Chef Jun Tanaka set to open first solo venture, the Ninth
Chef Jun Tanaka, co-founder of Street Kitchen and former executive chef of Pearl in Holborn, is to open his first solo venture, named the Ninth, in London's Fitzrovia, in mid-November.
The site has been named as such as it is the ninth restaurant that Tanaka has worked on in his career, and is spread over two floors on Charlotte Street. It will offer a French-Mediterranean menu with casual service and an approachable atmosphere.
The à la carte menu will be split into eight sections, comprising snacks, hot starters, salads, raw and cured, meat, fish, vegetables, and desserts. Dishes will focus on seasonal ingredients and vegetables as the main event, and will also have a focus on pickled, brined, and cured specialities.
Typical dishes will include oxtail croquettes, veal tortellini with gremolata and bone marrow and rabbit lasagne with smoked bacon. Veggie-focused plates will include smoked aubergine caviar with pickled red onion, Jerusalem artichokes and toasted Fregola, and butternut squash risotto with pumpkin seeds. There will also be razor clam ceviche, pickled mussels with smoked paprika, and cured veal tongue, plus salted beef cheeks with oxtail consommé, lamb en croute with truffles, and whole seabream with anchovy dressing.
Desserts will be classic in style, including pain perdu with honeycomb, tarte tatin with rosemary ice-cream, and freshly baked Madeleines. The wine list will have 25 white and 25 red varieties, including a small selection of rose and dessert choices.
The decor, created by the London-and-Istanbul-based Rosendale Design, has been designed to look warm and inviting yet modern, with green and terracotta leather banquettes, exposed brick walls, slate green tiles and copper edging.
Tanaka brings over 20 years' experience working within London restaurants, including several Michelin-starred sites. He has worked with Michel Roux Jr, Marco Pierre White and Eric Chavot, and was most recently executive chef at Pearl, where he gained three AA Rosettes.
He most recently opened a permanent London site for his mobile street food "sandwiches by the inch" brand Street Kitchen, with partner Mark Jankel, and has also created a television career in the UK and USA.
Minute on the clock: Jun Tanaka >>
Street Kitchen to open permanent site >>
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