St John to pitch up at Fortnum & Mason for a restaurant residency

Running from 6-22 February, St John at Fortnum’s will see the entire St John Smithfield team - led by Smithfield head chef Steve Darou in the kitchen - temporarily relocate to Piccadilly to recreate the restaurant experience within the department store.

The move means it becomes the first restaurant to be in residence at the Piccadilly store in its 317-year history. 

Faithful to the structure of the Smithfield’s bar and restaurant, the bar area will serve dishes from a chalk board as well as cocktails, own-label wines, and French bottles selected by St John co-founder Trevor Gulliver. The dining room will serve a menu of St John classics, 'as well as the odd wink to its temporary home for the essential expression of genius loci'. 

Open for breakfast, menu items will include St John classics such as a bacon sandwich; Welsh rarebit; bone marrow and parsley salad; suet-crusted pies; and madeleines. The restaurant will also offer a Sunday feasting menu for parties that can be ordered with sufficient notice.

The restaurant's interior will also echo that of the Smithfield original and will feature whitewashed walls studded with the restaurant's familiar coat pegs. The original tables and chairs will be transposed from the Smithfield dining room and be given classic white slipcovers, while a white-and-steel-clad bar will sit at the front of the space.

"Smithfield may be closed, but it is not absent - for these three weeks we must not neglect our duty to provide our community with their vital St John fix, from a flying rarebit and a Fergroni in the bar to rolling courses in the dining room," says Gulliver.

"This little jaunt feels rather frivolous, which is Fortnum’s forte. Painting it white is a bit cheeky - and a bit of cheekiness is always a good foundation for an extremely good time."

Fortnum & Mason’s CEO Tom Athron adds: "Having long been admirers of the ethos of St John, sharing many of their values around sustainability, seasonality and quality, we are excited to be handing over the reins to Trevor and Fergus, and by doing so continue in our mission to champion extraordinary food and drink."

St John at Fortnum’s will open from Tuesday to Sunday for breakfast and lunch, and for dinner on Friday and Saturday.