Latest opening: Story Cellar
What: The 50-cover Story Cellar is a 1,700sq ft Parisian-inspired rotisserie style restaurant located at 17 Neal’s Yard in Covent Garden, directly opposite one of the entrances to Seven Dials Market. The ground floor and basement level restaurant has an expansive wine programme, which is referenced in the restaurant’s name.
Who: The restaurant is the brainchild of Tom Sellers, chef-patron of two Michelin-starred Restaurant Story in Bermondsey, which is currently closed for a significant refurb. As a result, the Story team has decamped to Story Cellar, meaning that it has a formidable launch team. Ably heading up the stoves and the rotisserie grill is Stephen Naylor, a former sous chef at Restaurant Story who has worked with Sellers for nearly five years and who started as a senior chef de partie. Heading up the wine programme is award winning head sommelier Jonathan Kleeman, who has been part of the Restaurant Story team since early 2020 and whose previous workplaces include The Ritz, Social Eating House and Orwells.
The food: While predominantly a rotisserie and grill restaurant - diners can sit at the counter in front of the heat of the grill and the slowly rotating chickens - there’s more to Story Cellar’s food offer to please its Covent Garden clientele. The menu is tight, which comes as no surprise given the tiny kitchen space, but varied with standout options including a brilliant snail bolognese on toast with parsley butter, which is lifted by a touch of vinegar; scallop with hot XO sauce; and a pig terrine served with a dollop on English mustard as well as pasta dishes such as crab linguine and preserved Meyer lemon and green olive pappardelle. Grill dishes include grass fed ‘blue grey’ beef available in sirloin, rib of beef and T-bone cuts as well as whole dover sole with brown shrimps and a dry-aged pork chop with brandy and pickled dates but the main event has to be the rotisserie chicken, sourced from France and expertly brined and cooked, that is availbale as a half or whole portion served with fries and a perfectly dressed house salad. As you’d expect from a kitchen of such pedigree, the cooking is precise, full of flavour and completely comforting.
To drink: As its name suggests, Story Cellar takes its wine programme seriously despite its more casual feel. The restaurant has an expansive walk-in wine cellar supported by a Coravin system, allowing guests the chance to try rare and exceptional wines by the glass. There is also the option for guests to store their own personal wine collections at the restaurant.
The vibe: The new restaurant has been inspired by Sellers’ trips to Parisian bistros and rotisseries. In keeping with the approach at his two-star restaurant he has gone for an upscale look with fixed red leather stools and a white marble counter and window bar yet the restaurant still retains a casual family-friendly feel with wooden tables, with the on-show rotisserie also adding a touch of welcome theatre.
And another thing: 2023 is a big year for Sellers, who will reopen an enlarged version of Restaurant Story later this year complete with an outdoor area as well as Dovetale within 1 Hotel Mayfair, which is due to open in July.
7 Neal's Yard, London, WC2H 9DP
https://storycellar.co.uk
