Tom Conran to open Notting Hill pop-up restaurant
Tom Conran, restaurateur and son of Sir Terence Conran, is to launch a 12-month pop-up restaurant in Notting Hill with chef Tom Straker.
Located on the former site of Tom's Deli in Westbourne Grove, New Tom's will serve "avant-garde modern cuisine" in a relaxed bistro-style setting.
Straker trained at London's Dorchester hotel at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, and will use modern cooking techniques to produce a menu serving breakfast, brunch and lunch dishes. Many of the ingredients used will be sourced from his family farm in Herefordshire. New Tom's has a smoker in the garden for smoking food such as salmon, tomatoes, salt and even water.
Breakfasts dishes include scrambled hens eggs, treacle-cured bacon, cavolo nero and grilled sourdough; slow-cooked duck eggs with mushroom duxelle, parmesan, bacon, onion brioche and Jersey rock oysters with Bloody Mary shots.
The lunchtime menu includes dishes such as white onion soup with crispy onions, basil and ricotta; Israeli couscous, cumin, roasted broccoli and burrata with a confit lemon and basil dressing; and veal short rib ravioli with root vegetable and pancetta broth.
Sir Terence Conran has loaned his son original art by British pop artists for the restaurant, including works by Eduardo Paolozzi, David Hockney, Richard Smith and Patrick Caufield.
The interior also has a long bar with blue leather padded diner stools and a series of 1930s Parisian Metro booth seats running along the wall on the upper level.
Tom Conran, who has lived in Notting Hill for 30 years, previously ran Tom's Deli on the same site for 24 years. The lease on the site is set to expire after 12 months, and it is not currently clear what will happen with the site once the pop-up ends.
Commenting on the launch, Conran said: "Tom Straker and I are doing something pioneering here at New Tom's taking sophisticated modern cuisine out of the usual formal restaurant environment and placing it in a fresh friendly and relaxed setting . Our kitchen will use honed techniques, craft and artistry to create exquisite modern renditions of timeless classics. We've done it all with a real sense of fun and hope that the neighbourhood takes it to its heart."
