Michelin-Starred Spanish Restaurant Sabor Wants to Open in Soho

Sabor, the Michelin-starred Spanish restaurant from ex-Barrafina head chef Nieves Barragán Mohacho and José Etura, could open a second restaurant in Soho. Planning documents submitted to Westminster Council name both empire builder JKS Restaurants and Sabor in a proposed opening at 49 Lexington Street, adding to the original site on Heddon Street in Mayfair. There is no timeline for the opening to date.

Barragán Mohacho and Etura opened Sabor in February 2018, winning a Michelin star eight months later in October. It serves regional Spanish cuisine, ranging through bar-style tapas, a counter specialising in fresh seafood, and an asador upstairs, known for its whole suckling pig and the skin-shattering theatre that comes with it. The planning documents for 49 Lexington Street state that JKS intends to add a rear extension for the provision of more ground floor seating, as well as a pavilion at the rear for an indoor-outdoor space. Both applications have been approved; there is no licensing application submitted as yet. The site is five minutes’ walk from Barrafina Dean Street, Barragán Mohacho’s former employer.

JKS, which last week announced that it would open branches of Taiwanese bun specialists Bao and Sri Lankan hopper specialists Hoppers in King’s Cross, has a core restaurant portfolio comprising Hoppers, the Michelin-starred Gymkhana (currently closed), Brigardiers, and Trishna. It invests in Michelin-starred Lyle’s in Shoreditch, two-Michelin-starred Kitchen Table in Fitzrovia, and Iranian restaurant Berenjak, also in Soho, as well as the original Sabor.

Eater has contacted a JKS spokesperson for comment. More soon.