7 New Restaurants To Visit This August
Plants by De, Mayfair
Ella Mills – the founder of Deliciously Ella – and her husband Matthew have launched their first restaurant. Named Plants by De, this is the place to head to if you want to try interesting non-meat dishes. Open from breakfast through to dinner, everything here is made in house, from the team’s own cultured vegan butters to cashew crème fraiche and fermented sriracha mayonnaise. Changing with the seasons, current menu highlights include asparagus ceviche with kimchi tiger’s milk and burnt orange; spicy mole empanadas with cashew and herb crème fraiche; salt baked celeriac carpaccio with truffle vinaigrette and roasted walnut parmesan; and king oyster mushroom scallops with parsnip puree, carrot jelly and parsnip bacon. For those with a sweet tooth, there will be chocolate babka with homemade choc-chip ice-cream; and coconut caramel panna cotta. On warm days, make sure to grab a spot on the terrace.
18-20 Weighhouse Street, Mayfair, W1K 5LU
Visit DeliciouslyElla.com
SAFIA SHAKARCHI
Bibo, Shoreditch
This month, Mondrian Shoreditch London has opened on Curtain Street, and with it, chef Dani García’s first restaurant in the UK. Named Bibo, the restaurant hosts an open-kitchen tapas bar and all-day dining room. On the menu, you’ll find some of García’s favourite dishes, such as pulled oxtail brioche with thin mushroom slices and rocket; Russian salad with tuna belly, fried quail eggs and garlic chips; and jamón croquetas, creamy and crunchy ham croquettes with tomato powder. The design scheme uses a natural colour palette, with light oak floors, soft clay rendered walls and reflective surfaces creating a calm atmosphere. Some of the high tables are designed for tapas service up at the open kitchen, where guests can watch the chefs create tortillas, patatas fritas and mussels escabeche. Outside, the courtyard offers a Spanish-inspired space, with bold red walls, hanging plants and wooden fans beneath a retracting glass roof – ideal for the summer months. Also in the hotel you’ll find Christina’s, an all-day dining and drinking spot, focused on coffee, cocktails, natural wines and katsu sandos.
45 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, EC2A 3PT
Visit SBE.com
LATEEF PHOTOGRAPHY
NIALL CLUTTON
Sachi at Pantechnicon, Belgravia
This Belgravia newcomer showcases regional Japanese cooking with a light Nordic touch. Sachi translates as “happiness” in Japanese and that’s the focus of the food. The menu has been crafted by Collin Hudston (Dinings, Roka) and Pantechnicon’s exec chef Chris Golding (Nobu, Zuma, Dinings) and showcases seasonal, local ingredients: Japanese greens grown in Sussex, meat from British farms, trout organically reared in Scotland and wasabi produced in the UK. Reflecting Pantechnicon’s focus on both Japanese and Nordic culture, some surprising hints of Nordic flavours can also be found on the menu: think scallops with artichoke, yuzu and fermented grains; and seabass, lava salt and sea buckthorn. All this is served in a striking open dining room, complemented by private vaulted booths set in a Japanese garden, a private dining room, a sushi counter and a late-night bar inspired by Tokyo’s secret speakeasies, which features cocktails and rare Japanese whiskies and sakes from Pantechnicon’s bottle shop, Sakaya.
19 Motcomb Street, Belgravia, SW1X 8LB
Visit Pantechnicon.com
Sessions Art Club, Farringdon
This month sees the highly anticipated launch of Sessions Arts Club. Housed in the restored Old Sessions House in Clerkenwell, the venue is now a creative studio housing a restaurant, wine bar and art gallery space. On the fourth floor of the impressive 18th-century, Grade II-listed building, the 60-seater dining room is filled with light from a series of huge arched windows, which look out onto the rooftop. The roof terrace itself seats 20 and leads out to an elegant marble bar and infinity rooftop pool with views over the city. Florence Knight – formerly of Polpo and Polpetto – is heading up the kitchen, offering a refined, seasonally led menu inspired by British, French and Italian cooking: think grilled friggitelli with sea salt, sea bream, fig leaf and sorrel; potato and chard croquettes with lemon aioli; clams and turnip top orecchiette; and apricot ripple ice-cream. As you’d expect, Art is integral to Sessions Arts Club, and every week will see a new launch via events, workshops and one-off dinners.
24 Clerkenwell Green, Farringdon, EC1R 0NA
Visit SessionsArtClub.com
Elliot’s Hackney, Shoreditch
Elliot’s, the much-loved Borough Market restaurant, has opened a second site on Mare Street. The new restaurant features a selection of favourite dishes from the Elliot’s menu (and still champions the many producers at Borough Market), as well as items from the wood-fired grill, sourdough pizza and an all-natural wine list. Signature dishes making the journey across London include Isle of Mull cheese puffs; rose veal tartare; and a must-try woodfired cheesecake. The fresh east London spot seats 70 guests and features a huge, curved bar made of sustainably sourced eucalyptus wood and brushed stainless steel, while the bar and main dining space has large timber windows and glass doors to create a seamless connection to the outdoor seating area. In contrast to the main dining area, there is also an intimate, dimly lit dining room to the back of the restaurant, which is ideal for private parties.
121-123 Mare Street, Hackney, E8 3RH
Visit Elliots.London
The Pem, St James
The Pem at Conrad St James is now open. Headed up by top chef Sally Abé – previously head chef at the Michelin-starred Harwood Arms in Fulham – the restaurant builds on the foundations of historic British cuisine and celebrates flavours and ingredients that are familiar and much loved, but interpreted by Sally in her own way: think beef and oyster; pollock, cockles and peas; chocolate and cherry; and apricot and custard. Named in honour of suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, The Pem has been designed with the art deco era in mind, with a spacious, pink-flecked main dining room seating 70, and The Harben private dining room seating 24 guests. As well as The Pem, this summer has also seen the addition of the hotel’s first cocktail bar, The Hedgerow, where diners can enjoy an aperitivo or aperitif.
22-28 Broadway, St James, SW1H 0BH
Visit ThePemRestaurant.com
Korean Dinner Party, Soho
Kingly Court newcomer Korean Dinner Party (KDP) is the latest launch from the team behind Señor Ceviche. Located in a cool, stripped-back space, guests can kick off with snacks and starters including bacon mochi (rice cakes wrapped in caramelised bacon with a gochujang caramel and spring onions); crispy kimchi pancake with onion and oyster mayo; beef tartare made with bavette, crispy seaweed and rice crackers; and Korean-inspired fried chicken nuggets served with garlic cream, parmesan and rice sticks. Ana Gonçalves and Zijun Meng, the duo from TĀTĀ Eatery and TÒU, have worked closely with the Señor Ceviche team to develop KDP’s menu. With a nod to LA’s Mexican food scene, main dishes will see a playful take on tacos, while some dishes will draw on more classic Korean flavours such as the kimchi stone pot with potato, enoki mushrooms, tofu, egg yolk and brown rice. The drinks list features unusual cocktails, beers, wines and craft sake from Peckham-based Kanpai, the UK’s first sake brewery. We’re intrigued by the sound of the ‘Yakult Royale’ – champagne, yoghurt soju and Yakult foam.
Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, Soho, W1B 5PW
Visit KoreanDinnerParty.com
DISCLAIMER: We endeavour to always credit the correct original source of every image we use. If you think a credit may be incorrect, please contact us at info@sheerluxe.com.