Three eagerly anticipated London restaurants have opened. First up, Soho sees the soft launch of Blacklock, which opens its doors proper on Monday 16 February. Ex-City boy Gordon Ker brings char-grilled chops to a former hostess bar on Windmill Street. Each chop is branded with a scorching Blacklock flat iron and if you have successfully registered as a ‘guinea pig’ at theblacklock.com you can get 50% off during soft launch. Here’s what their Twitter feed said about that: ‘Blacklock Guinea Pigs – a few days of chops, cocktails, mistakes & 1/2 price bills – is happening 12-14 February. Come say hi and eat chops.’
On nearby Greek Street, eagerly anticipated Bó Drake is now open for business. The focus is East Asian BBQ with strong Korean overtones. Owner Jan Lee has used his Chinese upbringing and his experience cooking at nearby Roka to create Bó Drake and the menu features dishes such as smoked bobo chicken with sriracha, lime and herbs or dan-dan pork belly with chanterelles, peanuts, spring onions and noodles.
Down the road in St Martin’s Place, the Portrait Restaurant (pictured above) at the National Portrait Gallery is set to reopen today. The restaurant, on level three of the gallery, boasts views of Trafalgar Square and à la carte dishes include starters such as Jerusalem artichoke and rosemary soup or beetroot, goats’ curd and spiced pecans, while mains feature the likes of Romney Marsh lamb with fennel and potato gratin, and grilled hanger steak with hand-cut chips.
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