Spread over two levels, Dabbous restaurant comprises a dining room and basement bar. The menu will be based on slightly smaller portions ranging from £4 to £14, with both tasting and lunch menus available.
Dabbous, one of the chefs Restaurant magazine and BigHospitality tipped to be a star of the future in 2009, said: “We will be a more modern and informal alternative to many of London’s fine dining restaurants, with return custom promoted by the high standard of food and drink, friendly but attentive service and relaxed atmosphere.
“Prices will be reasonable and there will be no fuss or pretentiousness. Above all, we want guests to feel welcomed, not intimidated.”
The 28-year-old began his career at two-Michelin-starred restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons and has also worked at The Fat Duck, Hibiscus, Noma, Mugaritz, and at the Cuckoo Club alongside Kinberg. Together, the pair have taken a lease on the site of Cyberia, the UK’s first internet café, which opened in Whitfield Street in 1994.
Industrial but organic
The interior of Dabbous restaurant will feature an ‘industrial but organic’ design, with exposed brickwork, rustic candles and natural woods.
The menu will change with the seasons with dishes including salad of fennel, lemon balm & pickled rose petals; barbecued Ibérico pork, savoury acorn praline, turnip tops and homemade apple vinegar and chocolate clay with sheep's milk ice cream & basil.
Dabbous’ wine list will be varied but concise, with many offered by the glass. In the basement bar, Oskar will preside over a menu of classic drinks and signature cocktails such as the Dillusion - cucumber, elderflower and dill muddled with Bloom's gin, ice and lemon- using homemade sugars and infusions.
A limited selection of bar snacks will be offered alongside the full restaurant menu. Table service and tailored music playlists will also feature and the area will be available for private hire.
Dabbous will open from Tuesday to Saturday, the restaurant for lunch and dinner and the bar from noon until 11.30pm.