Maze

Address 10-13 Grosvenor Square,
Tel 020 7107 0000
Price £64.00 Wine £19.00 Champagne £43.00
Opening Hours Mon-Sun 12N-3pm 6-11pm
Proof that the best things come in small packages is Jason Atherton’s cooking at Maze, where the a la carte is a mere distraction & the focus is on the menu of tiny tasting plates, four to eight of which make up a meal. Roast scallops with ham, eggs & peas; beef tongue & cheek with caper raisin & ginger carrots; & monkfish with dehydrated black olives, bouillabaisse & fennel pollen are among the perfect bite-sized portions that never fail to dazzle with their creativity & intense flavours. But this is no hushed temple to gastronomy – there’s always a buzz about the elegant, cleanly designed dining room, though tightly packed tables mean you must be prepared to share your secrets. Jason has recently launched the less formal Maze Grill next door, serving top-quality steaks & grilled fish at more everyday prices. Chef: Jason Atherton
Much-cited as the first British chef to complete a working stint at Ferran Adria’s elBulli restaurant in Spain, Jason Atherton is currently one of the hottest chefs in town since he garnered critical acclaim after launching Maze in May 2005 under the Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) umbrella. Among the many accolades that came in the restaurant’s first 12 months was a Michelin star & the title of BMW Square Meal Restaurant of the Year. Atherton’s early days were spent working under such restaurant luminaries as Pierre Koffmann & Nico Ladenis before he spent three years in Dubai heading up Verre for GRH. He followed this with a period of globetrotting, ensuring he was ready to unleash Maze’s tapas-style cuisine on to the London restaurant scene. With one of the most comprehensive libraries of cookery books & with his finger very much on the pulse of cutting-edge international cuisine, Atherton is continually pushing his cooking forward. He opened Maze Prague in late 2007. Kerasma London 2008 Menu
For the duration of the Kerasma London 2008 event, Jason Atherton has concocted en enticing menu for Maze including carpaccio of octopus, frozen Creteian olive oil, wild herbs and citrus and a main course of pan fried Greek bream with crushed potatoes and lobster. Desserts will include figs in grapes must with buttermilk cream and almond cakes. The Wells
Address 30 Well Wal
Tel 020 7794 3785
Price £39.00 Wine £14.00 Champagne £40.00
Opening Hours Mon-Sun 12-3pm (Sun -4pm) Mon-Sun 7-10pm
From the outside, The Wells is the kind of pub that would make an American tourist’s heart flutter: sitting amid the pretty Hampstead backstreets & housed in a gorgeous, refurbished Georgian building. It looks just as good on the inside, where solid wood furnishings dominate a relaxed ground-floor bar serving classic cocktails & a decent selection of wines by the glass. Upstairs is a formal dining space with obliging staff. Kerasma London 2008 Menu
In celebration of Kerasma London 2008 The Wells Head Chef Gregg Smith will be serving his interpretation of the Greek dessert Galaktoboureko which follows a meze plate compromising of Taramsalata, Olives, giant beans, dolmades, small lamb kebab; barrel aged feta, aubergine puree. Rochelle Canteen
Address School House, Arnold Circus,
Tel 020 7729 5677
Price £26.00 Wine £- Champagne £-
Opening Hours Mon-Fri 11am-3pm
Not your usual eatery, Rochelle Canteen occupies the former bikesheds of a Victorian school converted into studios for artists & designers, who come here to refuel. Run by caterers Margot Henderson & Melanie Arnold, the weekday lunchtime-only venue also offers a civilised escape for local workers in the know. Phone ahead &, on arrival, ring a bell on the outside wall to gain admittance. Spartan white-walls & long tables are the setting for simple, seasonal & fresh-flavoured dishes that owe something to Fergus Henderson’s (Margot’s husband) back-to-basics approach at St John. Expect the simple likes of asparagus & butter, delicious smoked trout with new potatoes & chives, or salt cod in a flavoursome white bean broth. Kerasma London 2008 Menu
