This New Bloomsbury Restaurant Is From Another Planet

The owners of Hackney gastropub The Richmond — Margaret Crow and Brett Redman — will open their second restaurant in the Principal Hotel in Bloomsbury. Neptune will open early in the new year as a place with a “fun and accessible approach to British cuisine.” It is thought that while the surrounds will be much changed, the style of cooking, which made The Richmond (which is rumoured to be closing, if not closed) one Hackney’s favourite gastropubs, will remain the same.

Neptune, whose entrance will sit on Guildford Street, off Russell Square, will feature a sizeable oyster and shellfish bar in the centre of the room, a cocktail bar serving “simple drinks evocative of the seasons,” and a wine list comprised principally of the natural style, and which will come from from vineyards “whose ethos match our own.”

Though it will be a British cuisine-led restaurant, “using only the best British produce and maintaining Brett's signature hearty flair,” they told Eater London that the menu will also be “heavily influenced by the sun-drenched lands of Australia and California.”

Official

Asked why they’ve selected the centre of town for their follow-up site, Crow told Eater London:

“Bloomsbury actually has a lot of similarities to east London... it was the 'east London' of its day, where writers and artists would live and hang out. There is such a rich history in the area of publishing houses and musicians and it's coming back in a big way. It's always served as a bridge between east and central London so why not have a restaurant smack dab in the middle! There isn't currently an airy, neighbourhood restaurant serving super fresh or exciting food so we plan on filling that gap.”

And the name? “We love that Neptune is the god of the sea, but also the coolest planet. The name has so many meanings and we want to play on that.”