Rabbit ‘wild food’ restaurant to launch in Chelsea
Rabbit is being opened by brothers Richard, Oliver and Gregory Gladwin, who wish to emphasise sustainability and nose-to-tail cooking with the venture. The restaurant will have 48 covers and is located on King’s Road.
As with their previous venture, The Shed, the brothers will supply the restaurant with produce and wines from their family farm and vineyard, Nutbourne in West Sussex. Gregory, a farmer, will provide the restaurant with livestock and source from local suppliers, while Oliver will be head chef, having trained previously at venues such as Oxo Tower and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage at Park Farm. Richard will be the restaurant’s general manager.
Wild food
Rabbit’s menu will change daily and include a range of small and large plates that are recommended for sharing.
Small plates, or 'mouthfuls', will include Veal Twig with Pineapple Weed, Violet Pickled Quail’s Egg with Celery Salt, and Beef Cheek Bonbons with Mustard.
The restaurant's namesake, rabbit, will also feature in a number of dishes such as Rabbit Stone Bake, Rabbit Ragu and Spatchcock Rabbit. Other seasonal plates dishes will include Thistle Split Milk Ricotta with Ground Elder Cobnut Pesto, and Wild Wood Pigeon Saltimbocca and Nutbourne Pork with Sweetcorn. There will also be a range of desserts inspired by nature on offer.
“Rabbit’s focus is on wild food and we are serving dishes as small plates to let everyone try as much as possible,” explained Richard. “London continues to serve small plates as people enjoy it and tapas no longer needs to be explained to guests so we believe it’s now an accepted social eating experience.”
The restaurant will serve wines from the Gladwin family vineyard, as well as the Rabbit Daily Loosener, a seasonal cocktail made from British-produced spirits which uses steeping and fermenting techniques to withdraw flavour from ingredients like rosehips, wet almonds, cherries, quince, crab apples, dandelion flowers, beetroot, wild garlic and cabbage. It will also serve a range of fruit juices and smoothies.
Rustic interior
The restaurant’s ‘rustic’ interior aims to bring some of the brothers’ Sussex home to Chelsea, with a felled tree from Nutbourne one of its features. Rabbit will also use reclaimed furniture made from British steel and wood.
Richard explained: “Last Christmas during the storms we had two very large oak trees that fell. On Christmas day the Gladwin family went out to cut and clear the road and we dragged the trees into the barns and dried them. That evening Oliver and I announced we were to open another restaurant and had found a spot we liked on The Kings Road, it was decided then that the theme was to be recycled woodland.”
When asked what will make the restaurant stand out, Richard said: “We’re a family run restaurant that focuses on its product knowledge, great food and a sustainable nature, and that will be new to Chelsea.”
Rabbit will be located at 172 Kings Road.
