30 DEPARTURES TRAVEL
30 DEPARTURES TRAVEL DISPATCH Back in Business Abloom with buzzworthy openings, London returns to its regular scheduled programming. LONDON EATS Restaurants are hitting the ground running this summer. There’s a palpable joy mixed with much fermentation, charcoal-grilling and Covid-safe protocol. by Sudi Pigott PANTECHNICON The Nordic-Japanese culinary, fashion and homeware emporium, set in a striking neoclassical building with plentiful Belgravia pavement-dining, buzzes with creativity. Overseen by Chris Golding, formerly at Tel Aviv’s Norman hotel, there’s Café Kitsuné (phenomenal Japanese-imbued patisserie); Eldr, for creative Nordic cuisine with fabulous roof-terrace dining; and Sachi, serving regional Japanese dishes in consultation with author Nancy Singleton Hachisu. pantechnicon.com MARU Adventurous Japanese cuisine diners are embracing this newcomer in Mayfair’s Shepherd Market. Third-generation sushi chef Taiji Maruyama presents a 20-course farm-to-table tasting omakase menu. It is the first UK restaurant to specialise in the Japanese culinary art of dry-ageing fish. instagram.com/marumayfair NATIVE Co-founders Imogen Davis and Ivan Tisdall-Downes are daring in their commitment to ultra-ethical dining. Their new restaurant at Brown’s Georgian Brook Street fashion flagship, with head chef Joe Knowlden from Hide, offers thrilling zero-waste dishes: fermented potato waffle with mushroom parfait and ethereal fermented onion purée and a seaweed-infused Mermillionaire shortbread. The abundantly planted courtyard with pergola is a gem. nativerestaurant.co.uk THE CADOGAN ARMS The JKS family-restaurant group is transforming the quintessential Chelsea pub, with James Knappett of Bubbledogs overseeing a kitchen to be run by Alex Harper from The Ledbury. Menu details are keenly anticipated. thecardoganarms.london HARRODS SOCIAL Harrods has lured Jason Atherton to open a slick new eatery majoring in British-provenance dishes, including roast Cumbrian rack of lamb and mash potato, asparagus, broad beans, peas, morels and violet artichoke. Tom Kerridge will bring a quintessentially British offering to the iconic Dining Hall (now open until 10:30pm) later this year. harrods.com From left: carnivore’s choice at Eldr; chef Jake Finn in front of his new restaurant, Cinder STANLEY’S The Chelsea hot spot – owned by Hugh Stanley, nephew of the Earl of Derby – is modelled on a traditional English garden inside and out. Masterchef Professional finalist and former Fera at Claridge’s chef Olivia Burt heads up the kitchen, which first opened last summer. Feast on sourdough crumpets with prawns, citrus-brined chicken with wild garlic and salt-baked turnips. stanleyschelsea.co.uk THE PRINCESS OF SHOREDITCH Ruth Hansom, the first female winner of Young National Chef of the Year, former head chef of Luton Hoo hotel and alumna of The Ritz, now helms this tempting debut with an inspiring seasonal British menu. theprincessshoreditch.com MEI MEI Bringing Singaporean kopi tiam culture to Borough Market is Elizabeth Haigh. This is food with full-on flavour and finesse: try superlative poached Hainanese chicken rice, Singapore chilli crab, nasi goreng and Cantonese barbecued meats. meimei.uk CINDER What evokes summer better than superannuated charcoal cooking? This eatery epitomises the trend for more high-end neighbourhood restaurants. Lucky Belsize Park denizens have former Ritz chef, Jake Finn working his fire technique. cinderrestaurant.co.uk HERITAGE Another smart neighbourhood hitherto underserved gastronomically has Dayashankar Sharma’s first solo restaurant bringing his 30 years of culinary expertise in the Michelinstarred Indian kitchens of Tamarind and Zaika to Heritage. heritagedulwich.co.uk FROM LEFT: © PANTECHNICON, NIC CRILLY-HARGRAVE PLEASE CHECK THE LATEST GOVERNMENT ADVICE BEFORE BOOKING TRAVEL OR DEPARTING ON ANY TRIP
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: © THE BERKELEY, ROBERT WINTER, DAMIAN RUSSELL The Berkeley’s maritimeinspired pop-up GOOD VIBES ONLY A coterie of the British capital’s leading hotels is serving up something special for the season. by Brian Noone One of the most breathtaking new spaces in the city is the atrium restaurant in the NoMad Hotel (thenomadhotel.com), which has recently opened its doors – with noteperfect Manhattan swagger – in Covent Garden. Elsewhere, two pop-up garden parties give visitors the feeling of the British coast, as The Berkeley ( the-berkeley. co.uk) has erected five stripy beach huts, with seaside menu to match, and The Goring ( thegoring. com) has teamed with Love Brand & Co to make its garden into a decadent celebration of lobster and prosecco (or champagne, if that’s your tipple). At Rosewood London ( rosewood hotels.com), meanwhile, the pop-up is distinctly Scottish, with the Edwardian courtyard turned into a Highland lodge thanks its partner, The Macallan. To the west, next to Hyde Park, the Four Seasons Park Lane ( fourseasons. com) now serves executive chef Henry Brosi’s dishes on the open-air terrace, while the rooftop restaurant at The Dorchester ( dorchestercollection. com) is the latest addition to its roster of culinary offerings. Head to Hotel Café Royal ( hotelcaferoyal.com) for Cakes & Bubbles, the new terrace from Albert Adrià that delivers just what the name promises (and a bit more), or choose Corinthia ( corinthia.com) for a delightfully private garden with one of London’s best cigar menus – and expert advice from cigar sommelier Adam Lajca. Finally, and perhaps most dramatic of all, The Lanesborough ( oetkercollection.com) is offering a Cruella de Vil-themed afternoon tea with extraordinarily artful cakes. ROARING TWENTIES THE BEAUTY SALON The German physician and former orthopaedic specialist Dr Barbara Sturm is most celebrated for what has become known as the “vampire facial”, a procedure developed from the way NBA star Kobe Bryant was treated – she was part of the medical team – in 2013 for a knee injury with injections of platelet-rich plasma, extracted from his own blood that proved an efficacious way to reduce inflammation. This prompted her to develop a range of Molecular Cosmetics, customised “healing” facial products made from customers’ own blood. It drew her a cult following, not least in Hollywood and among the Kardashians. Until recently a range of Dr Sturm’s sensational treatments was available in London only at The Corinthia hotel. (She’s long had a base in LA, as well as her native Düsseldorf.) But she now has space-age premises and a boutique on Mayfair’s Mount Street, offering microneedling, microdermabrasion and microcurrent technology, in which an electrical charge is applied to the skin to boost collagen, as well as some less outré facials that nevertheless promise an instant glow and to slow ageing, through the application of, respectively, purslane and extracts from polygonum bistorta root and wild roses, and hyaluronic acid. drsturm.com – Claire Wrathall There is no better place in London to step back a century than in Claridge’s stylish suites, many of which have been lovingly burnished in sumptuous Art Deco styles and materials by local firm Linley – giving one of Mayfair’s most beloved hotels a timely, and timeless, elegance. claridges.co.uk 31 DEPARTURES
