SUMMER À LA CARTE AT 20 BERKELEY, A NEW PRODUCE-LED RESTAURANT & BAR
August 2023
The Parlour. Photo Credit: Polly Tootal
If you’re looking for a new dining spot in Mayfair to try, you might like to head to 20 Berkeley, a produce-led restaurant and bar concept with 120 covers that opened in May. Executive Chef Ben Orpwood, previously at Maison Estelle, Gordon Ramsay Group, Azumi Group and Caprice Holdings, is heading up the kitchen. Showcasing the best of the British Isles, dishes have been thoughtfully curated using ingredients that have been meticulously sourced from outstanding British producers.
20 Berkeley draws inspiration from ‘town and country’ and the farming history of Mayfair, which is reflected in the both the restaurant’s menu and interiors. The interior has been reimagined by internationally renowned Interior Architects, Pirajean Lees, who have incorporated bespoke furniture with natural materials, colour and texture, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
The Parlour. Photo Credit: Polly Tootal
On the restaurant’s ground floor, a private dining room awaits, perfect for 14 guests looking for a discreet event. You’ll also spot The Nipperkin Bar, ideal for enjoying a pre-dinner aperitif, or for unwinding after your meal. The upper ground floor is home to the Drawing Room and The Pantry, where you’ll find plenty of exceptional produce, proudly displayed. There’s also the Orangery, a relaxing people-watching spot, flooded with natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Hay Hill.
Diners can expect a seasonally changing à la carte menu. The current summer menu includes breads and charcuterie and ‘The Pantry Counter’, which includes Hand pulled Ealing burrata, summer vegetables, elderflower viniagrette; Smoked chalk stream trout, gin, radishes & cucumber; and Scottish Lobster & Cambridgeshire strawberry salad.
Starters include Fried courgette blossom, smoked cheese, elderflower honey; and St Ewes egg yolk & potato raviolo, peas & lemon thyme. If you’d prefer, there are meats and seafood smoked and cooked over wood and embers, four vegetable dishes including Flourish farm greens, chilli & garlic. For dessert, there’s Land milk chocolate & hazelnut tart with malt ice cream; “NFG” New Forest gateau, and more.
Smoked chalk stream trout, gin, radishes and cucumber
Executive Chef, Ben Orpwood, said, “Spending six years cooking in Australia was surreal, as seasons don’t seem to exist as much as in the UK; it always felt like it was summer somewhere, where you can source almost any ingredient, at any time. Coming back to the UK in 2015 led me on a journey to fall back in love with the variation of seasonality and British produce. Here in the UK, we have the best asparagus, the best lobster and the best scallops in the world. 20 Berkeley will be an ode to the farmers and suppliers who have made this project possible”.
Speaking ahead of the opening, Alex D’Aguiar, Managing Director of Creative Restaurant Group said, “When we had the opportunity to take on this particular site, we were so excited as no hospitality venture has ever sat on 20 Berkeley Street previously. The space has the feeling of walking into a manor house and it felt fitting that, given this restaurant will be a celebration of British produce that the atmosphere would capture the feeling of being in a home, and that the British Isles would serve as our back garden.”
20 Berkeley Street, London W1J 8EE
