Sincura Food and Beverage Newsletter
September 2015
Welcome to our monthly food and beverage newsletters, the newest edition to our newsletters and
sent on the last Friday of each month for all you foodies.
In September’s edition we are delighted to interview the team behind one of the capital’s newest
restaurants, Bouliabase, we introduce you to the recent restaurant launches in London, and leak
to you the restaurants Michelin Guide to Great Britain and Ireland 2016 which includes 17 starry
newcomers announced.
Here at Sincura we pride ourselves on our exceptional knowledge of London’s gastronomic scene.
Our highly skilled team which includes former Michelin Maitre-d’s and food critics remain up-todate with the latest launches, menu changes, and popular hot spots.
Our members can enjoy VIP services from priority table bookings with little or no notice to
exclusive experiences including chef’s tables and kitchen tours. We also host regular soiree
evenings, free for our members to attend, where we showcase leading restaurants and allow you
to experience them first-hand.
An interview with Bouillabaisse, Mayfair
Have you ever thought about what restaurants do to create their dishes? We hadn’t either but we
were invited to interview the owner and executive chef of one of Mayfair’s hottest restaurants to
understand a bit more. And these are no run of the mill restauranteurs, Bouillabaisse is the newest
restaurant from Kurt Zdesar, who previously opened Chotto Matte in Soho and is best known for
being the man behind the first Nobu in London. What we learnt is that to create a truly outstanding
restaurant menu involves a lifetime of experience, an impeccable thirst for detail, years of
research, and a highly skilled team to create your vision.
As Kurt explained “the first and most important thing about a restaurant is the product and what
you are putting on the plate. If you are spending £1 or £100, for the money you spend you should
always have the best dining experience”. Kurt knew the concept of the menu, that it would be a
seafood restaurant, and how the experience for the guests would be before he even thought about
how the kitchen would work or the restaurant would look. Food, it transpires, is top of the list.
The first stage is research. Step back a year and the team were researching dishes. Kurt is joined
at Boullabaise by Executive Chef Jordan Sclare (from Chotto Matte, Nobu London and Restaurant
Gordon Ramsay) who had the basic knowledge of a Bouillabaisse, but they wanted to strip the
dish back to basics. Bouillabaisse originated as a peasant dish, it was popular in the 70s and 80s,
faded out in the 90s and then simply disappeared off the menu. It re-appeared in numerous fine
dining restaurants but not in its original form. They would call it fish soup or bisque.
Kirt and Jordan researched the Boullabaise Foundation in France and spent months travelling the
globe tasting dishes. They ate bouillabaisse for breakfast, lunch and dinner often smuggling it out
of restaurants in Evian bottles so they could dissect it. Hours where spent refining and perfecting
the flavours of the broth and they say it’s still a work in progress..
For the fish they wanted to ensure it was both the freshest (fish has a shelf life of 5 days but they
wanted to sell it in its first) and caught using ethical and sustainable methods. They realized that
the only way to do this was to visit the fishermen so tough winter nights where spent on fishing
boats to see how and where they fish. As Jordan explained “we buy direct from the fisherman and
they send their freshest catches each day. But we never really know what’s coming in; yesterday
we had 2 amazing spinney lobsters. It ensures that each day we have real variety in the
restaurant”. The crabs and lobsters are stored in special tanks adorning the walls of the chefs
table before appearing on your plate.
The whole menu is a walk through Kurts’ dining experiences, the inspiration for the crudities came
from Jackios in Antigua, the crab dish originated in Miami, and the best Dover Sol Kurt had ever
tasted was in New York. At Kikis in Mikanos, a restaurant with no electricity that couldn’t open at
night, there were queues around the corner all day due to the quality of food. At Sea Saturn the
fish was cooked with no sauce and no flavoring yet it was amongst the best fish eaten.
Kurt and Jordan have replicated this simplicity. As Kurt explains “we want you to feel like you are
stepping out of London, off a boat into your favourite restaurant. And people leave commenting
that “it’s just like a place I went to” yet everyone has a different place it reminds them of. The
biggest accolade came from a bouillabaisse expert who said that it was the best bouillabaisse he
had ever had in England, not in the world, but certainly in England. Knowing the mindset of the
charming duo of Kurt and Jordan I can only imagine that this was seen as a challenge.
