Gordon Ramsay Leads a ‘Basic’ Restaurant Line-Up at Battersea Power Station

Following a promising announcement last week that cult Malaysian restaurant Roti King will, for starters, open a new restaurant inside mega-development Battersea Power Station’s Circus West Village, the main course has been served lukewarm by the landlords.

“Battersea Power Station is delighted to unveil the first tranche of cafés, bars and restaurants set to open their doors inside the Grade II Listed Power Station from September 2022,” a statement said.

Joining the 14 food businesses already in place at Circus Village West, will be the following list of safety first food options, together with the Power Station’s precis:

• Le Bab’s “Middle Eastern kebabs with a modern twist.”
• Where The Pancakes Are for “sweet and savoury pancakes.”
• Poke House for “Hawaiian inspired poke bowls.”
• Clean Kitchen Club’s “delicious vegan dishes.”
• Paris Baguette. French sandwiches, presumably. Alas, no; a first U.K. outpost for South Korea’s biggest bakery chain.
• Joe & The Juice’s “freshly squeezed juices, healthy sandwiches and coffee.”
• Starbucks [...]

And as if that line-up wasn’t, in the words of Sunday Times restaurant critic, Marina O’Loughlin “BASIC,” then its vision, or lack there of, was confirmed by the revelation that chef Gordon Ramsay will open Bread Street Kitchen & Bar to serve “traditional British cuisine.” This will join Street Pizza which the famously aggressive chef-restaurateur has already supplanted in Circus West Village.

O’Loughlin was generally withering at the developer’s placemaking. “SO depressing. What a building, what a lack of vision,” she wrote on Twitter. This came after she asked, “What phoning-it-in consultant did they pay to come up with this lot??”

The developers at Battersea Power Station says all of this means the venue will be “the must visit destination for foodies [...] with cuisines from around the globe.”

Curiously, the statement also refers to a 20,000 square foot “food hall,” which will offering an all-day dining experience will also be opening in the Boiler House at the heart of the Power Station. It says that “more details on this will follow shortly,” though Eater London has heard rumours that the new operators of the Arcade food hall in Tottenham Court Road are behind this high-profile launch. If that turns out to be true and JKS brings along some of those expected to open at Arcade this spring that should go some way to making up for the missed opportunities.

More soon.