Crispin at Studio Voltaire will be a 50-cover restaurant and counter bar located within gallery and arts organisation Studio Voltaire on Nelson’s Row. It will comprise 40 seated covers with an additional 10 bar covers as well as an outdoor drinking garden and, in the summer months, a dining terrace.
It will retain the same ethos as the other venues in the HAM Restaurants portfolio, focusing on small and predominantly independent producers and growers.
The kitchen will be led by Michael Miles who has previously worked at restaurants including Counter71 and Manteca with Ella Williams joining the team as sous chef from Mountain in Soho. Miles will draw on his experience working with Chris Leach and Joe Laker to deliver produce-focused dishes that will be modern takes on European and British classics, fresh pastas, charcoal-grilled meat and fish, seasonal vegetables, and comforting desserts.
Crispin executive chef Lewis de Haas, formerly of Petersham Nurseries, will overseeing the offer at both Crispin in Spitalfields and Crispin at Studio Voltaire.
“I have been following Crispin and Lewis for some time and I’m incredibly excited to become a part of the group’s team for such a special and culturally rich site,” says Miles.
“The menu at Crispin at Studio Voltaire will be generous, seasonal and quite simply full of dishes you really want to eat. I am thrilled to become a part of Studio Voltaire and its community of artists, creatives and locals and to have the opportunity to nourish them with delicious plates of food.”
Crispin at Studio Voltaire will also have a ‘concise yet expressive’ wine list put together by the group’s head of wine Alexandra Price – who currently oversees the lists at the Shoreditch, Spitalfields and Soho sites - that will include sustainable wines on tap. The wine programme will also include wine tastings and winemaker dinners.
Channelling 90's Conran
The team is once again partnering with designer Jermaine Gallacher, responsible for the interiors at Bistro Freddie and Bar Crispin. He is creating an aesthetic described as being ‘understated and elegant’ with a nod to 90s Terence Conran, with particular attention to Blueprint Café, which was also housed in a public gallery.
The colour inspiration has been taken from the brown hues of the volcanic ash glazed tiles in Turner Prize nominee Anthea Hamilton’s garden, while the Studio Voltaire blue logo takes its colour from an original beam sitting in the eaves of the building.
“I’m delighted to be working with Studio Voltaire on a project that will bring something new to the Clapham area,” says Hamdy.
“We have some exciting initiatives in-store, engaging with the artists that inhabit the building and the local community in south London. Michael is a talented and driven chef - we’re excited to have him on board. The offering will be comforting and seasonal and, as in our other restaurants, be a celebration of the incredible produce we have here in the UK.
“Studio Voltaire is a special place that deserves a special restaurant.”