Rochelle Canteen’s Head Chef Margot Henderson has adapted a more traditional Greek dish to her London restaurant and will serve lentil moussaka as well as grilled sardines, chicken, pasta and sorrel soup and a dessert of wild honey ice cream. Address 63-64 Frith Street,
Tel 020 7734 4545
Price £37.00 Wine £12.50 Champagne £29.95
Opening Hours Mon-Sat 12N-2.30pm 5-11pm Sun 12.30-3.30pm 5.30-9.30pm
Since opening in 2006, Arbutus has picked up virtually every award going, including a Michelin star in early 2007. Why? It’s that little bit different, combining ‘outstanding’ prices with ‘efficient’ service, though the main draw is the ‘superb cooking of unusual cuts’. The kitchen’s superior skill means that pig’s head becomes a delicious slab of braised meat, & sweetbreads prove a rich pairing with slow-cooked Elwy lamb & artichokes. More delicate diners will appreciate the less fearsome likes of Dorset crab with garlic mayonnaise or sea bass with Jersey royals. Everything is well thought out: the decor is smart & simple, & the wine list is a revelation. Chef: Anthony Demetre
ll eyes were on Anthony Demetre & business partner Will Smith to see if they could mimic their success at award-winning Arbutus. The answer was a resounding ‘yes’, with Wild Honey taking the BMW Square Meal Award for Best New Restaurant Autumn 2007 – a year after Arbutus took the 2006 title. Both places are fabulous value for money thanks to Demetre’s clever use of inexpensive ingredients, a skill developed during time with leading lights Bruno Loubet, Gary Rhodes & master craftsman Pierre Koffmann – renowned for using ingredients to their full with little waste. Meanwhile, white tablecloths & formal service have been ditched in favour of a relaxed atmosphere in smart, yet unpretentious, surroundings. Kerasma London 2008 Menu
Blueprint Cafe
Address Design Museum, 28 Shad Tham
Tel 020 7378 7031
Price £40.00 Wine £10.00 Champagne £39.50
Opening Hours Mon-Sun 12N-3pm (Sun-4pm) Mon-Sat 6-11pm
‘Excellent cooking combined with fantastic views’ pretty much sums up the Blueprint’s strengths. Chef Jeremy Lee isn’t into pretentious food, instead focusing on serving up each season on a plate. In late spring, for example, that might mean starters of sardines on toast with a fried egg perched on top or sea kale & mussel broth, followed with a hearty main of skate wing in a rich horseradish-spiked hollandaise. Like the rest of the menu, puddings are seasonally inspired & tend towards classic Anglo-French favourites like lemon posset or creme brulee. Chef: Jeremy Lee
Jeremy Lee joined Blueprint Cafe in 1995, bringing with him a passion for fresh ingredients, simply prepared. A native Scot, Lee spent his youth surrounded by unlimited supplies of fresh produce. While working with Simon Hopkinson at honed his culinary style, creating the deceptively simple dishes for which he is now known. From 1992 until 1994, Lee held the post of head chef at Frith Street restaurant. He then launched Euphorium in Islington. Lee is renowned for combining unusual textures & flavours to enhance the natural quality of ingredients. His signature dishes include hake with green sauce; chicken & artichoke terrine & salad of beetroot, a soft-boiled egg & horseradish. Kerasma London 2008 Menu
During Kerasma London 2008, Head Chef Jeremy Lee will serve a menu of his own creations including lamb, artichokes, potatoes, olives & rosemary followed by whole grilled bream, olive oil and lemon and a dessert of olive oil and orange cake, caramelised apples, yoghurt and almonds. Galvin Bistrot de Luxe
Address 66 Baker Street,
Tel 020 7935 4007
Price £38.00 Wine £14.00 Champagne £40.00
Opening Hours Mon-Sat 12N-2.30pm 6.30-11pm Sun 12N-3pm 6.30-10.30pm
Now in its third year, the Baker Street restaurant continues to draw huge praise for its ‘exceptionally well-executed’ French food served at affordable prices. The dining room is consistently packed & the menu of bistro favourites never less than beautifully cooked. Guest can enjoy marinated tuna with a salad of quails’ eggs, rustically flavoured pork cutlet with prunes & pommes mousseline. Sweet treats include a perfectly light & fluffy strawberry souffle. Chef: Chris & Jeff Galvin
