchovy and capers; young leeks, almond praline and lovage; and English strawberries, whipped yoghurt, elderflower and feuilletine. The interior of features English oak clad walls, stools and table tops, a stainless bar and kitchen, red quarry tiled flooring and vintage Vico Magistretti dining chairs.
14 Station St, Lewes BN7 2DA​​​​
https://www.fork-lewes.co.uk/​​​​​

Al Mare​
Jumeirah’s Knightsbridge hotel The Carlton Tower will reopen this month with a new flagship restaurant called Al Mare. The restaurant will be overseen by the hotel’s newly appointed executive chef Marco Calenzo, who was most recently executive chef at Zuma. The menu is described as offering ‘light, modern takes on Italian classics alongside more innovative creations’. Example dishes include yellowtail with garlic puree and Etna lemon gel and dressing; ravioli del plin with guinea fowl; risotto made with Piana di Navelli saffron; and an ‘elevated’ veal Milanese. The drinks offer will be focused on cocktails, Italian aperitifs and digestifs, served tableside from an aperitivo trolley, including a list of rare and vintage Amaro, vermouths, grappas and eau de vie. The wine list, meanwhile, is billed as minimalist, focusing on ‘fine wine and hidden gems’ with wines sourced from well-known names in Tuscany, Piedmont, Burgundy and Bordeaux alongside smaller producers across the Mediterranean.
1 Cadogan Place Ground Floor The Carlton Tower Jumeirah, London SW1X 9PY​​
https://www.jumeirah.com/en/dine/london/carlton-tower-al-mare​​​

Rudy’s​​
The Manchester-founded Neapolitan pizza brand is making a move into the capital with the opening of a restaurant - its eighth in total - on the former Wahaca site on Soho’s Wardour Street. Rudy’s keeps things simple with a 14-strong pizza menu featuring the likes of marinara; margherita; salame; carni; and salsiccia del nonno - a white pizza topped with chilli flakes, fior di latte, smoked mozzarella, ground fennel sausage, caramelised red onion, parmesan, and basil, all of which are cooked in a wood-fired oven for 60 seconds in accordance with Neapolitan pizza tradition.
80 Wardour Street, London, W1F 0TF​​
www.rudyspizza.co.uk​​​

El Pastor Soho​
The Hart Group’s growing family of taquerias is getting a new member with the launch of a Soho venue on the former HIX Soho site. The two-floor restaurant has a ground floor dining room that channels the faded grandeur of many of the late 19th Century buildings of Mexico City, while below will be basement bar Mezcaleria El Colmillo, named after the nightclub El Pastor’s co-founders operated in the 90s and 00s in Mexico City. Expect tacos - chicken, pastor, crab, and baja - as well as a tight range of ceviches, tostadas, salsas and sharing plates.
66-70 Brewer St, Soho, London W1F 9UP​
www.tacoselpastor.co.uk​​​​

Dean Banks at The Pompadour​​
Haar chef-patron Dean Banks is opening a restaurant in the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian hotel this month. Opening on 9 June, it will be a tasting menu only restaurant with the MasterChef finalist using locally sourced produce, with meat from all over Scotland, shellfish and fish from Fife and Angus, and organic vegetables from a farm it works with in Fife. Dishes on the launch menu will include hand-dived king scallop, kaffir lime leaf and kimchi spring onion; and North Sea cod with Thai green crumb, carrot, coconut and lemongrass.
Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian, Edinburgh, EH12AB​​
www.deanbanks.co.uk​​​

Prevost​
Chef Lee Clarke is reopen his Peterborough restaurant Prevost in the newly refurbished Haycock Manor Hotel in Cambridgeshire this month. Housed in an orangery-style building in the hotel with a glass atrium overlooking the hotel’s kitchen gardens, Prevost will open on 22 June and serve seasonal and locally sourced five or eight course tasting menus. Clarke is also overseeing all the food and beverage at the hotel including breakfast, afternoon tea and at the more casual Haycock Kitchen, which will serve a brasserie-style menu featuring seasonal grills and salads.
Old Great North Road, Wansford, Cambridgeshire, PE8 6JA​
haycock.co.uk​​

