Latest openings: James Cochran's new restaurant 1251, Crispin, Maison Bab and more

1251 Great British Menu contestant James Cochran's new restaurant, 1251, has opened after a tumultuous split from his former self-titled restaurant.

 

Setting up shop across two floors in the former site of Chinese Laundry on London Islington's Upper Street, the restaurant will run from 11am-11pm. The design takes advantage of many of the quirky features of the original Victorian building to punctuate the site's minimal interiors.

 

Cochran, originally from Whitstable, has made Kentish produce central to his menu, while drawing on his Scottish and West Indian heritage. A five- to eight-course tasting menu will run alongside the à la carte offering, as well as Cochran's signature goat sharing board, which will include choice cuts of goat alongside black-eyed pea dhal, roti, scotch bonnet jam and pineapple, as featured on Great British Menu.

 

Drinks will also carry on the theme, including a 1251 Negroni, designed by Cochran and made with a base of house-made vermouth infused with sweet cicely foraged from Kent.

 

Opened 28 August
Covers 48
Typical dishes Organic Kent-breed pork, blood pudding, smoked eel, turnip kimchi, apricot and miso; jerk-spiced monkfish, iceberg lettuce, watermelon and coriander
Website www.1251.co.uk

 

 

Crispin Crispin, an all-day café from the team behind Scotchtails Scotch eggs, has opened in London's Spitalfields. The restaurant operates from a purpose-built zinc and glass pavilion.

 

Covers 40 (plus 30 outside)
Design Felix McCormack, Heather Scott and Sheppard Robson
Operators Dominic Hamdy and Oliver Hiam
Typical dishes N'duja, Ogleshield and jalapeño toastie; Merguez sausage, daal and egg brunch
Website www.crispinlondon.com

 

 

Jolene The team behind north London restaurants Westerns Laundry and Primeur is set to open their third site, a bakery and restaurant on Newington Green. ‘Pasture-based' grains will be milled freshly on-site every day and used in pasta, pastries and bread.

 

Opening Mid-September
Owners Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim, David Gingell
Typical dishes Grilled cod on the bone, olives and artichokes; 1kg T-bone, Parmesan and rocket
Website jolenen16.com

 

 

Bife Family-owned Argentinian restaurant Bife is keeping the country's beef at the heart of its menu in Aldgate, east London. The South American nation's wines also feature heavily, with a strong focus on Malbec and Malbec blends.

 

Founders Juan Pablo, Ricardo and Jose de Alzaa
Typical dishes Argentine steaks; empanadas; flan with dulce de leche; and grilled aubergine, brown miso, couscous, chilli and spinach
Website www.bife.co.uk

 

 

Maison Bab A new restaurant from the founders of Soho's Le Bab has opened in Covent Garden, with ‘hidden' 10-seat fine dining restaurant Kebab Queen. The interior features an exposed mise en place section and a dusty pink colour scheme.

 

Founders Stephen Tozer and Ed Brunet
Typical dishes Raclette shawarma, drunken Iskender chicken shish; miso celeriac shish with pickled crispy onions and toum
Design Angus Buchanan
Website www.maisonbab.com

 

 

Eastbury Hotel The latest hotel acquisition by Peter and Lana de Savary, a Grade II-listed building in Sherborne, Dorset, has undergone a refurbishment. Alongside the two-AA-rosette Seasons restaurant, the Hobbit House Spa, based on the works of JRR Tolkien, is due to open in summer 2019.

 

Rooms 22
Design Kathleen Fraser
Head chef Matt Street
Website www.theeastburyhotel.co.uk