Bancone founders to open Battersea pub this summer

The team behind all-day fresh pasta restaurant Bancone are set to open a new pub at Battersea Power Station this summer.

The Hero’s Return will open on the banks of the River Thames, marking the group’s latest expansion beyond its award-winning pasta restaurants.

Announcing the opening on LinkedIn, Battersea Power Station said: “We’re excited to announce the Hero’s Return, a brand-new pub and dining room concept, will be opening this summer at Battersea Power Station.”

The post added that the venue “will bring exceptional British cooking, riverside drinking and local energy to one of the capital’s most iconic locations”.

The pub will feature a 40-cover terrace overlooking the Thames, alongside an open kitchen, fireplaces, bar seating and dining spaces.

Head chef Jonathan Woolway’s menu will include dishes such as grilled mackerel with rainbow chard and horseradish, ox heart with hand-cut chips and peppercorn sauce, and cold roast Gower lamb with celeriac remoulade and pickled walnut.

Julia Wilkinson, restaurant director at Battersea Power Station Development Company, said: “Battersea Power Station has always been about reinvention and creative energy, and the Hero’s Return captures that spirit perfectly.

“It’s a concept that is both rooted in London’s pub culture and reflective of the area’s continued evolution.”

The launch comes during a period of rapid growth for the restaurant group; it opened its fourth restaurant, and first site in west London, in May, joining its existing restaurants in Covent Garden, Golden Square and Borough Yards.

Bancone is also preparing to open its first hotel restaurant in mid-August at the Imperial hotel in Bloomsbury. The 120-cover, 2,565 sq ft restaurant will mark another milestone in the brand’s expansion.