Latest opening: Brooklands
What: The flagship restaurant of newly-launched luxury hotel The Peninsula London, which has just opened next to Hyde Park Corner. The name Brooklands refers to the Surrey racetrack of the same name and inspired by the hotel owner Sir Michael Kadoorie’s passion for motoring and aviation. Constructed in Surrey in 1907, Brooklands was the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit, home to the Concorde, and the site of significant engineering achievements.
Who: Brooklands' dining room has been designed to pay full-sensory tribute to Concorde, a symbol of the Franco-British partnership that began at Brooklands racetrack. Fittingly, The Peninsula London has brought in one of London’s leading French-born chefs, Claude Bosi, to lead the restaurant. Bosi, who is chef-patron at two Michelin-starred Claude Bosi at Bibendum in Chelsea, has worked with Brooklands chef de cuisine Francesco Dibenedetto – who previously worked as head chef at Bibendum – to develop the restaurant’s menu, which neatly marries British produce with French cooking techniques. Rounding out the senior team is restaurant director Samuel Vouilloux, who previously spent three years working as director and sommelier at the Michelin-starred Restaurant Sylvestre in the French Alps.
The food: The restaurant offers three different tasting menu options with guests able to choose between seven, five or three courses. Designed to balance modernity and classic fine dining, the kitchen adopts a seasonal approach that’s intended to take diners on a tour of the UK’s best produce. Options to feature on the launch menu include some signature Bosi dishes such as Exmoor caviar with Roscoff onion and duck jelly; Great Fen Farm celeriac nosotto with crab and coconut; Racan guinea fowl with sea beet and Scottish razor clams; and Scottish cèpe, banana and crème fraîche. New dishes, meanwhile, include Dorset snails served ‘devil style’; and Devonshire skate with smoke eel and red pepper miso.
To drink: Wine is very much the focus here with head sommelier Gioele Musco taking cues from Lyon-born Bosi’s heritage with a huge range of French vintages alongside an expansive list of New World wines. There’s also an extensive cocktail programme that reimagines classic recipes with ‘modern and playful’ flavours and techniques. Options include the Aldrin, which combines elements of a vodka sour with orange blossom liqueur, peppermint, pine, lemon and egg white; and the Disco, a tropical spin on a negroni with peach and passion fruit notes combined with Campari, sweet vermouth and pisco.
The vibe: Brooklands’ aesthetic commitment to its theme is impressive. The restaurant dining room features an arresting scale replica of Concorde, designed for the restaurant by Archer Humphryes and created by manufacturer Discommon, which spans the entire ceiling. The aluminium model appears to soar above the dining tables, as projected light evokes movement and a floor-to-ceiling, digital artwork depicts abstract patterns to signify the journey through the atmosphere. Underfoot, the carpet displays the constellations as they would have been seen from the plane. Additionally, many pieces of furniture are replicas from the original Concorde lounge; while the chairs are designed by French designer Pierre Paulin.
And another thing: Those dining at Brooklands restaurant would be wise to leave enough time to also visit the adjoining Brooklands Bar (above), which offers an extraordinary view over the capital that encompasses nearly all of London’s premier landmarks. Further epitomising the Brooklands theme, many of the bar’s distinctive design elements echo cutting-edge achievements in automotive and aviation design. The geodetic ceiling is inspired by the work of Barnes Wallis, who was instrumental in the development of airframe structures in the early 20th century (as well as the 'bouncing' bomb); the carriage seating and leather-lined wall panelling recall those of the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost; and the glass chandelier is inspired by the blades of its turbine engines. Posters and pictures, along with a library cabinet stocked with books, maps and historic items populate the walls, having also been gifted from Brooklands Museum.
1 Grosvenor Place, London SW1X 7HJ
https://www.peninsula.com/en/london/hotel-fine-dining/brooklands
