Jesse Dunford Wood heads up Kensal Green gastropub relaunch

Parlour on Regent Street opened this week after a full refurb with a new menu positioning the pub as an all-day dining venue with food available from 8am till 1am. 

All-day dining​

Speaking to BigHospitality, Dunford Wood, who is now a business partner and executive chef for the group, explained Parlour would represent a sea change from its previous incarnation with a menu that features the chef's trademark dish, Cow Pie, as opposed to burgers and steak sandwiches.

"The Regent was famous for late night weekends with DJs, popcorn and burgers. We thought we would keep using our late license but we realised we were able to serve alcohol from 10am so why not use our whole license? It is not necessarily going to be an overnight success but not a lot of places have food till Midnight."

The former Hix chef argued it was easier for hospitality businesses to open earlier than it was for retail operations to have longer opening hours. However he said the difficulty came in evolving the menu, lighting and decor throughout the day to suit different guest's expectations.

"Our challenge is going to be the Monday to Friday breakfast and lunch crowd," Dunford Wood continued. "In the evening, and even late night, it is going to be much easier."

Diners will be able to choose from breakfast including porridge with bananas and honey, Parlour's pork pie ploughman’s and other dishes for lunch or grilled mackerel with green sauce in the evening menu selection.

While some dishes are exclusive to certain serving times, other meals straddle the whole 18-hour service.

The Parlour restaurant and bar, which has a dining area and kitchen both on the same level, has space for 45 covers inside plus 60-70 in the bar and garden.    

The Hope​

The price point for the gastropub will remain largely in line, or slightly smaller, than the other venues in the group. However Dunford Wood revealed the Kensal Green venue would next year be joined by a second Parlour following the group's acquisition of The Hope pub in Richmond from Enterprise Inns.

"At the moment it is just being traded as it is - it will continue like that until the New Year while we get this (Parlour) a bit more established. We are actually going to open another Parlour, under the same brand."

Dunford Wood originally worked with the Perritt brothers, Jonathan and Andy, on the opening of The Mall Tavern in Notting Hill in 2010.​ The pub was soon merged into the pair's other businesses before the chef joined the group as a partner, introducing a food-led vision to the company.

Perritt & Perritt now operate The Stag in Hampstead plus its upstairs restaurant G. Wadley's as well as The Mall Tavern and Parlour.

"It is exciting and we are always looking for another site. There are grand plans - there is no target but we are not just happy with our lot; we want to progress and we want to grow," he concluded.