In a relatively short space of time, Chris & Jeff Galvin have gone from employees to burgeoning restaurateurs. Since launching Galvin Bistrot de Luxe in September 2005, they have opened 8th floor of the London Hilton on Park Lane (earmarked as one to watch by Michelin) & are currently writing their first book. Both have impressive backgrounds: Chris gained accolades while at former Conran eatery, & at A-lister hangowhile Jeff won acclaim as executive chef at , where he held a Michelin star for five years. Their unpretentious, classic French bourgeois food continues to win admirers & there are rumours of further expansion for 2008, so the Galvin garden looks rosy. Kerasma Menu
At Galvin Bistrot de Luxe, during Kerasma London 2008 Jeff Galvin will be serving Greek inspired delights including warm salad of artichoke and Soutzouki sausage; fillet of sea bass, tomatoes, olives and almonds with Mylopotamos and extra virgin olive oil and Sof Manouri cheese, wild thyme and herbs, honey, roasted pistachio. Galvin at Windows
Address 28th Floor London Hilton, 22 Park Lane,
Tel 020 7208 4021
Price £76.00 Wine £32.00 Champagne £55.00
Opening Hours Mon-Sun 7-10am Mon-Fri, Sun 12N-2.30pm Mon-Sat 6-11pm
Its location on the 28th floor of the London Hilton might mean that this more formal sibling of the Galvin brothers’ Marylebone bistro is not the sort of restaurant one casually drops into, but for high-level dining in every sense, Galvin at Windows ticks all the boxes. For a start there’s the best wallpaper in London – a 180° panorama that takes in everything from Buckingham Palace to the West End & suburbs beyond. Away from the view, the luxury of the decor takes the edge off the room’s angular 1960s shape, while staff care that diners have an enjoyable time. And with food this good, it’s hard not to. The cooking exhibits both classicism & creativity, from an utterly delicious starter of shellfish lasagne to a gamey main of Anjou pigeon accompanied by petits pois a la francaise served on the side in a little saucepan, a witty touch also detectable in a dessert of peanut butter parfait matched to a glass of Bailey’s. Chef: Chris Galvin
Chris Galvin’s career as a chef began 30 years ago working under Antony Worrall-Thompson in a neighbourhood restaurant, before he joined the Ritz hotel in London where he was trained and inspired by Michael Quinn. He joined Conran Restaurants, launching Orrery and becoming chef patron of Almeida Restaurant & Bar in 2001, he was later promoted to chef director for Conran Restaurants. In 2003, Chris joined The Wolseley as executive chef. During his time there, the restaurant won numerous accolades, including Time Out Restaurant of the Year, AA London Restaurant of the Year, and inclusion in Restaurant Magazine’s ‘50 Best Restaurants’ for two consecutive years. Chris and his brother Jeff Galvin opened Galvin Bistrot de Luxe in September 2005 and in May 2006 Chris Galvin joined The London Hilton on Park Lane as chef patron of their newly refurbished 28th floor restaurant, Galvin at Windows. In January 2008, Galvin at Windows was tipped as a rising star by Michelin Guides, suggesting there is a high possibility that the restaurant will be awarded a Michelin star in 2009. Kerasma Menu
A visit to Galvin at Windows during Kerasma London 2008 will uncover Head Chef Andre Garrett’s has devised a menu of soused red mullet, salt cod, tomato and saffron dressing, followed by braised belly of lamb, Iman bayaldi, kalamata olive jus and honey dounuts, pistachio and Greek yoghurt. Club Gascon
Address 57 West Smithfield,
Tel 020 7796 0600
Price £64.00 Wine £25.00 Champagne £55.00
Opening Hours Mon-Fri 12N-2pm Mon-Sat 7-10pm (Fri-Sat -10.15pm)
Club Gascon remains unrivalled for its cutting-edge, midi-sized takes on the cuisine of south-west France. More chefs are sizing down to tasting portions these days, yet few can do it with chef Pascal Aussignac’s inventive flair (he was, after all, among the pioneers of the concept). The foie gras here is the best in town, as you would hope in an award-winning dining room with Gascon roots: try it with popcorn for an amusing twist or black truffle for divine luxury. Elderflower-glazed squab pigeon with petit pois reflects a prowess for contrasting textures, temperatures & flavours, while simpler dishes such as carpaccio of venison focus on subtlety. Desserts are sophisticated & surprising – much like the wine list. Chef: Pascal Aussignac
