Maxwell's Restaurant Group to open second Joe's Southern Kitchen & Bar

Maxwell's Restaurant Group is set to open a second Joe's Southern Kitchen & Bar on the site of what was the Kentish Canteen in London's Kentish Town Road.

The new site will serve fried chicken, other American-style dishes and cocktails.

The first Joe's Southern Kitchen & Bar opened in Covent Garden in the former home of the group's Navajo Joe restaurant in 2013.

The new site, spread over two floors, will feature a 90-cover ground floor restaurant and a 20-cover barbecue and dining space outside, along with a basement bar called Jailbird.

Executive chef Trevor Tobin (formerly of Steam & Rye, the Big Easy and Goodman) will head the kitchen with the help of head chef Mark Jeevaratnam, who created the original Joe's menu.

Alongside the fried chicken, the menu will include beef short rib and Southern favourites such as devilled eggs, mac ‘n' cheese and gooey corn spoon bread. The venue will also serve breakfast and brunch.

Restaurant operations manager Jim Robertson said: "After the success of Joe's in Covent Garden, we decided it was time to open up our kitchen to more Londoners and a new venue in Kentish Town was an obvious choice for us. The restaurant scene in NW5 is about to explode and we want to be a part of it."

Maxwell's Restaurant Group, led by Brian Stein, runs several restaurants and bars across London under a variety of formats including the Maxwell's, PJ's, Cafe de Paris and Palm Court Brasserie brands. Stein first opened Maxwell's in Hampstead in the early 1970s.