What: A new restaurant in the high-ceilinged basement of Sir Terence Conran’s Boundary London hotel in Shoreditch. Wilder is in the space once occupied by Stéphane Reynaud’s Tratra and serves a 100% British menu that - as the name suggests - is big on ‘wild’ produce.
Who: Heading up the stove is Richard McLellan - who held senior roles at Alyn Williams at The Westbury and Lee Westcott’s The Typing Room - and the dining room is overseen by Rachael Martin, previously at Som Saa. McLellan ran a successful superclub of the same name and has teamed up with Conran to launch it as a permanent venture. Much of the produce is sourced from the latter’s 145-acre Barton Court estate in Berkshire and Wilder will also be getting produce from an allotment from nearby Clapton. Seafood is sourced from Cornish company Fish for Thought; and Longhorn beef comes from the English Farm in Henley, which kills only one animal a week and uses organic farming methods.
The food: Wilder offers a refreshingly straight forward à la carte menu arranged into snacks, starters, mains and desserts. Dishes include pigs head, beremeal toast with walnut; scallops, turnip, green plums, kelp; Longhorn beef, smoked onion, tongue, sorrel and parsley root; and apple, soured cream, lemon thyme and oats.
To drink: The wine list has been penned by consultant Lucy Ward, previously of Dinner by Heston and Noble Rot. The Old World-only selection is big on bottles from sustainable and biodynamic producers who ‘pay the highest degree of respect to their environment’. Changing regularly to match McLellan’s menu, the 'eclectic' list includes wines from small producers including Cecile Tremblay (Burgundy), Sylvain Dittière (Loire) and Victoria Torres (Canary Islands). A small cocktail menu has been created by Alan Sherwood, founder of neighbourhood bar Little Mercies in Crouch End.
The vibe: The 60-cover restaurant has been designed by Kirkwood and McCarthy and is big on earthy tones and textures. A separate bar area accommodates 40 seated guests, with marble and pewter topped Benchmark tables and separate snack menu. The focal point of the space is an installation of foliage suspended from the ceiling created by East London floral design studio Worm.
And another thing: The space is impressive but it’s a bit hidden away: Reynaud’s first London outpost lasted less than two years. Hopefully McLellan’s more top-end cooking will get more people to venture downstairs.
