French chef Cyril Lignac to bring Bar des Prés to London
Lignac trained with Alain Pasard at Arpège in Paris and now runs four restaurants in the French capital: Le Chardenoux, Aux Pres, Ischia and Le Bar des Prés.
The London Bar des Prés is billed as an evolved version of the Paris original, which launched in 2016 in Saint-Germain-des-Prés and is popular with fashion and film types.
Le Bar des Prés only served cold food but its UK iteration will serve Franco/East Asian creations that are both warm and cold.
Dishes will include scallops with caramelised miso; Galette craquette (crunchy crab galette); Madras-curried crab with avocado; and Satay fillet steak.
Lignac is a skilled pastry chef and plans to revisit French patisserie classics including French toast, chocolate tart, and mille-feuille.
The exclusively French wine list will offer nearly 250 references and there will also be an extensive cocktail list that includes the Germanopratin (gin, Saint-Germain, cucumber, lemon juice, Champagne); and the Mayfair Sour (Yamazaki whisky, lemon juice, ginger syrup, coconut batida, tonka bean).
Designed by Sagrada (Dover Street Arts Club), the space will seat 100 covers across two floors, including counter dining.
“I have always adored London, its culture, its energy and lifestyle," says Lignac.
"I naturally wanted to open a restaurant in London to spend more time there, but also - most importantly - to integrate myself in the community, discover a new way of working, a different sensitivity, and a new type of creativity”.
