Restaurant radar: April 2023

Noble Rot Mayfair​
In Shepherd Market within the former site of longstanding French brasserie Le Boudin Blanc, Dan Keeling and Mark Andrew’s third London restaurant will offer a menu ‘focused on indulgence’. Headed by Perilla alumnus Adam Wood, the kitchen will offer dishes including warm smoked eel, baked potato and Avruga caviar; sea bream and oyster tartare; and a whole roast duck with Chambertin sauce and potato and cep gratin for two. The new site will offer the group’s ‘most ambitious’ wine programme yet balancing ‘outrageously delicious sub-£40 finds’ with rare vintages of Château d’Yquem and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. “We love rejuvenating old buildings: both our original Rotter Towers on Lambs Conduit Street, and second restaurant in the old site of the famous Gay Hussar on Greek St are marinated in hospitality history,” Keeling said. “This, our third place, is certainly not lacking in its own rackety and scandalous past. With its winding staircases, wonky floors, wood panelling and countless other quirky period features, 5 Trebeck St first opened as The Running Horse in the mid-1800s, a handsome pub that earned a ripe reputation with Scotland Yard over the decades.”
5 Trebeck Street, London W1J 7LT​
noblerot.co.uk/restaurant/mayfair​​

The Three Horseshoes​

Margot Henderson makes her first foray into the pub world this month with the opening of The Three Horseshoes in Batcombe in Somerset. The 18th century pub, dining room and lodgings will have a cosy wooden-beamed bar featuring flagstone floors, antique benches and an inglenook fireplace where a bar menu of snacks including smoked cod’s roe, patted pork; and veal mince on toast will be served. Over in the dining room expect more robust British cooking in dishes such as devilled crab and focaccia; chicken and tarragon pie; and gilled brill, fennel, chard and green sauce. Those who stay over will be greeted to Margot’s ‘full Somerset’ breakfast of bacon and eggs, pastries, and fresh bread.
Batcombe, Shepton Mallet, BA4 6HE​
thethreehorseshoesbatcombe.co.uk​ ​

Story Cellar​
Tom Seller’s Covent Garden restaurant Story Cellar will launch in Covent Garden early this month. Located in Neals Yard, the rotisserie-style restaurant will be set over two floors and will have counter-style seating at street-level, while downstairs will have a handful of tables set beside the walk-in wine cellars that can be booked for private dining. Menu items will include starters such as pig terrine; snail bolognaise on toast with wild garlic butter; a salad of grilled roots, smoked onion and Old Winchester; Carlingford oysters; 12-hour burrata with ‘oil of life’; and a plate of house cured meats sourced from Bermondsey-based The Ham & Cheese Co. Rotisserie chicken will be available in half or whole portions served with fries and salad. It is the first of two projects Sellers is involved with this year with the chef due to open Dovetale at 1 Dover Yard at the forthcoming 1 Hotel Mayfair.
17 Neals Yard, London WC2H 9DP​
storycellar.co.uk​​

Embers​

Brighton chefs and long-term friends Dave Marrow and Isaac Bartlett-Copeland will open a new restaurant in the seaside city this month serving Sussex produce cooked on a wood-fire. Called Embers, the new 42-cover restaurant will open in Brighton’s Lanes on 5 April and will focus on creating bold flavours from locally grown ingredients, cooked entirely on a medieval wood-fire cage positioned over a fire in the centre of the restaurant. The succinct menu will see elements of every dish cooked entirely over local, kiln-dried ash and birch wood, with launch dishes to include glazed lamb ribs with candied ginger, kimchi, and furikake; smokey chicken leg, crispy skin, n’duja aioli, and honey butter; wagyu denver steak, with Roscoff onion, and coffee hollandaise; miso celeriac, koji soaked engiri, fresh spring truffle, pickled sea vegetables, and mushroom XO; and banana split, parsnip and rosemary ice cream, toffee sauce, and praline. Marrow will head up the kitchen with dishes served sharing-style.
42 Meeting House Ln, Brighton, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 1HB​
embersbrighton.co.uk​​

Birch Selsdon​
Lee Westcott has finally been confirmed as the chef who will be heading up the restaurants at new Croydon-based hotel Birch when it opens this spring. The former Pensons and Typing Room chef will oversee the food at Birch’s signature restaurant Elodie as well as all-day dining British brasserie Vervain. Opening on 27 April Elodie is described as being ‘driven by nature’ and will serve a seasonal five course tasting menu celebrating the best produce the British Isles as well as using foraged for ingredients and those taken from Selsdon’s grounds. Located within the 19th century mansion house, Elodie will have space for 100 covers in the Victorian period dining room. Vervain will launch earlier, on 13 April, and will be a seasonal British brasserie that will be open to members and overnight guests for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Its menu will comprise small and large plates as well as a family style Sunday roast.
126 Addington Roadd, South Croydon CR2 8YA​
birchcommunity.com/selsdon​​

