Sauce Loves… Spring 2018
As Spring is finally starting to make an appearance, we have collated the restaurants and brands embracing seasonal produce and springtime flavours.
Celebrate Spring at newly opened Bryn Williams at Somerset House
Bryn Williams at Somerset House has opened in perfect time for Spring, featuring a veg-centric menu focused on seasonal and sustainable produce. Starters include Charred chicory, sour onions, smoked ricotta, rapeseed oil dressing. Mains also showcase the very best Spring vegetables, as shown in the Roast young broccoli, olive tapenade, sage, grilled red mullet and Roast Cauliflower, golden raisins, capers, soft polenta, salted grapes. Fresh flavours continue into the desserts including the Chocolate pavé, almond, blood orange. The restaurant is Bryn Williams’ first London opening in a decade and looks over the river at Somerset House.
bryn-somersethouse.co.uk
Sunny Greek Spring Menu at Meraki
Chef Patron Athinagoras Kostakos is using the seasonal ingredients of Greece to bring Spring to Meraki Restaurant, Fitzrovia. The menu includes delicious salads, such as Mykonian Greek salad, cucumbers, kritamo, tomatoes, olives & feta. Guests can also choose the Santorini cherry tomatoes, thyme, caper leaves & goats cheese for a vibrant choice. Athinagoras is also creating dishes just for Spring, such as Flame cooked dover sole, charcoal grilled, horta greens, kakavia sauce, which serves two people. The sauce is a classic broth whilst ‘horta’ is a wild mountain dandelion plant; the perfect fresh and vibrant flavour.
meraki-restaurant.com
Seasonal Spring flavours at Plum + Spilt Milk
Diners will find traditional British ingredients this Spring at Plum + Spilt Milk. Executive Chef Mike Denman’s new a la carte menu has used springtime produce as an inspiration. Starters include Celeriac rosti, poached hen’s egg, grilled spring onions, smoked garlic, lemon & caper breadcrumbs, whilst main courses feature seasonal fish, including Turbot, clams, seaweed, cucumber & manzanilla and Oat crusted Mackerel, dill potatoes & horseradish. There is also an array of fresh and light desserts, such as Stem ginger buttermilk pudding, spiced poached rhubarb, ginger biscuit.
Michelin-starred Spring menu at Angler
For those looking to enjoy springtime ingredients in a Michelin-starred setting, Executive Head Chef Gary Foulkes at Angler has created a new menu centred around ingredients in their prime this spring. The menu highlights such seasonal produce that the dishes can change often, but includes the likes of Pomme de terre farcie, spring garlic leaf, ragstone, Bianchetti truffle and Roast XL Orkney scallop, wild garlic pesto, crispy pig’s trotter, truffled pork fat. Main courses feature seasonal seafood such as Red mullet, new season morels, wild onions, hand rolled rigatoni. The ‘Taste of Spring’ menu will be available to guests from Monday 26th March at lunch and dinner during the week, for the price of £45, including a glass of Moet & Chandon, canapes and three courses.
City Social – Herdwick Lamb Loin £36
The menu at Jason Atherton’S Michelin-starred City Social always champions seasonal produce, and the ingredients of Spring are perfectly showcased in Executive Chef Paul Walsh’s dish of Herdwick lamb loin and ragout. This dish comes accompanied by violet artichoke and morels which come into season this time of year, alongside pommes soufflées and wild garlic. The seasonal celebration continues into dessert, with Gariguette strawberries, balsamic vinegar with pea and mint, sablé Breton and crème fraiche ice cream. Though strawberries may be traditionally thought of as a Summer fruit, these Provence grown strawberries become available earlier in the season and have an intense sweetness which works beautifully with the freshness of the pea and mint.
citysociallondon.com
Social Eating House St Austell Bay Mussels £12.50
Executive Chef Paul Hood of Soho’s Michelin-starred Social Eating House prides himself in using only the best of seasonal British produce in his restaurant, and the menu even makes a point of sharing the distance each ingredient has travelled from picking or rearing to the kitchen. Mussels and Celeriac are at their best this time of year, and the starter of St Austell bay mussels comes with a Hereford celeriac & sour cream veloute, Granny Smith apple from Kent, mussel crisp and wild mint oil.
Mirabeau en Provence
Mirabeau en Provence is the UK’s most popular rosé brand, makes for the perfect aperitif and is ideal for sharing good times with friends and family. Now that the sun is starting to shine and the weather is warming up, why not celebrate the arrival of spring with Mirabeau en Provence? Mirabeau Pure (RRP £12.99), Mirabeau La Folie Rosé (£12.99) and Mirabeau Classic (RRP £9.99) are available from Waitrose stores in the UK, and Mirabeau Etoile (RRP £16) is available from Sainsbury’s stores in the UK.
Masque
This April, Prateek Sadhu, chef-patron of wilderness-to-table restaurant Masque in Mumbai, is bringing a taste of his innovative spicy cuisine to London as the guest chef at Carousel restaurant for a five-night residency. Following experience cooking at Alinea, The French Laundry and Le Bernardin, it was at Noma with René Redzepi that Prateek was opened to the possibilities of working exclusively with seasonal ingredients from one region. With dishes such as Smoked oyster and sour yoghurt and Pork krapow with cabbage, this will be a residency focusing on Himalayan and Northern Indian cuisine and cooking techniques.
www.carousel-london.com/whatson.html
Osteria Francescana
New a la carte and tasting menus for spring have arrived at three Michelin starred Osteria Francescana in Modena, currently ranked number 2 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Chef patron Massimo Bottura has recently opened Gucci Osteria inside the freshly opened Gucci Garden Galleria in Florence. The latest project from his non-profit association Food For Soul has just opened in the French capital with Refettorio Paris situated in the crypt below the Madeleine church.
