Cass Titcombe reveals details of new Roost chicken restaurant

The restaurant’s menu will be based heavily on the use of free-range British chicken served in three ways – grilled, roasted or fried - and will open in central London in the autumn. 

Chef Titcombe, who left Canteen last year, came up with the idea with business partners Simon Anderson, owner of The Albion in Islington and director of Pitt Cue Co and brand and design director Louise Chidgey. 

He said chicken was popular with a range of socio-cultures and ages and was a healthier alternative to red meat, which was why they had pursued the concept. 

“Roost’s ethos is ‘to do one simple main ingredient well’ by offering a simple ethically sourced free-range menu, that delivers quality fast food from the best seasonal UK produce," he said.  

Street food​ 

Roost will start life in the form of a food truck this summer which will be pitched in locations across the capital from the end of June and serve street food-style dishes such as chicken burgers, chicken noodle soup and buttermilk fried chicken. 

The trio will then run a three-day pop-up restaurant called Roost Feast in Kensal Rise, London in July before launching the restaurant, in an as yet, unknown location.

Canteen expansion​

Titcombe, who left Canteen, the group he co-founded with Dominic Lake and Patrick Clayton-Malone in 2005, had originally looked at opening a bistro-style restaurant in West London​, but has now focused on central London. 

His former business partners have also been dedicated to expanding across central London. Earlier this month, Canteen opened its fifth restaurant - at the former Livebait site in Wellington Street, Covent Garden.