Whether it’s political or palate-cleansing, every few years, we need a good old shake up. And the new superchefs on the capital’s culinary scene are doing just that. The rise of Mark Hix is showing no bounds as he opens his new destination HIX Restaurant & Champagne Bar at Selfridges department store and Bruno Loubet is back from an eight year spell down-under with his brand new Bistrot at The Zetter Hotel in Clerkenwell.
Last year it was a pop-up by Pierre Koffmann but Selfridges’ 2010 offering is a real keeper. Yes Mark Hix is going fashion forward and adding to his many accolades including GQ Chef of the Year and Tatler Restaurateur of the Year. His new eponymous Brewer Street eaterie is going from strength to strength with its basement bar collaboration with Nick Strangeway proving quite the alternative club scene. However, not one to rest on his considerable laurels, the cuddly chef is adding HIX Restaurant & Champagne Bar at Selfridges to his burgeoning portfolio.
Designed by the team at Sir Terence Conran, the mezzanine space, formerly the Gallery Restaurant, will feature major artists including Tracey Emin (Brewer Street already boasts exclusively created pieces from Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas) plus, of course, Hix’s trademark ‘Best of British’ classics including Steak Tartare, Linguine with Red Sea Prawns & Chilli and Farmhouse Chicken Salad or more figure-friendly snacks of Quail’s Egg Shooters - all served throughout the day. Early birds will enjoy breakfasts of Crumpets with Butter & Marmite and Ricotta Hot Cakes with Honeycomb & Banana – which might even tempt Naomi Campbell out of bed!
Those with fond memories of Bistrot Bruno and L’Odeon in their heyday will definitely see Australia’s loss (Bruno’s Tables and Baguette in Brisbane, and Berardo’s in Noosa for galloping gourmets) as a positive boon as London welcomes Bruno Loubet back into the fold as chef patron of The Zetter’s new Bistrot Bruno Loubet at the behest of business partners Mark Sainsbury and Michael Benyan.
Get set for a no-holes-barred showcase of that distinctive cooking technique and hallmark style with an all-day menu featuring Onion & Cider Soup & upside-down Emmenthal Souffle, Hare Royale with Onion Raviolo, Pumpkin & dried Mandarin Pureé and Rice Pudding Pannacotta & Marmalade.
The curved 85-seater restaurant with its wall of windows onto St John’s Square has been redesigned by the multi-talented Russell Sage with reclaimed furniture and quirky American wall-mounted fans and old-fashioned industrial lighting.
Vive La Révolution!
HIX Restaurant & Champagne Bar at Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street, London, W1, 020 7499 5400www.hixatselfridges.co.uk
Bistrot Bruno Loubet, St John’s Square, 86-88 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1, 020 7324 4455, www.bistrotbruno.com
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The New Superchefs
