Latest opening: Cycene
What: An ambitious restaurant within the Shoreditch townhouse that was once home to the Michelin-starred Mãos. Meaning kitchen in Old English, Cycene offers a £170 10-course tasting menu that can be paired with either a selection of natural wines or house-made fruit juices and ferments. Blue Mountain School - the achingly-trendy gallery/high-end retail space of which Cycene is part - has been extensively remodelled. There is now a bar on the ground floor where diners start their experience and the former Mãos kitchen has been extended and packed with the latest kitchen kit.
Who: Up and coming chef Theo Clench is leading the culinary side of the project. The chef has a heavyweight CV that includes spells at Trinity and The Clove Club. His last few roles have seen him head up kitchens - first at Portland and then a brief spell at Akoko - but this is by far his most high-profile outing to date. He has big shoes to fill, with the restaurant at Blue Mountain School initially led by Nuno Mendes and latterly his talented right hand man Edoardo Pellicano. As with Mãos, Blue Mountain School founders James and Christie Brown are closely involved with all aspects of the project, coordinating the build, the design and sourcing of the tableware, furniture and art (in many cases, the pair use the same high-end craftspeople they showcase elsewhere in Chance Street venue).
The vibe: The look and feel of Cycene is reminiscent of Mãos with an almost domestic aesthetic. The entrance to the restaurant has been moved to the other side of the building and - for the first time - the venture has a sign (it was previously accessed via an unmarked grey door). The dining room still seats around 16-covers but now has tablecloths, with other design details including wooden panelling, tall candles and a striking Frank Auerbach charcoal. The new downstairs bar is more moody and minimalist, featuring a long bar of thick oak and brushed stainless steel. The service kitchen retains roughly the same layout as before although its kitchen island has been raised from the standard 90cm to 105cm (Clench says this is much better for the team's posture).
©Rebecca Dickson
The food: Clench’s cooking blends modern and classical elements and is notably clean. Highlights from the launch menu include chicken liver parfait dusted with red pepper; lightly-poached oyster with a sauce made from cucumber that’s topped with Oscietra caviar; scallop with brown butter and Schrenkii caviar; aged turbot with a sauce made from its caramelised bones; and an ethereal chocolate dessert that’s somewhere between a cake and a mousse that’s served with sweet potato ice cream.
To drink: James is now overseeing the restaurant’s low intervention-focused wine list. The selection changes regularly with ‘rare and unique bottles’ rotated from an offsite cellar. As with Mãos, diners can also opt for a non-alcoholic pairing that features various house-made kombuchas and other ferments. There is also now a minimalist cocktail menu that lists a gin and tonic, negroni and a brown butter old fashioned.
And another thing: While there are some similarities with the space’s former occupant - including the intention for the experience to ‘emulate the feeling of dinner in a private home’ with one of the courses being served in the kitchen - Cycene is a different proposition to Mãos. The food has fewer Asian influences and is largely based on classic technique, albeit conceived and executed in a contemporary way. Cycene is also a more complete and flexible experience than what came before in that it doesn’t require its main dining room guests to be seated and served at the same time. James is clear that Cycene is a more ambitious project than Mãos and we're inclined to agree. Changing the name might have lost the venue its star, but following the pandemic, the departure of two chefs and tweaks to the original concept Blue Mountain School's restaurant probably was in need of a fresh start. With much more space to grow, a low volume of covers and owners with big ambitions for the project, Clench is in a strong position to make his mark on London's eating out scene.
©Rory van Millingen
