One of the benefits of having a serviced apartment with a fully fitted kitchen is that you don’t have to rely on eating out when you’re on a business trip. Yet you can eat out once in a while, especially if you have a client to impress or the family are visiting. In 2014 there are new restaurants opening close to several of our London properties. Here is Clarendon’s guide to the best new eateries in 2014.
Holborn Dining Room, near to North Mews, opening in February
You would expect a new restaurant in Holborn to have a little extra. The Holborn Dining Room has exactly that. Not content with just being a restaurant it is a rock bar and delicatessen as well with an open terrace. The menu includes breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of the week so it’s a great place for the weekend as well as the working week. Expect a range of dishes including a classic British fare with Cornish Crab Bisque, Highland Partridge and Steak and a Camden Ink Suet Pudding as well as fish and chips. It wouldn’t be a British feast without a hearty dessert and already our taste buds are tingling with the dishes on offer here; banana and custard, steam jam sponge pudding are tastes from your childhood. You don’t have to visit for a sit down meal, however. Grab a coffee or a sandwich from the deli to eat back at your desk; you can even have a fish finger sandwich!
Holborn Dining Room, Rosewood Hotel, 252 High Holborn, London
20 Fenchurch Street, near to Pepys Street and The Minories, opening in April
The “walkie talkie” has already had its fair share of press coverage because of its unusual design, but the building’s new restaurant is hoping it gets a buzz for nothing more than its food and ambience. 20 Fenchurch Street is a restaurant across three levels in the heart of the business district. It’ll be the best spot for a business lunch with stunning views and a great central location in a landmark building. Plans include an indoor garden called “the Sky Garden” and there’s a food bar on the 35th floor where you can sample champagne and canapés, or there’s a brasserie serving seafood and the grill. There’s no word on the menu yet but caterers Rhubarb, who already look after the Royal Albert Hall, have been snapped up so expect tasty food and super celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal is on the team. This will undoubtedly be the hottest place to go for a meal you’ll never forget.
20 Fenchurch Street, Fenchurch Street, London
Ibérica, near to The Barbican, opening TBC
This new Farringdon eatery promises an authentic Spanish dining experience when you discover the owners are former Spanish importers. It will be the fourth Ibérica site in the capital and each of their venues are known for great food, hospitality and top quality produce. The new restaurant will serve regional Spanish cooking served in the stylish mezzanine “Celeya Dining Room”. Underneath oversized lamps and shelves filled with produce in a room designed by Barcelona designer Lázaro Rosa Violán try boldly flavoured dishes including fabada, a bean and sausage stew, with authentic breads, charcuterie and cheeses. Their resident chef Nacho Manzano has a Michelin Star so expect flavoursome dishes like red berries and beetroot with a dollop of cream cheese and anchovies. Compliment your meal with a bottle of wine straight from a Spanish vineyard.
Ibérica, 86 Turnmill Lane, Farringdon (exact address TBC)
Ember Yard, near Berwick Street, opened in December 2013
Just around the corner from Clarendon’s new extended stay apartments in Soho is Ember Yard which opened before Christmas. The restaurant is run by Ben Tish and Simon Mullins of Salt Yard, Dehesa and Opera Tavern. The menu is filled with dishes using traditional Italian and Spanish grilling methods so the food is smoked and cooked over charcoal. The restaurant has a custom-based charcoal fired grill so expect food you won’t be able to get anywhere else. Try a Smoked Old Spot Pork Belly with a Basque Cider Glaze or a Hot Chocolate Ganacha with Salted-caramel Ice Cream. We’re hungry already.
Each of these new restaurants is close to one of Clarendon’s extended stay apartments in Soho, Holborn, Tower Hill and the Barbican.