Holy Carrot ​
Set within Knightsbridge wellness and beauty destination Urban Retreat, Holy Carrot is hoping to offer Londoners a ‘new way of experiencing and enjoying vegan food’ with a menu that ‘focuses on using ethically sourced seasonal produce prepared in a mindful manner’. The restaurant has been created by former Vogue producer Irina Linovich, who wanted to combine a healthy and ethical approach to food with an element of fun. All dishes are free from preservatives, refined sugar, additives and are ‘led by the very best seasonal organic British produce’. Dishes include organic glazed tofu with an aubergine, red pepper and peanut sauce; and raw red pepper burrito; and Holy Carrot Cake.
2-4 Hans Cres, London SW1X 0LH​
holycarrot.co.uk​​

Temaki​
This month will see the arrival of handroll sushi specialist Temaki on Brixton’s Market Row. Executive chef and Japanese ‘rice specialist’ Shaulan Steenson will oversee the menu, which will major on fresh cuts of the sushi grade fish wrapped in crisp seaweed with golden Uruchimai rice. Signature roll combinations include white and brown crabmeat with egg yolk and white soy; tuna, fresh wasabi and nikiri soy; and ‘unagi’ eel with its own sauce, cucumber and wasabi. The menu will also feature a regularly rotating seasonal special, as well as a concise selection of small plates to accompany the temaki such as toro with smoked salt and buckwheat; and salmon skin crisps with chilli and salt. A range of wine, sake and Japanese beers will accompany the food, alongside a short menu of bottled cocktails by Karol Bobinski of Fire Water Workshop, specifically crafted for Temaki with Japanese ‘flavour twists’ on the classic serves.
12 market row, London SW9 8LB​
temaki.co.uk​​

Camden Beer Hall​
Billed as an ‘impressive refurbishment of the original bar’ within Camden Town Brewery, Camden Beer Hall will see high profile Italophile chef  Theo Randall create a menu that fuses Italian cookery with ‘dishes you might find at a Bavarian-inspired beer hall’. They’ll be pizzas made with focaccia dough, small plates and larger sharing dishes such as pappardelle with slow-cooked beef shoulder, chianti tomato sauce and rosemary. As one would expect, the beer is piped straight from the brewery with  24 taps offering Camden’s full core range - including Hells and Pale - as well as the Arch 55 creations, Camden’s small batch innovation series, produced in the brewhouse next to the bar.
55-59 Wilkin Street Mews, London NW5 3ED​
camdentownbrewery.com​​

Maru​​
The team behind Japanese restaurant Taka are to relaunch the group's Shepherd Market site in London's Mayfair with a new omakase-style concept called Maru. Set to launch next month on 15 June, Maru will be led by Taka executive chef Taiji Maruyama and serve a 20-course 'farm-to-table' tasting menu, presented omakase style, for £160 per person. The restaurant will feature an 'intimate' 10-cover counter, with the restaurant only taking 10 bookings in total each evening. Maru's chefs will operate behind the counter, serving all aspects of the meal to their guests, including the drinks. The omakase menu will be influenced by what Maruyama decides to serve and by what ingredients are seasonally and locally available, in line with the farm-to-table approach, with the Japanese culinary technique of dry ageing fish featuring prominently across different dishes.
18 Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London W1J 7QH​​

Habas ​
North West-based chef restaurateur Simon Shaw will look to the Middle East later this month as he opens Habas in Manchester city. Mooted in early 2019 and now expected to open on 3 June, the restaurant and live music bar follows the success of Shaw’s El Gato Negro and Canto brands and will bring his total number of restaurants up to five. On Brown Street in the space that was most recently home to Panama Hatty’s, Habas will offer a modern interpretation of Middle Eastern dishes ‘influenced by the region’s rich and varied cultures’.
43A Brown St, Manchester M2 2JJ​
habas.co.uk​​

Kalimera​
Chef Télémaque Argyriou is to launch his contemporary Greek concept Kalimera as a permanent restaurant in London's Crouch End. Having first been established by Argyriou as a gourmet street food concept back in 2015, the opening follows several pop ups in the capital. Serving 'modern interpretations' of Greek and Mediterranean dishes, the dinner menu features dishes including basil tzatziki with smacked cucumbers, toasted walnuts and dill oil; pistachio panfried feta in crispy filo with chilli honey and baba ghanoush; monkfish skewers with grilled courgette, fennel, skordalia and salsa verde; and house moussaka. A more casual lunch menu will include street food dishes such souvlaki wraps, pies, and soups served with side dishes; as well as boxes with chicken, lamb or halloumi and a selection of salads, vegetables, pita bread, hummus and tzatziki.
43 Topsfield Parade, Tottenham Lane, London N8 8PT​
https://www.kalimera-streetfood.co.uk/​​

