The Carabineiro Prawn and the Flash Hotel Restaurant Are Still Hot London Property

An acclaimed Portuguese chef will open a stratospheric, flash hotel restaurant in Battersea later this year. Henrique Sá Pessoa, who runs two-Michelin-starred Alma in Lisbon, will open JOIA at the upcoming art’otel Battersea Power Station, in a clash of capital and lower-case aesthetics.

The restaurant will encompass a 15th floor dining room; a 14th floor bar; and a rooftop swimming pool, all in service of Pessoa’s cooking, which he defines as “a tasteful cuisine.”

Where Alma offers two short tasting menus alongside an a la carte, Joia will bring “unpretentious yet innovative dishes,” here including a grilled carabineiro prawn — the standard-bearing seafood for the cuisine in London right now — with creamy orzo bisque, tomato, and coriander; and a crudo of salt cod. Meanwhile, “Iberian spices” will anchor the cocktail menu on the floor below.

Sá Pessoa says “it is such a joy to return to London having trained here in the brilliant emerging scene in the Nineties.”

“I love this city and I can’t wait to cook and share with the guests my take on authentic Portuguese cuisine.”

Pessoa, who is also executive chef at art’otel’s Amsterdam location, will be entering the famous chef does a London hotel battle alongside Mauro Colagreco of three-Michelin-starred Mirazur, who will open a suite of restaurants at the upcoming Raffles.