NEW RESTAURANTS on our radar this month
Gunpowder, Roberta Hall-McCarron, the Galvin brothers and five storeys-worth of culinary excellence and celebrated chefs at 3 Henrietta Street lead new openings as the UK hospitality industry continues its post-pandemic comeback, writes Alex Mead
A townhouse built in 1780 in the centre of London’s Covent Garden is set to become a must-visit for every food fan when 3 Henrietta Street opens this month. With three new restaurants and a coffee house, the building that has been home to everyone from surgeons and bakers to stockbrokers and nobility, is aiming to become more than just a place to eat.
The restaurants will be Pivot, modern British, season-first food by Mark Greenaway; El Ta’Koy, the first UK opening from acclaimed Cuban chef Luis Pous, who is already established at The Dominick Hotel in Miami and New York and takes influence from the tiki bars of Hawaii and the flavours of Asia and Latin America; and Lilly’s, headed up by pastry chef Kimberly Lin, serving an all-day brunch menu with a big focus on moodboosting, seasonal ingredients. Completing the quartet is The Gentlemen Baristas.
‘3 Henrietta Street is more than just a townhouse, it’s a collective, hub for the local community and a place to enjoy and celebrate food, drink and the hospitality industry,’ says founder Simon Wright.
‘We’ve brought together some of the most talented individuals to create a destination like no other – whether you’re a visitor to the area, a local, or looking for a quiet place to work.’ 3henrietta.com
It’s a busy season in Covent Garden as we’ve also got a second branch of Fatt Pundit, sharing Indo-Chinese cuisine that reflects the flavours of the people who emigrated from Guangdong and Canton in China and settled in Kolkata and Mumbai. The result, an interesting mix of Chinese dishes flavoured with Indian spices, manifests itself at Fatt Pundit today in the form of honey chilli duck, and dumplings filled with beef, leek and chilli, or kid goat, garam masala and cardamom. fattpundit.co.uk
Elsewhere in the capital, Chris Galvin – star of our Origins interview on p130 – and brother Jeff are opening Galvin Bar & Grill at Kimpton Fitzroy in Russell Square this month; while Gunpowder is heading into Soho with its venison doughnuts with chilli chutney on Greek Street. galvinrestaurants.com gunpowderlondon.com
Let’s not forget the recent double opening from José Pizarro. The Spanish chef and former Food and Travel Reader Awards winner has expanded his stable with two new restaurants at the Royal Academy of Arts in Piccadilly. Poster Bar by José is an informal, all-day tapas bar on the ground floor, while upstairs José Pizarro at the RA is the more signature, seated offering. Both bring the best of what we love about his cooking – the sweet, melt-in-the-mouth jamón Ibérico is worth the visit alone – together with an impressive drinks list of wines, sherry and beer from his homeland. josepizarro.com
In Mayfair, we’ve got a new 350-cover American brasserie arriving this month at 20 Hanover Square. Split across three levels, The Maine Mayfair finds a home in a Georgian Grade II-listed building dating back to 1720. As the name suggests, it’s going all New England on the menu, with Montreal restaurateur Joey Ghazal taking inspiration from childhood holidays in Maine. It’s not the first of its kind – that honour fell to The Maine in Dubai six years ago. In London, too, indulgent seafood is set to feature heavily on the menu. themainemayfair.com
The team behind the muchloved The Hunter’s Moon in South Kensington have just launched Ganymede, a new bar and dining room in Belgravia (named after Jupiter’s largest moon, if you’re asking). Rabbit and pistachio terrine with toasted rye bread and burnt onion emulsion, and crisp suckling pork belly with parsnip purée, pommes cocotte and turnips are two of the delights on the modern British menu. ganymedelondon.co.uk
Beyond London, Stuart Deeley, the 2019 winner of MasterChef: The Professionals is opening Smoke at Hampton Manor, Hampton-In-Arden, for wood-fired feasts using produce grown within the walls of the estate, some of it right on its doorstep in the kitchen garden. Sourdough will come from the estate’s bakery, then there’ll be sharing starters before tucking into the fire-cooked meat, fish or vegetables main. hamptonmanor.com
And finally, in case you missed it, the excellent Brawn on east London’s Columbia Road now has a sister restaurant, Sargasso, in the cool Kent town of Margate, overlooking the harbour, no less. A partnership with British musician Matthew Herbert, the menu focuses on seafood and vegetables, both preserved and fresh. Dishes are along the lines of courgette fritti, salmoriglio; pane carasau, ‘nduja and marjoram; and squid, friggitelli peppers, chickpeas, mojo verde. sargasso.bar