Dom Taylor to open new Caribbean restaurant in west London

Chef Dom Taylor will open a new Caribbean restaurant in Ladbroke Grove next month that promises to reimagine the Caribbean takeaway.

The 60-cover Marvee’s Food Shop will open on 9 May within music and events space UNDR, close to Portobello Road.

Named after Taylor’s mother Marveline, the restaurant is inspired by his childhood and Jamaican heritage, with a nod to London’s Caribbean food shops.

It is the first major project for Taylor since the end of his 10-month Good Front Room restaurant residency at the Langham London hotel, which he launched after winning Channel 4’s Five Star Kitchen: Britain’s Next Great Chef.

Marvee’s Food Shop will serve Caribbean classics such as Bammy (a traditional cassava bread) and the Jamaican Festival (a deep-fried sweet bread) reinvented as waffles, with toppings such as jerk chicken, crispy spiced banana blossom or boneless curry goat. Taylor’s menu will also include his take on a Jamaican patty, with fillings such as callaloo, beef, saltfish or chicken.

Desserts will include ‘old skool’ cake and custard, while the drinks menu will feature vegan-friendly pineapple punch, peanut punch, carrot juice, cocktails, wine and beer.

Taylor said the restaurant was something he had been “dreaming about for years”.

He added:  “It’s the kind of place I’ve always wanted to create – one that brings together the food memories that shaped me.

“My mum Marvee is the heart of this project, and she’ll always have a seat in the restaurant. Every project I’ve done has been rooted in love for Caribbean heritage and flavour – and this is no different. It’s another way for me to keep challenging the stereotypes around Caribbean food in the UK. I can’t wait to open the doors and welcome the community – old friends and new.”

He said Marvee’s was a more relaxed concept and more information on a future for the Good Front Room would be shared at a later date.

Taylor won a Be Inclusive Hospitality Spotlight Award last year.