Thomas Straker to double up in Notting Hill

As revealed in an interview with Tatler​​​, Straker has taken on the corner site at 60 Golborne Road for an as-yet-unnamed café-style concept that’s described as a ‘breakfast-lunch kind of deli scenario’.

The menu will include acai bowls, granola, and eggs with ground beef.

Straker, whose CV includes stints at high-profile restaurants including The Ledbury, Dinner by Heston and Elystan Street, rose to prominence during the pandemic by posting recipe videos on Tik Tok and Instagram.

He launched his debut restaurant at 91 Golborne Road in 2022.

Straker’s was billed as a ‘lively, neighbourhood restaurant’ at its launch and received plenty of early critical success, with positive reviews from William Sitwell in The Telegraph​ and The Standard’s ​Jimi Famurewa.

It also scored a place on the National Restaurant Awards Top 100 Restaurants list​ ​in 2022.

Last year, however, Straker found himself in hot water and faced criticism over a lack of representation in his kitchen​​ after posting a picture of his white, all-male chef brigade on Instagram under the caption ‘chef team assembled’.

Straker initially wrote a comment defending himself and suggested people were overreacting to the picture, but later went on to acknowledge the lack of diversity in his kitchen and pledged to do better.

Reflecting on the incident during his Tatler​ interview, Straker said: “That was such a huge thing for so many people. So, we had to, like, take some time to understand that.

“I’m young – this is my first business. I’m staying in my lane, learning from my mistakes.”

Straker also operates a flat bread concept within Arcade Battersea; and owns retail range All Things Butter, which is stocked in Sainsbury’s and by Ocado.