Restaurant radar: February 2024

Bavette

Sandy Jarvis and husband Clément Cousin will open the doors to their Horsforth-based neighbourhood bistro Bavette on 21 February. The seasonally-led bistro will serve classically-inspired dishes such as pork belly rillons, frisée salad and ravigote sauce; halibut, vin jaune sauce and buttered leeks; and Paris-Brest inspired by Jarvis’ time spent in kitchens including Racine and Terroirs. The wine list will feature wines from Cousin’s family’s vineyard, as well as other low intervention bottles from across Europe.

4-6 Town Street, Horsforth, Leeds, LS18 4RJ​
https://bavettebistro.com/​​

Bellazul

Opening at the start of the month on Marylebone’s Blandford Street, Bellazul – not to be confused with the ingredient supplier of a similar name – is a new Mediterranean restaurant said to be inspired ‘by the tranquil and peaceful lifestyle of southern Europe. The kitchen will be led by head chef Simone Serafini, previously head chef at Cecconi’s, Cacciari’s and Mayfair private members club 5 Hertford Street, who has created a menu that encompass the flavours of Italy, Greece and its islands and Morocco. Dishes will change seasonally with sharing plates on the launch menu to include Moroccan lamb tagine and lobster spaghetti; and grilled salmon salad served with quail eggs and green beans.

43 Blandford St, London, W1U 7HF​
https://bellazul.co.uk/​​

Singapulah

Established as a pop-up all the way back in 2019, Singaporean-focused Singapulah restaurant finally becomes permanent this month with a site on London’s Shaftesbury Avenue. Spread across four floors and holding 100-cover site, Singapulah will ‘pay homage’ to the diverse culinary landscape of Singapore and will showcase a rotating roster of Singaporean food manufacturers and partner brands through its menu and via a retail channel. Dishes will include bak chor mee (minced pork noodles), and laksa made with silver pin noodles.

53 Shaftesbury Ave, London, W1D 6LB​
http://www.singapulah.co.uk/​​

Morchella

The pair behind popular north London restaurant Perilla will open their next project in Clerkenwell on the former La Porchetta site. Owners Ben Marks and Matt Emmerson have created a restaurant and wine bar that will serve a menu of Mediterranean-inspired sharing dishes with the kitchen to be led by former Sky Garden and 28 Market Place chef Daniel Fletcher. Expect highly seasonal produce with dishes on the launch menu include octopus Luciana; salt baked poussin; and hake with sobrassada sauce.

84-86 Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4QY​
https://www.morchelladining.co.uk/​​

Trejo’s Tacos

From Dusk Till Dawn and Heat actor Danny Trejo is brings his taco brand to Notting Hill this month. Opening on Portobello Road, Trejo’s Tacos will occupy a two-storey, 3,000sq ft site that will have space for 70 covers inside and a further 30-cover capacity for dining on the outdoor terrace. Dishes will include slow-roasted pork carnitas taco, served with fresh pineapple and fermented hot sauce; a steak asada taco with pepita pesto; shrimp tostados, Baja-style beer-battered fish; blackened salmon; and beef-brisket. It will also have a cocktail bar that will serve a range of tequila and mezcal infused drinks, including its signature frozen OG Margarita.

299-301 Portobello Road, London, W10 5TD​
https://www.trejostacos.co.uk/​​

Camille

Ducksoup and Little Duck founders Clare Lattin and Tom Hill will open their provincial French-inspired restaurant on Borough Market’s Stoney Street on the site that was previously sandwich shop Sons + Daughters. Camille is described as being ‘a reflective imagining of the duo’s travels across France’ with a menu that will feature the best produce from British growers, many of which will be sourced locally from suppliers within Borough Market. The kitchen is to be headed up by ex-St John chef Elliot Hashtroudi, whose menu will include the likes of tete de veau schnitzel and dandelion; cep stuffed chicken wing; veal sweetbreads and Montpellier butter; confit leeks and Lincolnshire poacher; and a fennel and brown butter custard tart

2-3 Stoney Street, London, SE1 9AA​ 

Mistress

If you like to dine in a space inspired by the clandestine tunnels where ‘ladies of the night were smuggled at the behest of the male members of White’s private club’ then Parisian-inspired restaurant and after-hours lounge and members club Mistress will be right up your street. Tucked away below street level on St James Street, Mistress promises a menu of ‘refined French cuisine for a modern Mayfair’ with signature dishes and reimagined classics that will include lobster rolls, oysters, fillet mignon, caviar, truffle, and ‘perfect’ French fries. There will be a roaming champagne trolley alongside classic cocktails and what is described as an ‘outstanding’ wine list. 

48-49 St James's Street, St. James's, London​
https://www.mistressofmayfair.com/​​ 

Butcher Farrell’s Bar & Grill

Lancashire-based butcher Jonny Farrell is crossing over to the world of restaurants with a debut project in Birkdale Village, Southport. Split across two levels, Butcher Farrell’s Bar & Grill will focus primarily on meat supplied by Farrell’s own butchery team, including steaks sourced from heritage breeds such as Longhorn, Shorthorn and Belted Galloways, which will be dry aged in the restaurant for 45 days. A selection of fish and seasonal vegetable-based dishes will also be available.

25-29 Liverpool Road, Southport​
https://butcherfarrell.co.uk/bar-and-grill-landing/​​ 

RAI

Omakase restaurant RAI will reopen in a new London location on Bayley Street in Bloomsbury. The restaurant will have only five tables, with the main dining room seating a maximum of 10 people but will also have a separate sushi counter that can seat up to eight guests. Food will be served omakase-style in a multi-course menu that will include homemade tofu and natto gyoza accompanied by traditional dashi broth; ikijime seabass garnished with yuzu beurre blanc, and kombu and citrus oil; hand-dived scallops from Scotland with yuzu, shisho pesto and British caviar; unagi and ethical foie gras with English truffle; and sushi and sashimi with koshihikari rice, sanpuku nori with aged soy sauces and freshly grated Japanese wasabi. 

11-13 Bayley Street, London, WC1B 3HD​
https://rairestaurant.com/​​ 

Mortimer House Kitchen

Chef Tom Cenci is overseeing the food offer at the restaurant at Mortimer House, which reopens this month as Italy-focuses Mortimer House Kitchen. The restaurant will draw on Italian influences from Cenci’s family summers spent in Piedmont and the Amalfi coast with dishes such as crispy polenta and parmesan mayonnaise; zucchini caesar with parmesan and pangrattato; calamarata, prawns, tomato, chilli; chicken or aubergine parmigiana with marinara sauce with the optional addition of spaghetti with cured egg yolk on the side; and a sirloin steak served on focaccia, with charred onions. It will also serve a breakfast menu featuring the likes of Italian baked eggs on focaccia; n’duja bruschetta with whipped ricotta and poached eggs; and Tuscan beans on toast.

37-41 Mortimer Street, London, W1T 3JH​
https://www.mortimerhousekitchen.com/​​

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