Hailing originally from Toulouse, Pascal Aussignac moved to London nine years ago from Paris and has slowly built up a small empire of Gascon-inspired eateries alongside business partner Vinceine bar, (a bistro and pastry-deli), and e jewel in the crown is Michelin-starred Club Gascon. Aside from Le Cercle, which is in Chelsea, all of the businesses are based in the fashionable Smithfield area, where Aussignac has created something of a cult following. His tapas-style dishes of Gascon favourites – not least foie gras – have been an outstanding success with London diners. After winning the 2007 Independent Restaurateur of the Year award at the industry Oscars, the Cateys, the coming year will see Club Gascon celebrate its 10th anniversary and there is the promise of more Comptoir sites to come soon. Pascal Aussignac’s Kerasma London 2008 menu uses the finest of Greek ingredients; dishes include ouzo foie gras delight, baby squid plancha with escabeche, fenouil and golden raisons and a dessert of Greek yoghurt ice-cream, truffle honey and spiced strawberries. Address 54 Lamb's Conduit
Tel 020 7405 1717
Price £38.00 Wine £13.50 Champagne £-
Opening Hours Mon-Sun 12N-10.45pm (Sun -9.30pm)
It may be centrally located, but Cigala has all the charm of a busy neighbourhood restaurant. Having co-founded Moro, owner & exec-chef Jake Hodges knows a thing or two about Spanish food, & here he offers fuss-free, vibrant cooking in both the basement tapas bar & the main dining room on the ground floor. The daily changing menu may list grilled red mullet jazzed up with samphire & romesco sauce, or two types of paella. From the tapas menu, standards such as patatas bravas with lively chilli & coriander-spiked tomato sauce are a surefire hit. And, if you have a sweet tooth, don’t miss turrones y almendras con chocolate, a delightfully giddy combination of chocolate, nougat, cookies & almonds. Chef: Jake Hodges
Awaiting information
Kerasma Menu
In honour of Kerasma London 2008, Jake Hodges has created dishes some enticing dishes for Cigala including grilled red mullet stuffed with oregano, pinenuts and kalamati with an olive and fennel salad to start with and a main course of braised Lamb shank with grilled peppers, gigante beans, apricots and apricot and yoghurt bread. Caffe Caldesi
Address 118 Marylebone Lane,
Tel 020 7935 1144
Price £43.00 Wine £16.50 Champagne £42.00
Opening Hours Mon-Fri 12N-3pm Mon-Sat 6-10.30pm
The younger, more energetic sibling of the original Caldesi is building an equally loyal following thanks to its fresh, simple Italian food. Set over two levels, with a bustling cafe & bar on the ground floor & a clean & bright restaurant on the first, Caffe Caldesi offers regional specialities from across Italy. It’s rustic stuff, from antipasti of cuttlefish with tomato & chilli to marinated vegetables with buffalo mozzarella. Highlights among the ‘primi piatti’ of fresh pasta include tagliolini with artichokes, clams & squid, while main courses offer a choice of basic fish & meat dishes. Beyond the honest food, one of the main reasons to visit here is the warm & witty staff, with waiters who ‘seem genuinely pleased to see you’ fostering a lively atmosphere both upstairs & down. Giancarlo Caldesi
Born in Montepulciano, Tuscany, Giancarlo Caldesi’s interest in food and cooking was sparked by his mother and grandmother, who he helped in the kitchen from an early age. He has had a colourful career path and spent time on front of house teams, before becoming Company Director for Ashleys Restaurant Group. He went on to launch his own restaurant, Edelweiss and took over the role of chef when he became unhappy with the food. He has been here ever since, launching Caldesi Restaurant in 1993 followed by Caffe Caldesi in 2000. In 2005 following years of teaching in the restaurant kitchen Giancarlo launch La Cucina Caldesi with his wife Katie. They now also own Caldesi in Campagna which launching September 2007. Kerasma Menu
Giancarlo Caldesi has taken inspiration from Greek ingredients to create a menu comprising of a starter of 'Fish Kebabs' (skewered squid, swordfish, king prawns on chickpea and rosemary stew), Greek calzone as a main course followed by a dessert of Greek yoghurt panna cotta with dates, dried apricots, pistachios and honey. Magdalen
