Scott Hallsworth to open late night venue in South Kensington
Ramusake - a collaboration with Mahiki and Whisky Mist owner Piers Adam – will essentially be a late-night version of Kurobuta, offering a menu of Hallsworth’s trademark small plates alongside Japanese-inspired cocktails.
Hallsworth said he hoped the venue, which will serve food from 6pm to as late as 4am, will attract the same young, wealthy crowd that frequented the Brompton Club, as well as chefs looking to eat out after work.
“I’d accept that this sort of establishment and good food don’t go hand in hand but I don’t think that’s a reason to not give it a go,” he said.
“Everybody is a foodie these days so there’s no reason to sell poor quality food, especially in a venue where there’s a lot of cash flying around.
"Eating good food late is big in New York but has never really taken off here but there are a few places in London."
Ramusake will be launched during London Fashion Week, which is taking place in the middle of September.
Kurobuta expansion
Hallsworth also revealed plans to expand his Kurobuta brand, opening further sites with his existing business partners, South African restaurateur and hotelier Paul Kovensky and former Nobu and The Ritz finance man Andrew Stafford.
“It’s a scalable concept for sure, I’m very open about that,” he said.
“Lots of agents are coming out of the woodwork and offering us terrible sites but Paul has a great property guy that has identified developments in Soho and Shoreditch that we’re seriously considering.”
The trio is also eyeing international expansion, with a restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the cards for next year.
Kurobuta Bodrum
Hallsworth opened his third restaurant Kurochan at the new Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bodrum, Turkey, earlier this month.
The restaurant is serving similar food to the existing Kurobuta sites, with a menu of Japanese-inspired small dishes including soft shell crab tempura with spicy kimchee mayo, seared salmon sashimi, wasabi salsa and yuzu-soy, and Japanese curried beef short rib buns with sweet peanut soy.
Hallsworth said the deal with Mandarin Oriental could potentially lead to further restaurants in the hotel group’s properties, including one in Bali.
Read the full interview with Scott Hallsworth in next month’s issue of Restaurant Magazine, out on 6 August 2014.