Bouillabaisse can be found at Mill Street, Mayfair, London, W1S 2AX. For more details visit
http://www.bouillabaisse.co.uk/
London’s Latest Launches
The following restaurants launched over the last month in the capital. Please contact your
concierge team for more information or to make reservations.
Rök
IT'S: Nordic-inspired smokehouse
WHO'S BEHIND IT: Consultant chef Matt Young and Head chef
Fausto Eppinger lead the team
DID YOU KNOW: You’re welcome to pop in for just a drink –
there’s a regularly changing cocktail list and a late license until
1:30am on the weekends.
LOCATION: Shoreditch
Belgo Soho
IT'S: Belgian beer paired with mussels, lobster and rotisserie
chicken
DID YOU KNOW: The lengthy beer list has something to suit
everyone's taste, from strong to fruity. Cherry beer anyone?
LOCATION: Soho
Smith & Wollensky
IT'S: The American steakhouse group's first UK venture
WHO'S BEHIND IT: Smith & Wollensky was first established in
1977
DID YOU KNOW: There are 9 US branches
LOCATION: The Strand
Salt and Honey
IT'S: World influenced British cooking
WHO'S BEHIND IT: Joseph Antippa and Tyler Martin, of
Manuka Kitchen
DID YOU KNOW: Private dining is available, as are weekend
brunches
LOCATION: North of Hyde Park
8 Mount Street
IT’S: A Buzzing Bistro
WHO’S BEHIND IT: The team from the French restaurant, Le
Chateaubriand.
DID YOU KNOW: They offer a modern classic brassiere-style à
la carte menu.
LOCATION: Mayfair
Molé
IT'S: Mexican and South American restaurant/bar
OPENED: January 01st, 1970
WHO'S BEHIND IT: Sister restaurant Cocochan
DID YOU KNOW: A Raw Bar serves cured dishes and ceviche
made with sashimi grade fish
LOCATION: Marylebone
Wright Brothers South Kensington
IT'S: Oyster bar and restaurant
WHO'S BEHIND IT: Brothers-in-law Ben Wright and Robin
Hancock started Wright Brothers in 2002
DID YOU KNOW: Their aim was to revive the UK's love for the
oyster
LOCATION: South Kensington
Sackville's
IT'S: Haute cuisine, including a high-end burger range, all with
Croatian black truffle
WHO'S BEHIND IT: Shangri-La at The Shard management, and
a mixologist from Atherton's Pollen Street Social
DID YOU KNOW: Decor is inspired by wild Croatian landscapes
where black truffles grow naturally
LOCATION: Piccadilly Circus
Cafe Murano
IT'S: Simple and seasonal cooking from Northern Italy
WHO'S BEHIND IT: Angela Hartnett
DID YOU KNOW: Artwork from Chris Daniels is installed
upstairs
LOCATION: Covent Garden
Les Deux Salons
IT'S: Paris-inspired dining Salon
WHO'S BEHIND IT: Prescott and Conran have spruced the
place up with a million pound refurbishment
DID YOU KNOW: French groceries and tarts are available from
the epicerie
LOCATION: Charing Cross
LOBOS Meat & Tapas Bar
IT'S: Prime cuts of Iberico and Spanish tapas
WHO'S BEHIND IT: Head chef Roberto Castro has teamed up
with friends from Tapas Brindisa for his new concept
DID YOU KNOW: There's only space for 50, but reservations
are taken for the first floor
LOCATION: Borough
The Modern Pantry
IT'S: International tapas in a Danish-inspired setting
WHO'S BEHIND IT: Canadian born, New Zealand raised chef,
Anna Hansen MBE
DID YOU KNOW: Cocktails here are inspired by Danish
fairytales
LOCATION: Finsbury Square
Wright Brothers South Kensington
IT'S: Oyster bar and restaurant
WHO'S BEHIND IT: Brothers-in-law Ben Wright and Robin
Hancock started Wright Brothers in 2002
DID YOU KNOW: Their aim was to revive the UK's love for the
oyster
LOCATION: South Kensington
Michelin Restaurants 2016
An early announcement thanks to a leak saw the Michelin Guide to Great Britain and Ireland 2016
released unexpectedly this week. Appetites were whetted earlier in the week with news of
