Eater reports that Doherty, who launched The Royal Oak in June 2018, has opened all-day restaurant Tila in Deptford.
The restaurant is serving dishes including butter-roasted Devon crab with lemon, garlic and sourdough; spiced beef meatballs in a tomato ragout with cheddar and garlic bread; and a coal-roasted aubergine kebab. It also promises ‘epic’ Sunday roasts on its Instagram account.
Doherty left The Royal Oak in January last year under a cloud, after a report in The Sunday Times revealed that he had been found guilty of “misconduct” at the Marylebone pub following an external investigation. The paper reported that the chef was investigated by firm HR180 in November 2018 over claims he had “harassed female staff by asking for sexual intercourse and oral sex”.
Following the investigation, Doherty apologised to staff and said in a statement that he would ‘never intentionally make offensive comments to anyone I work with, female or male’.
However, the pub subsequently dropped Doherty after the accusations came to light in the press.
The chef later posted a single tweet saying he was sorry and that he had made mistakes.
He also said there were ‘mistruths in what was published’, but has so far failed to publicly address what these might have been.
Catering company Rhubarb, which had hired Doherty to consult on the opening of a restaurant in New York, also severed ties with the chef in light of the allegations.
Doherty also tweeted that in the wake of the scandal he had stepped away from his presenting role on the BBC One program Britain’s Best Home Cook.