Fish Shop​

The Audley Public House and Mount St. Restaurant operator Artfarm will open a ‘modern and laid-back’ fish restaurant in the Scottish Highlands towards the end of the month. In the village of Ballater just east of the Cairngorms National Park, Fish Shop will be managed by husband-and-wife team Marcus and Jasmine Sherry, operating as executive chef and general manager respectively. The menu will focus on shellfish and day boat fish, with the addition of game, meat and vegetables from surrounding farms and estates. Dishes will include partan bree soup made with velvet crab; Cape Wrath oysters; and barbecued whole plaice. Drinks, meanwhile, will focus on biodynamic and low carbon footprint wines from British and European vineyards. The adjoining fishmonger will offer seafood from the same boats and providers as the restaurant and will offer a selection of fish and shellfish alongside preserved seafood, Blackthorn sea salt, store cupboard essentials, seasonal vegetables, and wines.
3 Netherley Place, Ballater, Aberdeenshire AB35 5QE ​
fishshopballater.co.uk​​

The Gurkhas​

A modern Nepalese restaurant will open on London’s Great Portland Street this month from the team behind the steak and sushi bar Hot Stone in Islington. Named after Nepal soldiers who have fought for Britain since 1815, The Gurkhas is being launched by Nepal-born Shrabaneswor Rai, who is also director and co-founder of Hot Stone in Islington, and who is from a Gurkha family. The head chef will be Joe Allen, whose wife is Nepalese, and father-in-law a Gurkha. The menu will be divided into snacks, small and large plates, sides and desserts with dishes such as Gurkha pickles; kukura ko jhol momo (steamed chicken dumplings in a tomato and soybean soup); mutton sekuwa with onion and coriander; chargrilled monkfish choila; and pork chop with sisnu (nettle). The restaurant will also serve a six-course tasting menu priced at £75.
110 Great Portland St, London W1W 6PQ​
thegurkhasrestaurant.com​​

Riviera​
Emerald Hospitality Group, the operator behind London venues El Norte, Zuaya and Como Garden, will launch its latest venture this month – a southern French concept called Riviera. Taking over the former Sake no Hana site on St James’s Street, the restaurant will open on 21 April, be split over a two levels and launch in stages. On the first floor, diners will find the main restaurant, which serves 120 covers alongside an open plan kitchen. Meanwhile, the ground floor will be home to Riviera’s bar and lounge, opening on 11 May 2023, with a capacity of 60 covers. An additional 54-cover outdoor terrace and additional al fresco lounge area will launch in June. The ‘Cote De Azur-inspired’ menu is described as ‘fusing traditional ingredients with creative recipes’. Dishes will include lobster with yuzu butter; grapefruit king crab salad; lemongrass-marinated scallops; and pistachio millefeuille.
23 St James's St, London SW1A 1HA​
riviera-london.co.uk​​

Boudica​
Chef Luigi Vairo is to head up the kitchen at new Battersea-based restaurant and bar Boudica when it opens on 28 April. The all-day dining destination will serve an international and British-influenced food and drink menu that will include dishes such as beef tartare with mustard dressing and pickled mushrooms; pumpkin amaretto and mascarpone raviolo; salt baked celeriac with miso, calamansi truffle sauce, and seaweed; lamb cutlets with baba ghanoush and spring onions; and 28-day dry aged rib eye steak with pommes Anna. Its cocktail menu is said to reflect the strong character of the restaurant’s namesake, with options including Boudica’s Fury, and The Warrior Queen and the restaurant will also have a secret whisky menu featuring a selection of the founder’s most interesting whiskies.
Boudica House, 12 Palmer Road, London, SW11 4FQ​
boudicalondon.com​​

Ploussard​

Hospitality duo Matt Harris and Tommy Kempton, founders of London cult fried chicken brand Other Side Fried, are to launch a new neighbourhood-style restaurant and wine bar in Battersea Rise. Ploussard will offer a seasonal menu of plates designed to be shared alongside a low-intervention wine list. Harris, who was previously head chef at Lamberts in Balham, will lead the kitchen with Kempton overseeing the front of house. Example dishes set to feature on the menu include smoked cod’s roe and squid ink cracker; lamb and anchovy crumpet; duck liver mousse with quince jelly and toast; BBQ scallop with Jerusalem artichoke and back fat; and gnocchi with winter girolles, Comte and vin jaune cream. Designed by Harris and Kempton, the interiors will feature dark wood booths with oat coloured table tops and tones of burgundy and light pink throughout. The main restaurant will house 34-covers in total, alongside a bar area at the front of the restaurant for counter dining.
97 St John’s Rd, London SW11 1QY​
ploussardlondon.co.uk​​