The Dairy to move to Bermondsey

Robin Gill is to move the Dairy into the new Bermonds Locke, opening in London’s Bermondsey next week.

The Dairy Bermondsey will have a menu featuring Willie’s mackerel, dilled fresh gherkins, sea purslane and dashi; grilled radicchio, broad bean purée and pickled Tropea onions; and wood-roasted lamb, hayonnaise, charred lettuce and mint oil.

Dairy favourites such as truffled Baron Bigod, fig and walnut toast and rooftop honey; chicken liver mousse and rhubarb jam; and salted caramel, malt barley ice-cream and cacao, will also be returning. The wine list will continue to focus on natural wines, rare wines and small producers.

Gill said: “As many know closing the original Clapham site of the Dairy was a very difficult decision for me and Sarah, but finding a brilliant site so quickly means we are able to retain our staff and bring them over to Bermondsey, which is such a relief. The Dairy was and will always be a family-run restaurant led by nature.

"Our journey began in Clapham in 2012. Our goal was to create an experience as close to dinning by a farm or coastline in central London with direct relationships to our beloved purveyors from the land and sea. This has developed over the years and, while we have moved to our new home in Bermondsey, our aim remains the same, which is to be the heart and soul of the neighbourhood, creating great memories, or memory loss, whatever the case may be.

"We’re looking forward to welcoming back our regulars that have become great friends and making many more along the way.”

The Dairy Bermondsey will open on 10 September at Bermonds Locke, the third London aparthotel from hospitality brand Locke. The site will have 143 apartments and feature co-working areas and a workout studio.

F&B group the Initiative is also set to expand its Shaman brand with the opening of a branch in the new aparthotel on 15 September, offering an all-day, seasonal menu using local produce and inspired by the south of France.

Restaurateur Gill announced last month that the Dairy and Counter Culture in Clapham would not be reopening. At the time he said it was “one of the toughest decisions of our lives” and that the pandemic had “hit us harder than we ever imagined”.

He opened the Dairy in 2013, his first solo opening, and launched the adjoining Counter Culture three years later. He was inspired by restaurants in Scandinavia for the Dairy concept, serving high-quality food in a laid-back, stripped-down environment.

Gill’s business has one Clapham site remaining, Sorella, as well as Darby's in Vauxhall, and restaurants at the Great Scotland Yard hotel and Birch in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire.