This September, Johnnie Crowe, Luke Wasserman and Toby Neill, the brains behind popular restaurants Nest in Hackney and Fulham’s Fenn, will open Restaurant St. Barts in Smithfield, the northwestern part of the City of London.
A departure from the local neighbourhood restaurants they have become so renowned for, Restaurant St. Barts will showcase hyper-seasonal produce from the best small-scale farmers & conservationists in the country through a fifteen course menu.
Johnnie Crowe, Executive Head Chef, said, 'Restaurant St.Barts represents a new chapter for myself, Luke and Toby, it’s the restaurant we’ve always dreamed of opening.
'Over the last seven years we’ve met and worked with some of the most incredible suppliers from across the UK, and Restaurant St. Barts will be our opportunity to showcase them under the one roof.
'We want to create an experience that focuses on respect - towards the natural environment, the incredible produce that comes from it, and everyone involved in the process.”
To highlight the best of the British Isles, Johnnie and his team, lead by Head Chef Kate Austen, will create a menu of refined dishes that pinpoint their mission to represent British produce. Championing ingredients in their simplest form, each dish will use no more than two key ingredients to highlight the provenance of the produce itself.
Guests will be welcomed into the bar area of the restaurant, where they will be served snacks including house cured meats, such as Mangalitza Pancetta and Yorkshire Beef Salami, a Floral Tea-infused Beetroot (pictured), and a Welsh Wagyu Bellini with Exmoor Caviar.
An open, wood fired kitchen will connect the bar to the main dining room, acting as the engine room of Restaurant St. Barts.
Diners journeying through the space will be given a front row seat at the chef’s counter for their next courses, including dishes such as Red Mullet Terrine with Salted Kohlrabi, served alongside a broth made from the roasted bones of the fish.
Through to the main dining room, guests will be led to tables overlooking the cloisters of St Bartholomew The Great. Floor to ceiling windows will flood the dining room with natural light and provide a postcard view of one of London’s most hidden yet historic buildings.
As the evening descends, so too will the lighting in the restaurant, with the space lit largely by candlelight and the illuminations of the church outside. Here guests will be served dishes such as Native Blue Lobster with Fermented Red Peppers and British XO sauce, followed by Poached Cod with Preserved Wiltshire Truffle, and Sweetbreads with Sunflower and Jerusalem Artichoke.
To round off the meal will be a sweet Hackney Honey and Lavender dessert, followed by petit fours and a classic British Cheese board served with homemade Fruit Loaf, Pickled Prunes and Oatcakes.
An optional wine pairing will be available for diners, with bottles hand selected by co-Founder Luke. The curated selection will focus on low intervention wines from both well-renowned domaines, such as Anne & Jean-Francois Ganevat in the Jura, and exciting artisanal producers, such as Will Davenport in East Sussex.
For those looking for a taste of Restaurant St. Barts within the confines of a lunch break, a shorter six course menu will be available during the week and will showcase a number of highlights from the evening menu.