A Parisian Spring at Blanchette Soho
The talented Chef Director Tam Storrar has added some sprightly spring flavours to his much-loved a la carte at Blanchette Soho, the Parisian bistro from brothers Maxime, Yannis and Malik. These include Corn-fed chicken breast with grilled asparagus and morels (£13.95), and a Vol-au-vent made with confit Leeks, wild garlic aioli, crushed peas and Crème Fraîche (£7.75).
The Game Bird at The Stafford London
Spring has arrived in London and so too has the spring menu from Ben Tish, newly-appointed Culinary Director at The Game Bird. The spring menu features a selection of stunning new dishes such as Cured Cornish brill with new-season peas, broad beans and mint; Pan-roasted Creedy Carver duck breast and leg with duck fat potatoes; and Dark chocolate mousse with honey gel and hazelnut ice cream, all served alongside The Game Bird favourites including Truffle Chicken Kiev and Steak and ale steamed suet pudding. The Game Bird at The Stafford London offers informal dining at any time of the day. A place to eat, drink and socialise, the focus is on modern British comfort cooking executed with great style.
www.thestaffordlondon.com/the-game-bird
Blue Boar Restaurant supports junior chefs and Hospitality Action with new spring menu
This March, Blue Boar Restaurant at Conrad London St James launched “aSPiRING Chefs”, a fresh initiative and new seasonal menu, with dishes designed by the junior chefs in the kitchen under the nurturing wing of Executive Chef Michael Riordan. This innovative approach to designing a menu allows the young chefs to develop and grow in their careers, whilst also supporting a great cause, with a £1 donation from every booking going to Hospitality Action.
Dishes include Cromer crab cannelloni with squid ink crisp, mango, avocado, radish and ras el hanout created by Justine aged 22 and Cod, garden peas, crab and squid ink tortellini, with lemon and dill butter from 24-year-old Luca. Desserts include Annabelle’s Rhubarb pistachio tart with strawberry leather and yogurt sorbet, and Onna’s Gin and tonic granita with elderflower jelly, grapefruit compote and yoghurt sponge, both 21 years of age. The spring menu is available for lunch and dinner in the Blue Boar Restaurant at Conrad London St James until 4 June, with £1 from every booking during this time being donated to Hospitality Action.
Longflint
Made using handmade tonics, sodas and seltzers paired with London’s finest independent craft spirits, Longflint is pioneering a new style of ‘long drink’ in the UK, just in time for spring. Perfect for picnics, parties and springtime celebrations, choose from Longflint’s six flavours including Rosehip & Gin Fizz, Rhubarb & Vodka Seltzer and their cold brewed Hibiscus, Gin Tonic.
Longflint’s range is available for purchase at Whole Foods, Selfridges, Mother Kelly’s as well as in the tap rooms of Beavertown and Camden Brewery, and pubs like the People’s Park Tavern in Victoria Park. Longflint is also available online via Amazon and directly from its website. RRP £3.50/bottle.
The Vurger Co
What better way to celebrate spring in the air than to head down to the newly launched restaurant, The Vurger Co. Opened on the 24th March in Shoreditch, The Vurger Co uses the very best of vegetables, seeds, nuts and legumes all combined to create the ultimate plant-based burger. Their mouth-watering menu contains vegan delights such as their MLT, The Auburger and The Mexican. Don’t forget to pair your burger with one of their 100% plant-based sides!
Yeotown Kitchen
Spring is a time for fresh starts and new beginnings. Head to Yeotown Kitchen to destress and rejuvenate! Yeotown Kitchen is London’s first mindfulness café, serving up deliciously nutritious food and detoxifying freshly pressed juices in a unique meditation station. In a serene environment, guests are invited to sip green juice, settle into a meditation pod, select a 5 to 7-minute guided mindfulness meditation, and emerge feeling refreshed and de-stressed. Yeotown Kitchen is an extension of the Devon-based wellness retreat Yeotown, co-founded by husband and wife team Mercedes Sieff, one of the UK’s leading vinyasa flow yoga teachers and positive psychology coach, and Simon Sieff, avid surfer and yogi.
www.yeotownkitchen.com/main-page/
Redemption Bar
Start your spring right, with a healthy diet! With locations in Notting Hill and Shoreditch, Redemption Bar is London’s only vegan, sugar-free, wheat-free and alcohol-free restaurant, and serves up delicious food and mocktails in a gorgeous setting. Voted one of the best vegan restaurants in London, the ethos of the Redemption Bar is firmly rooted in caring for the planet while delighting even the most sceptical meat lovers. Make sure to try their delicious probiotic booster bowl filled with green goodness!
(if you hadn’t heard, they’re crowdfunding at the moment too! Find out more here.)
Mindful Chef
Mindful Chef, the healthy recipe box delivery service, packed with lean and sustainably sourced ingredients, is here to help you make the most of seasonal British ingredients. With twelve weekly-changing recipes to choose from, that go from prep-to-plate in under 30 minutes, Mindful Chef is the ideal tool for fuss-free healthy cooking this spring. Prices from £7/portion for one person, £5/portion for two people and £4.50/portion for four people.
Frenchie
What better way to enjoy the arrival of spring then to pop into Gregory Marchand’s Frenchie Covent Garden to experience some of his brand new internationally inspired dishes created for spring, such as lavender crème brûlée, rosemary shortbread, candied lavender or glazed chicken leg, roasted carrots, pearl barley, cumin & harissa. Pair these dishes with crisp white wine from the innovative wine menu or one of Frenchie’s beautifully crafted cocktails, and you’ll definitely be leaving with a spring in your step!