restaurants awarded Bibs Gourmands, so we were chomping at the bit by the time the 17 starry
newcomers were announced, as well as 14 deletions. Check out our round-up of everything you
should know, particularly those who’ve added a Michelin star-shaped string to their bow… For the
full Michelin 2016 list visit our website at http://thesincuragroup.com/michelin-restaurants-2016
London’s New Two Stars
The Araki, Mayfair
Address: Unit 4, 12 New Burlington St, Mayfair,
London W1S 3BF
It was big news when Japanese sushi master
Mitsuhiro Araki announced that he was shuttering his
three-Michelin-starred eatery in Ginza and moving the
whole sushi-ya to Mayfair, but The Araki, which seats
nine diners and serves a £300-a-head menu, is like no
other restaurant in the capital, so it’s hardly surprising
that it’s swooped into the Michelin guide and picked up
two stars. Our advice: do what’s necessary to get a
seat at this totally absorbing show from a chef who one
of our readers calls “one of the greatest living
proponents of high-art sushi”.
Umu, Mayfair
Address: 14-16 Bruton Pl, Mayfair, London W1J
6LX
The only other restaurant to be awarded two stars this
year, ultra-discreet Umu isn’t the sort of place you just
stumble upon, but those who find their way into this
temple to high-class Kyoto cuisine will experience a
menu boasting dishes of supreme lightness, finesse
and layered with subtle flavours. Head chef Yoshinori
Ishii told us he was “very, very, very happy for the
team” (who swiftly popped ten bottles of Dom Pérignon
Champagne), while restaurant owner Marlon Abela
(also of The Greenhouse) proudly stated: “It is through
the team’s endless passion and our relationships with
fisherman and farmers that Umu can deliver epicurean
excellence.”
London’s New One Star’s
Bonham’s, Mayfair
Address: 101 New Bond St, London W1S 1SR
Refined, elegant food comes courtesy of chef Tom
Kemble, who we not so long ago described as ‘up-andcoming’; today’s Michelin star shows he has well and
truly arrived with the creation of this masterpiece. We
caught up with a starstruck Tom who said he was
“absolutely delighted” and “over the moon”, giving
special thanks to his team and Mikael Jonsson (of one
Michelin-starred restaurant Hedone) who he previously
worked under and sees as a huge inspiration.
Dining Room at The Goring, Belgravia
Address: 15 Beeston Pl, London SW1W 0JW
The family-owned Goring Hotel, “on the nice side of
Victoria” as one reader says, is the proud holder of a
royal warrant and now also the proud holder of a
Michelin star thanks to chef Shay Cooper. Come here
for bowler-hatted doormen, cream and beige interiors
designed by the Queen’s nephew Viscount Linley and
cooking that resists the full-on heritage approach for
something more sophisticated, including Eggs
Drumkilbo (the Queen Mum’s favourite).
Lyle’s, Shoreditch
Address: Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street,
London E1 6JJ
Chef James Lowe has been a face on London’s food
scene for several years, making a name for himself as
one of The Young Turks at supperclubs and
residencies around town. Lyle’s, his first solo
restaurant, has scooped a star thanks to its eightcourse daily changing dinner menu which is big on
British ingredients with plenty of Scandi influences.
Portland, Fitzrovia
Address: 113 Great Portland St, London W1W 6QQ
A collaboration between Will Lander (co-owner of The
Quality Chop House) and Daniel Morganthau (of 10
Greek Street), Portland feels like a neighbourhood joint
in the middle of town serving an assortment of AngloEuropean dishes with eclectic overtones; it’s Michelin
star will no doubt propel it further into the realms of
epicurean supremacy.