Rum Kitchen Brighton​​
Caribbean-inspired restaurant and bar concept Rum Kitchen has acquired the former Jamie’s Italian site near Brighton seafront for its first location outside the capital. Close to Brighton’s The Lanes area on Black Lion Street, the 7,000 sq ft site has been vacant since Jamie’s Italian collapsed in 2019. Opening on 11 June, Rum Kitchen Brighton will seat 300 covers internally over two floors. Rum Kitchen launched in 2013 in the Notting Hill building that was once home to the Mangrove Club, which was famously run by Black community activist Frank Crichlow in the 1960s. Two further London sites have followed in Brixton and Shoreditch. It offers a Caribbean-inspired menu - including the likes of curried goat and jerk chicken, alongside over 100 different rums.
11 Black Lion St, Brighton BN1 1ND​​
therumkitchen.com​​​

The Italian Greyhound​
Marylebone restaurant Bernardi’s is to relaunch later this month as The Italian Greyhound bar and dining room. Described as an ‘evolution’ of Bernardi’s, The Italian Greyhound will continue to be overseen by restaurateurs Marcello and Gabriel Bernardi and Barry Hirst, and will offer ‘modern Italian food and drinks’. The venue features an expansive bar area, with its own entrance for guests looking to drop in for a casual drink or small plate. Head chef Yohei Furuhashi – previously of the River Café, Dinings SW3 and Petersham Nurseries – will serve a menu of ‘simple, produce-led dishes’ that includes Sicilian chickpea fritters with sage; Cornish crab with roseval potato, celery hearts and capers; and John Dory with Italian spinach, broad beans and bottarga.
62 Seymour St, London W1H 5BN​
https://www.theitaliangreyhound.co.uk/​​

Clean Kitchen Club​​
Vegan concept Clean Kitchen Club is to open its first restaurant space at Buck Street Market in London's Camden next month. Spanning two floors within the 'eco-conscious' shipping container market, Clean Kitchen Camden will have space for up to 42 covers upstairs and 12 downstairs. The menu features a range of plant-based burgers, meal bowls, wraps and salads, alongside a selection of sides and desserts. Options include the 'Clean' burger, featuring a homemade vegan patty, lettuce, tomato, gherkin, vegan cheese, vegan mayo and ketchup; a chick'n katsu bowl with tempura chick'n, katsu sauce, slaw, rocket and brown rice; and loaded fries topped with sriracha mayo, crushed peanuts, toasted sesame, crispy onions, and melted vegan cheese.
192, 198 Camden High St, London NW1 8QP​​
https://cleankitchen.club/​​​

Tonkotsu Brighton​
Ramen restaurant chain Tonkotsu has secured its first permanent restaurant outside the capital, in Brighton. Taking over the former Polpo site on New Road, the new regional location will be the group's 14th restaurant and is billed as Tonkotsu's 'first standalone site' outside of London. It will hold 50 covers, with space for an additional eight seats outside. The menu at Tonkotsu Brighton will be broadly similar to that found at the group's other restaurants, and is expected to include the brand’s signature tonkotsu ramen, as well as its chilli chicken ramen; vegan mushroom miso ramen; chicken kara-age; and varieties of gyoza such as classic pork, ginger and garlic, as well as king prawn, and shiitake and ginger.
20 New Rd, Brighton BN1 1UF​
https://tonkotsu.co.uk/​​

Smashing Plates​​
Restaurateur Neofytos Christodoulou has left Greek restaurant The Athenian he co-founded to launch Smashing Plates in London Bridge. Located on a former the Athenian site, his new venture will serve ‘a fresh and unorthodox take on Greek and Cypriot street food classics’ when it opens on 20 June. A signature gyros will the mainstay of the men, with chicken, pork, lamb and plant-based options available alongside a range of salads. Desserts, meanwhile, will include a spiced cinnamon pita and handmade baklava. Further Smashing Plates restaurants in the capital are expected to follow.
59 St Thomas Street, London, SE1 3QX​​
www.smashingplates.uk​​​