Latest opening: Wildflowers
What: A large, rather swish, restaurant in recently-launched Belgravia ‘design hub’ Newson’s Yard. Located within a two-storey space that was until recently a timber yard, Wildflowers is pitched as a neighbourhood brasserie and serves a casual but upscale Mediterranean menu that’s big on premium ingredients cooked over fire.
Who: Wildflowers is the debut solo restaurant project for chef Aaron Potter, whose CV includes senior roles at the Michelin-starred Trinity and Elystan Street. The highly-regarded chefs behind these two stalwarts - Adam Byatt and Phil Howard - both have very nice things to say about Potter with the latter describing him as a "truly great craftsman". Potter was most recently executive chef at the Italian-inspired Maria G’s, which has restaurants in Kensington and Fulham. The co-owner of Wildflowers is Laura Hart, an interior stylist and florist.
The food: Potter’s precise, seasonal cooking has echoes of both Trinity and Elystan Street but is a little more relaxed in feel. Arranged into snacks, starters and mains - it’s possible to share but also viable not to - the menu includes moules farcie with garlic and parsley butter; grilled sardine bruschetta with Amalfi lemon; cuttlefish and lobster fideua and aioli; and a 30-day aged sirloin on the bone with smoked bone marrow rice for two to share. Starters average out at £15 and Wildflowers' fairly generous mains range from £28 to £40.
To drink: The exclusively European wine list starts at £6 per glass and tops out at £160 for a bottle of 2018 Chassange-Montrachet 1er Cru. The cocktail list at Wildflowers is refreshingly uncomplicated and grown up, including melon negroni; Amalfi spritz and Peschiole dirty martini.
The vibe: Designed by Hart and agency Stiff and Trevillion, the 54-cover space is bright and paired-back in feel with muted pastel colours and a number of vintage pieces. Potter and team cook to the back of the space in a fully-open kitchen. In addition to the main restaurant is a private dining room seating up to 12 guests (with special feasting menus available) and an additional 26 covers outside the restaurant on a fully enclosed terrace. Upstairs is a large bar area that has its own menu that draws its inspiration from the cicchetti and pintxos bars of Italy and Spain
And another thing: Wildflowers is not to be confused with Wildflower, the short-lived Camden fine-dining-in-a-shipping-container restaurant from Irish chef Adrian Martin.
Newson’s Yard, 57 Pimlico Rd, London SW1W 8NE
www.wildflowersrestaurant.co.uk
