What to Expect at Tom Kerridge’s First London Restaurant

Tom Kerridge has been trying to open a restaurant in London for some time. The Great British Menu, Masterchef and Lose Weight for Good chef’s much-touted restaurant at The Jumeirah Carlton Tower was abruptly curtailed by the hotel in October 2017; that restaurant had been in the works since December 2016.

Now, the man behind Marlow’s The Hand and Flowers and The Coach — both Michelin-starred, the former the first pub to ever hold two stars — has his London restaurant. Kerridge’s Bar and Grill will officially open 10 September 2018 at Corinthia Hotel London, which recently announced a partnership with Marcis Dzelzainis and Michael Sager of Sager and Wilde. Reservation lines will open today (13 August).

Kerridge and head chef Nick Beardshaw will be serving Anglo-French dishes, underpinned by classical techniques; the menu feels nostalgic, familiar, and a little bit celebrity chef hotel. As is common, meat and fish provenance is under the spotlight, with vegetables and fruit left alone; some dishes lean heavily on British tradition, while others are unmistakably French. There are also some mystery owners of risotto and crispy egg.

Cristian Barnett/Kerridge’s Bar and Grill

• Fresh Cornish crab vol-au-vent with avocado, green apple, and crab bisque
• Claude’s mushroom ‘risotto’ with Daniel’s crispy egg and aged parmesan
• Glazed omelette ‘Lobster Thermidor’
• Kerridge’s fish and chips with pease pudding, tartare and matson spiced sauce
• Dry aged rib of beef from The Butcher’s Tap with ox cheek bordelaise, gherkin ketchup and triple cooked chips
• Creedy Carver duck breast and faggot with savoy cabbage, rotisserie apple sauce and duck fat pomme anna
• Half a Cotswold White chicken with braised gem lettuce, pickled lemon and soft polenta
• Dark chocolate pudding with crystalised malt biscuit, salted caramel and malted milk ice cream
• Scottish raspberry and rose geranium trifle with white chocolate, gin baba and salted oats
• Brown butter tart with buttermilk ice cream (sounds familiar)

Cristian Barnett/Kerridge’s Bar and Grill

Cristian Barnett/Kerridge’s Bar and Grill

Cristian Barnett/Kerridge’s Bar and Grill

The beef, duck and chicken will be cooked on a feature rotisserie, which will also offer a daily special dish: Kerridge has chosen the technique for its evenness of cook, offering edge-to-edge doneness without the blandness that sous vide cooking can impart. There will be a 40-seater bar — hello, seating options — promising a focus on English sparkling wine and cask ales, as well as the focussed bar snacks that have become one of Kerridge’s calling cards.

Art, too, will be a focus. Robi Walters has created unique pieces from menus sent into Kerridge by the public to be displayed in the dining room; Beth-Cullen Kerridge has created a pair of sculptures — “Dorsal Angel” and “Steve.”

Kerridge’s Bar and Grill at Corinthia Hotel London | Whitehall Place, SW1A 2BD
Open 10 September 2018