Anna Hansen's restaurant opening soon

Former Providores chef Anna Hansen's new £1m London venture will open its doors in July after three years in development, Caterer can reveal.

The Modern Pantry, backed by restaurant group D&D London, is housed in a Grade II-listed Georgian building on St John's Square, Clerkenwell.

The former tavern, more recently a carpentry workshop, was snapped up by Hansen three years ago, but after her initial investors fell through last autumn, D&D stepped in and the lease was signed just before Christmas.

Floor-to-ceiling windows on the ground floor and a kitchen open to one side will provide the backdrop for 40 seats, with plans for a further 24 seats on the generous pavement area outside.

The smarter upstairs dining room, with views over St John's Square towards the City, will offer up to 60 seats, including a room that will double up for private dining.

Hansen made her name at Peter Gordon's ground-breaking, fusion cooking-inspired Providores restaurant, which opened in Marylebone High Street in 2001, leaving in March 2005 to develop her new venture.

"I'm calling it the Modern Pantry because it's all about the crazy ingredients you can find these days," she said.

"The original idea was to do a book, with recipes showing what to do with some of this stuff - then it became a restaurant."

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By Fiona Sims

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