Address 152 Tooley Street,
Tel 020 7403 1342
Price £38.00 Wine £13.50 Champagne £30.00
Opening Hours Mon-Fri 12N-2.15pm Mon-Sat 6.30-10pm
Co-owned by a team of young chefs who met while working at Chiswick’s well-regarded La Trompette, this two-storey restaurant (no bookings on the ground floor) is appealingly decorated with bentwood chairs, aubergine walls, big mirrors & even bigger sprays of fresh lilies. Good things on a menu more British than the Parisian-bistro-like surrounds would suggest include a starter of smoked eel with apple & celeriac remoulade &, to follow, a really superb confit duck accompanied by nutty, emerald-green Brussels sprout leaves & a creamy mustard sauce. Characterful touches do make amends, including a daily-changing menu based on seasonal ingredients sourced from nearby Borough Market & a French-leaning wine list offering 12 bottles by the carafe. Reasonable prices, too, are refreshingly different. Chef: Waiting on information
Kerasma London 2008 Menu
David Abbott’s Kerasma London 2008 menu incorporated a delightful variety of Greek ingredients with dishes including of broad beans, feta and marjoram and slow cooked shoulder of sucking kid, stewed tomatoes, fennel and olives. Address Rex House, 4-12 Regent Street,
Tel 020 7499 8558
Price £48.00 Wine £15.50 Champagne £43.00
Opening Hours Mon-Sun 12N-3pm 5.30pm-12M (Sun -11pm)
Christopher Corbin & Jeremy King launched St Alban in late 2006. The consistently well-executed food, which is inspired by the flavours of Italy, Spain & Portugal, has been more warmly received. A starter of dressed Cornish crab served with crushed avocado is brought to life with the feisty addition of finely chopped red chillis, while steamed sea bass with roasted shallots & aged balsamic sees perfectly timed fish enhanced by its sweet-tinged accompaniments, & suckling pig boasts perfect crackling. Among desserts, the moist amaretti tart made zingy with rhubarb sorbet is highly recommended. Further pluses include the delightful bread selection & slick, if somewhat ‘superior’, service. Chef: waiting on information
Kerasma London 2008 Menu
Dale Osborne’s Kerasma London 2008 menu includes a host of fabulous Greek ingredients with dishes such as spice crusted swordfish with pickled aubergine and Greek yogurt, Charcoal grilled lamb cutlets with roasted peppers and kalamata olives and desserts include home made Greek yogurt with crushed honeycomb Locanda Locatelli
Address Hyatt Regency Hotel The Churchill, 8 Seymour
Tel 020 7935 9088
Price £54.00 Wine £12.00 Champagne £42.00
Opening Hours Mon-Sat 12N-3pm 7-11pm (Fri-Sat -11.30pm) Sun 12N-3.30pm 7-10pm
Don’t expect technically fussy or dazzlingly complicated dishes at the capital’s best-known, celeb-filled northern Italian restaurant: acclaimed chef-proprietor Giorgio Locatelli’s ingredient-led cooking lets seasonal flavours shine. A regularly changing menu might showcase a simple salad of mullet roe & fresh fennel, or intensely flavoured minced pork wrapped in savoy cabbage paired with pan-fried risotto. Imaginative second courses include buckwheat pasta with savoy cabbage, leek & sage, & pan-fried polenta-crusted eel with red onions, capers & tomatoes. To finish, classic Sardinian sebadas (sweet cheese parcels) enjoy a perfect marriage with myrtle berry ice cream. A little-known fact is that this child-friendly place is also one of the few top venues that will happily cater for people with food allergies. Chef: Giorgio Locatelli
Giorgio Locatelli was born into a family that ran a Michelin-starred restaurant in Corgeno, Italy. He worked in Italy & Switzerland & moved to London 21 years ago to work for Anton Edelmann at The Savoy hotel. Four years later, he went to Paris to work at Restaurant Laurent & La Tour d’Argent, returning to head up the kitc where he served up rustic Italian food for three years. Spotted by restaurateur Claudio Pulze, he then opened & scooped a Michelin star in 1999. In 2002, he opened Locanda Locatelli & secured a Michelin star the following year. In addition to TV appearances on Pure Italian (UKTV Food) & Tony & Giorgio (BBC), he has written two books, his most recent, Made in Italy. Giorgio Locatelli’s Greek inspired dishes include a wonderful selection of stuffed vegetables, roasted belly of pork with black-eye beans and baked tomatoes and a dessert of goat yoghurt panna cotta with sweet wild honey sauce. Address 136 Brompton Roa
