The original Cottons first opened in Camden over 30 years’ ago with Jamaican-born head chef Nikki McLeod, and is still open today under restaurant manager Frederic Fawkes, who previously worked at Paradise in Kensal Green and in Saint Martin in the Caribbean. It also opened a street food arm at the Shoreditch Boxpark in 2013.
Cottons Notting Hill at 157 Notting Hill Gate will aim to offer what it calls ‘a more refined experience’ than the other sites, while still keeping authentic Caribbean flavours.
The main dining room will be located towards the back of the site, and there will also be a self-contained party and private dining space, plus a central bar claiming to offer the UK’s largest selection of rum, with over 300 varieties available.
The menu is set to feature bar snacks and main menu classics, including jerk pork ribs, oxtail and bean stew, ackee and saltfish, barbecue glazed pork belly with rum and molasses, Trinidadian steamed red mullet in Chadon beni garlic butter, with sides such as ‘rice n peas’ and fried plantain.
Alongside lunch and dinner, there will also be brunch at the weekends, offering dishes such as avocado benedict, ‘Caribbean breakfast’, and quinoa and smoked beetroot salad. Drinks-wise, there will be themed smoothies, with names such as Tobago, Kingston, and Blue Mountain, all made with fresh fruit from jars displayed in the restaurant.
The exterior and interior décor will form a very important aspect of the concept, including bright colours and much outside light.
There will be a ‘sky blue’ exterior, tropical plants and bonsai trees, terracotta tiles, an antique golden mirror, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, an antique chandelier positioned near a large skylight, filament bulbs from the ceiling, and two hand-painted floor-to-ceiling murals – one behind the bar, and another in the private dining area.