Ollie Dabbous on Hide: ‘It's been exhaustive, but in the best possible way'

More details have been revealed about Ollie Dabbous and Hedonism Wines' new Piccadilly-based venture during an exclusive preview of the site last night (7 March).

Ground, on street level, will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dabbous said the standard of cooking on the ground floor “will be the same as Dabbous, if not better” and will offer an à la carte menu alongside a few grazing options. An open bakery will also serve freshly baked breads, cakes and pastries.

Dabbous said: “We can only cook in one style but it is progressive to what we were doing before. We didn’t want to open up Hide and do a derivation of what we have been doing over the past five years, we wanted to think of the surroundings, embrace the facilities we have got and attack the second chance, as such.”

The breakfast offering will be “lighter than what is found on Piccadilly elsewhere” including healthy options alongside dishes such as croissants, jams, cheese and charcuterie, which will all be made in-house.

The afternoon tea offering will be “different in terms of presentation and taste” to the tiered and “sugary” afternoon teas usually offered. It will also include a selection of 12 teas from Mariages Frères.

He added: “It’s been fun doing breakfast and afternoon tea because it’s something we didn’t do at Dabbous. We have given it the same attention to detail and self-criticism as the rest of the menu and I’m very proud about what we will be serving.”

Above, on the second floor, will be a fine-dining offering with a tasting menu and set lunch. It also features a 20-cover private dining room with private access from rooftop parking for guests who want to remain unseen. “I’m excited, because where at Dabbous I kept it quite minimalist, I’ve pushed the boat out a bit more here without it becoming cheffy or overly complicated,” Dabbous said.

Located in the basement, Below is a 22-cover bar which will offer more than 400 spirits including Hedonism’s exclusive brands, which will be available to try in 1cl measures. It also houses three intimate dining rooms: one for four covers and two for six. Snacks will be served until just after midnight.

Dabbous said: “It’s been exhaustive, but in the best possible way. Instead of going into it fully confident, I want all of the team to be invested from now while the rest of the restaurant is being finished. We are training staff now so when they are serving customers they’ve tasted the dish and they know all the allergens and the sommeliers know the best wines so they feel proud to serve it.”

Hedonism Wines will offer the option to pre-book wines when booking a table. Guests will be sent a link to the whole list offered at the Hedonism store in Mayfair and they will be sold at retail price plus a £30 corkage fee.

Owner of Hedonism Wines Evgeny Chichvarkin explained that “big wines” will be opened one or two days before the guest is due to visit to let them breathe. Depending on how much notice they have, Hedonism will also try to order wines that they don’t already have in stock.

Hedonism Wines chief executive Tatiana Fokina said: “We will offer wine by the glass and also wine flights. There will be a printed list of around 400 bins for those who don’t have time to go through the digital list. The inspiration from our side came from our customers saying ‘why don’t you serve food here?’ They said they would come to us to eat, so this is what pushed us to embark on this journey.”

Key team players:

• General Manager: Matthew Mawtus
• Sommelier: Piotr Pietras
• Head chef ‘Above’: Luke Selby
• Head chef ‘Ground’: Josh Angus
• Manager ‘Ground’: Kieran McLoghlin
• Manager ‘Above’: Benjamin Hidveghy
• Head pastry chef: Zak Poulot

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