Alexis Gauthier to open two new vegan restaurants

Pioneering vegan chef Alexis Gauthier is to open two new plant-based restaurants within the BFI Stephen Street building in London’s Soho in mid-June.

The space, which is close to London’s Tottenham Court Road and features a large open kitchen, will be split into two concepts.

At the front will be 123V Bakery, a café and patisserie-led spin-off of Gauthier’s vegan restaurant which launched at Fenwick Bond Street in 2021.

Aimed at people looking for a working lunch, it will offer 123V menu favourites including chickpea fries and aubergine toasts, alongside sourdough sandwiches, bottomless salad, and vegan sushi to eat-in and takeaway.

The main restaurant, Studio Gauthier, is described as a ‘lite’ version of the chef’s vegan fine dining concept Gauthier Soho, which opened in 2010.

It will serve plant-based versions of French classics, normally only available on the Soho site’s tasting menu. Dishes will include early season green asparagus, miso hollandaise with sesame seed crunch; barbecued loin of kohlrabi, cucumber samphire and sea broth, sake beurre blanc; and black truffle rice flour Berlingots with truffle dashi velouté.

Long term Gauthier Soho head chef Alexia Dellaca Minot will lead the kitchen brigade, with wine overseen by trusted Gauthier sommelier David Havlik.

Gauthier said: "We know there is a growing market for high-quality, delicious gastronomy and patisserie which is animal-free.”

The French chef trained under Alain Ducasse at Le Louis XV in Monaco and opened his first solo restaurant, Roussillon, in London in 1997. He launched Gauthier Soho in 2010 and though at one point the restaurant served 20kg of foie gras a week, the chef announced it would begin transitioning to a fully vegan menu in 2018.

He admitted the change lost the restaurant “a lot of customers” but said he remains committed to his mission to promote plant-based food.

Gauthier said: “[Two] years on I am happy to say we have now gained far more [customers]. I have always said the being vegan must not define us, what defines us is being delicious. We know what we are doing is delicious, and because we choose only to use plants for ingredients, it gives us double satisfaction knowing we are doing the right thing. I’m extremely lucky to have the customers I have.”

Gauthier told The Caterer in 2021 that veganism was “the future” and encouraged chefs and front of house teams to learn more about plant-based cooking in anticipation of a rise in demand from customers.