Henry Harris and Dave Strauss partner to reopen Three Compasses in Farringdon
The former chef-patron at Racine in Knightsbridge is bringing his classic French cooking to the area with the opening of Bouchon Racine on the first floor of the pub. The 45-cover restaurant will have its own entrance and take inspiration from Racine, serving the classic French bourgeois food for which Harris is known.
The ground floor of the Cowcross Street pub will remain as a local pub and is due to reopen before the end of October, with the upstairs restaurant expected to open a couple weeks later following refurbishment.
The move marks a return to pubs for Harris, who was previously chef director of London-based pub group Harcourt Inns, where he oversaw the menus at its venues The Truscott Arms in Maida Vale, The Three Cranes in the City of London; the Coach & Horses in Clerkenwell; and The Crown in Chiswick. Harris left the group in October 2020.
He most recently worked with seafood restaurant group Wright Brothers as chef and beverage director.
Dave Strauss was operations director at steakhouse group Goodman for a decade before joining Mitch Tonks and Matt Prowse’s Rockfish group as restaurant director in 2019. He left the business in June 2022 to become a man of leisure.
The leasehold sale was conducted by Fleurets, with Harris saying: “Andy Frisby (director of Fleurets) was diligent in ensuring things moved along as we neared completion. It wasn’t a straight forward lease assignment so his help was really valued.”
