Following an ambitious two-year redevelopment, CH&CO Destinations and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew have opened a new dining experience for visitors to the world-famous botanic gardens, the Pavilion Bar and Grill.
Located on the site of the old Pavilion Restaurant, this exciting new eatery offers visitors an all year-round immersive dining experience.
Situated near the Temperate House and the Great Pagoda, the contemporary restaurant building offers expansive views of the surrounding gardens, allowing diners to enjoy the beautiful landscape in all seasons. It boasts a vast outdoor area with the original ornamental vines incorporated into a new planted landscape created by Kew’s horticulturists.
The leafy terrace offers an al fresco dining experience for over 300 visitors. The interior, which seats 80 people, is designed around natural materials and muted tones to create a modern yet relaxed atmosphere, bringing the outside in.
The seasonal menu focuses on authentic food grilled on charcoal, alongside an array of enticing sides. With the Josper charcoal grill at centre stage, customers can watch as their chosen dishes are freshly prepared by CH&CO’s chefs in the open kitchen. Guests order their food and drinks at the bar and thanks to a state-of-the-art table location system, food is delivered quickly and accurately.
Meat sourced from English farms features on the menu, along with selected Kew herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, chives, mint and peppermint, grown in the Pavilion Bar & Grill’s own herb garden.
Dishes include spatchcock chicken with a choice of marinades, including jerk, Kew herb of the day & lemon or Piri Piri; orange & BBQ pork belly ribs; whole bream from the Cornish day boats, with garlic, chilli and Kew rosemary; and roasted halloumi and vegetable stack with Romesco sauce.
The new restaurant is also a welcoming destination for families. The menu includes treats for children, including macaroni cheese and Josper BBQ chicken wings, and a family sharing board of BBQ & orange pork belly ribs, spatchcock chicken, Brisket & skin on chips.
The vegetarian option features grilled asparagus, field mushrooms, grilled spring vegetable skewers with smoked vegan cheese & vegan tzatziki, roast vegan halloumi & vegetable stack and Romesco sauce.
Lighter options are also available, such as the salt-baked salmon from Cornish day boats, with pearl barley, chickpea & rocket with a cumin, coriander and yoghurt dressing.
For those looking to relax over a drink, a fine selection of cocktails, wines and beers is available from the main and the outdoor bar.
The William cocktail (named after the botanist William Coys) is a refreshing combination of Kew Orangery Triple Sec, Kew English sparkling wine by the Bolney Estate, tonic and strawberry purée, while Eden fuses Kew Organic Gin, elderflower presse, lemon, tonic and cloudy apple juice.
Eden can also be enjoyed as a non-alcoholic cocktail using Seedlip non-alcoholic Gin. Botanically-inspired ales brewed in the neighbouring award-winning Kew Brewery also feature on the drinks menu.
Richard Barley, Director of Horticulture, Learning and Operations at Kew Gardens said, “We are thrilled to have opened the new Pavilion Bar and Grill at Kew. Delicious, fresh and seasonal food served in a setting so close to nature it will bring a truly unique dining experience to visitors.”
Simon Finnigan, CH&CO’s General Manager at the Pavilion Bar and Grill, said, “It’s exciting to have opened the doors of the Pavilion Bar and Grill to Kew’s visitors and to see our vision become a reality.
'It’s been great to work in partnership with our client at Kew Gardens to create a restaurant that’s so much more than a place to eat. It’s part of the Kew Gardens experience.
'The impressive, open design coupled with the theatre of the Josper Grill and cooked-to-order flavoursome dishes creates an uplifting outdoor dining experience that can be enjoyed by everyone, all year round.”