Tel 020 7589 7330
Price £22.00 Wine £11.00 Champagne £-
Opening Hours Mon-Fri 8am-11pm Sat 9am-11pm Sun 10am-6pm
Dubbed by one fan the ‘epitome of bohemian broccoli chic’, a place ‘so healthy that your hair grows 2mm the moment you walk through the door’, Leon attracts plenty of glowing praise for its fresh & healthy range of food, much of which is organic. From wraps, dips & boxed superfood salads for takeaway to more substantial eat-in dishes such as succulent slow-cooked ribs, the Leon range is great for workday lunches & evening bites alike. With 10 restaurants across London, it’s set to move out of London in the near future. Chef: Allegra McEvedy
Allegra McEvedy is a seasoned chef and co-founder of LEON, the healthy fast food restaurant chain. After completing at the Cordon Bleu School in London, Allegra worked at Green’s; The Belvedere in Holland Park; The Groucho Club and The River Café. During a spell in the USA, McEvedy worked at Rubicon in San Francisco, and ran the kitchen at Robert De Niro’s famous New York restaurant Tribeca Grill (500 covers a night). Upon returning to London, McEvedy joined The Good Cook group, initially as Head Chef of The Tabernacle, a community restaurant in Notting Hill, and later as Head Chef of The Good Cook in Kensington High Street. As chef and founding partner of LEON, Allegra executes much of her strong social conscience in the cultivation of the restaurants’ dishes. To achieve flavour and ensure goodness, Allegra’s dishes at LEON are created with ingredients from trusted farms and are brought to life further with herbs and spices, avoiding animal fats and sugary carbohydrates. Leon restaurant’s Kerasma menu, created by Allegra will showcase a tantalising Greek superfood salad which will be followed by a delightful pot of Greek yogurt and wild honey. Address 169 Church Road,
Tel 020 8748 0434
Price £50.00 Wine £15.00 Champagne £39.00
Opening Hours Mon-Fri, Sun 12.15-2.15pm Mon-Sun 7-10pm (Sun -9pm)
Regulars love Riva & will not hear a bad word said about it. There’s a lengthy menu of Italian classics, but those in the know ignore it & ask the urbane proprietor Andrea Riva for his recommendations. The better he knows you, the more appropriate & well judged his suggestions will be & the more you’ll feel part of the restaurant’s inner circle, so much so that you may agree with regulars who say that ‘here is a restaurant you want to go to for the rest of your life’. For Kerasma London 2008, Andrea Riva has devised a menu consisting of Carpaccio Terramare which is made up of raw beef topped with grated myzithra and fava bean salad; thinly sliced octopus marinated in rosemary scented “kolymvari Gold” extra virgin olive oil with fennel and orange. For his main course he is serving Capretto Greco-Romano which is roast kid goat with artichokes, black and green Kalamata olives, pistachio nuts with aubergine purée. Clarke's
Address 124 Kensington Church Street,
Tel 020 7221 9225
Price £63.00 Wine £14.00 Champagne £37.00
Opening Hours Mon-Sat 12.30-2pm (Sat 11am- ) Tues-Sat 7-10pm
Set across two prim-looking floors amid the antiques shops of Kensington Church Street, Sally Clarke’s restaurant first opened its doors in 1984. The approach remains much the same as then, sourcing the best & freshest seasonal ingredients & cooking them with elegant simplicity – though Clarke now offers diners three choices per course in the evening after years of having just a rigid set menu. Spring onion risotto with dill & creme fraiche might be followed by slow-baked leg of Aylesbury duck with cherry & red wine vinegar glaze, & white peach zabaglione cake with fresh rose blossom extract. For Kerasma London 2008, Sally Clarke has devised a tempting menu of grilled and marinated squid in Greek olive oil followed by rabbit stew with green onions and saffron and spiced sausage with fennel.

Source: http://www.kerasma.gr/gr/LondonKerasma2008.pdf