Michelin-Starred Shoreditch Restaurant Lyle’s Strips Things Back for Reopening

Michelin-starred Shoreditch restaurant Lyle’s has confirmed it will reopen after nearly five months of closure on Wednesday 12 August. When it returns, it will do so with its set menu for dinner only, for the time being.

Chef James Lowe and general manager John Ogier will begin the phased reopening of one the city’s most celebrated modern British restaurants with no a la carte lunch service, and will keep its renowned coffee bar, which opened from 8 a.m., closed until later in the summer. A spokesperson for the restaurant said: “We’ll definitely be looking at lunch service later in the summer — for now our focus is a safe and gradual reopening that makes our guests and team feel as comfortable as possible.” Reservations for Lyle’s can made from today.

As restaurants across the city reopen with extra spacing between tables, fewer staff, and a suite of new Covid-secure safety measures in place, a growing number of chefs — at 40 Maltby Street, P. Franco, The Laughing Heart, and Ombra — are reopening with set menus. It’s a format which, at least in theory, reduces service staff and customer contact time, and streamlines kitchen management. Lyle’s has operated with a set menu-only at dinner since it opened in 2014, and says its reopening version will include options for vegetarians, vegans, and pescatarians from next week. Lyle’s does not have the ability to offer any outdoor seating, but its Covid-secure safety precautions, which includes the provision of PPE to all staff, has been published online.

Elsewhere, in the JKS Restaurant-owned mini group led by Lowe and Ogier, Flor will continue to operate for takeaway only, offering its baked goods in Borough Market on Fridays (10 a.m — 4 p.m.) and Saturdays (9 a.m. — 4 p.m.) only. Details on Flor’s reopening for sit-down drinking and dining will be released at the end of the summer.

Its newest venture, the New York City-inspired sourdough pizza brand, ASAP, which launched during lockdown, will expand its service throughout the rest of the summer. The pizza, created by renowned NYC baker Pam Yung, will be served from the Flor site on Bedale Street from Wednesday to Saturday 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. and on Sundays, 1 p.m. – 10 p.m. Outside seating is available for customers during those times, and in August the restaurant will take part in the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, offering any pizzas and a soft serve ice cream for £10 on Wednesdays (excepting alcoholic drinks.)

ASAP Pizza will continue to be available for takeaway via Flor’s hatch and has launched its own direct delivery service via Slerp, with an extended delivery radius of three miles. It will also still be available via Deliveroo.