Ex-Brat chefs to open pub and dining room in London’s Kentish Town

Ex-Brat chefs Ben Allen and Ed Jennings are to open the Parakeet in London’s Kentish Town in March.

The 60-cover dining room and pub, which will occupy the space of the Oxford Tavern, will offer locally sourced, seasonal dishes that have been cooked over flames in a custom-made grill.

Head chef Allen has worked at Brat, the Michelin-starred Spanish restaurant in London’s Shoreditch, as well as the two Michelin-starred Steirereck restaurant in Austria.

Dishes will include poached oyster with pickled elderflower; braised leeks, pecorino and smoked mushrooms; and meat or fish-based sharing dishes such as ox cheek or bream.

A selection of biodynamic and low intervention wines will be available, with producers such as Seasmoke and J Rochioli due to be among those featured.

Allen and Jennings said: “We’re hugely excited to be able to put our own creative stamp on the menu here at the Parakeet with our seasonal menus. Each season has its own unique benefits, spring is exciting with new shoots like wild garlic and the short asparagus season is a favourite.

“We both love autumnal flavours with comforting cold weather food and the challenge of being creative with limited variety in winter and the abundance of summer.”

Steve Ball and Riz Shaikh of the Columbo Group have described the Parakeet as their “personal project”, and added: “We live locally in Highgate and Camden, and with the Parakeet, we want to build something that gives back to our neighbourhood and that fits the description of somewhere we’d want to hang out with our family and friends.

“It’s great to have Ben Allen on board as head chef – he’s someone we really admire, and we can’t wait for visitors (and ourselves) to sit down and have a taste of the seasonal menu he’s created.”