Latest opening: Park Row
What: A fully immersive DC-inspired venue inspired by some of the Batman comics' most famous characters, including The Penguin, Harley Quinn, The Joker, and Catwoman located in the huge subterranean Art Deco building that was once home to Marco Pierre White’s Titanic.
Who: The project the brainchild of former The Fat Duck Group CEO James Bulmer who has put together a superhero team of industry professionals including Karl O’Dell, former head chef at Texture; former Savoy Grill head chef Kim Woodward; Leyre Pedrazuela, a previous Bake off: The Professionals contestant and former executive pastry chef at South Lodge Hotel & Spa; and sommelier Milena de Waele who has worked at The Birley Clubs and Texture.
The food: Park Row’s food offer is split firmly into two camps. The majority of the vast space is given over to The Iceberg Lounge, run by Batman character and Oswald Cobblepot, AKA The Penguin, as the narrative goes, but which is actually overseen by Woodward. As you might expect, seafood is a significant part of the offer, with oysters (raw, baked and fried) on the menu as well as caviar; lobster thermidor; and seafood cocktail but there’s also plenty of other brasserie style dishes on the menu. Highlights include the Big Belly Burger; a truffle glazed whole chicken; steak tartare; and an unsurprisingly extravagant peppercorn crusted 28-day aged USDA chateaubriand. The Monarch Theatre, by contrast, is a totally different experience. Set within a silver box to one side of the The Iceberg Lounge, the 20-seat restaurant has floor-to-ceiling screens and 360-degree projection mapping that tell a story of heroes and villains to accompany O’Dell’s 11-course tasting menu. Dishes here are more striking (when the dim lighting permits you can see them) and include a ‘poisonous’ mushroom made from a parfait; scallop, caviar and white chocolate; and smoked eel, yuzu and pork rib.
The vibe: Hard to quantify this. Despite the comic-inspired immersive theme The Iceberg Lounge is a chic, grown up space where you can sit in deep blue velvet booths and soak up the live music. The Monarch Theatre is a different beast with an altogether more energetic vibe that is partly dictated by the group you happen to be sat with and the assault on the senses that every course, and its video accompaniment, bring.
And another thing: While owners Wonderland Restaurants have been at pains to ensure that Park Row is not just for Batman geeks there are plenty of subtle references to the characters and films to be found if you know what you’re looking for. The restaurant itself takes its name from the place in Gotham city where Bruce Wayne's parents were killed in the Batman story, but other references are a bit more esoteric. How many will you be able to spot?
77 Brewer Street, London, W1F 9ZN
www.parkrowlondon.co.uk
