Lucy Self takes a look the recent Americana trend in the foodie world and analyses some New York imports on their way to London as we speak…
It’s official: 2011 was the year that the London food scene went Americana crazy.
Burgers were huge (Meat Liquor, Lucky Chip and Honest Burgers enjoyed acclaim, devotion and, in the case of the latter, out-the-door-and-down-the-street queues); barbecued meat was massive (particularly in the case of Southbank pop up Pitt Cue Co, whose Hungerford Bridge location became ‘the’ place to hang out last summer); and steak’s popularity sky rocketed (the highly successful chain Hawksmoor opened its second and third outposts, and both Cut and 34 took it upmarket in Mayfair). Now it seems that the Americans themselves – and by Americans I mean the only Americans that count in the restaurant world: New Yorkers – evidently want in on the action.
A far cry from your standard patties and pulled pork, the breadth of London restaurant openings from Big Apple based chefs/restaurateurs this year are as varied as they are exciting. Serge Becker, the man behind the famous and once NY hotspot – the Bowery Bar (or just ‘B Bar’ as it is now called), is set to open two Mexican eateries: La Bodega Negra and Le Esquina. The latter is a hugely successful Mexican café/taqueria notorious in New York for being jam-packed well up to its 5am closing hour.
Covent Garden will also welcome an outpost of an iconic New York eatery: Balthazar (although it’s not opening until the autumn). If you haven’t heard of this upmarket downtown brasserie, it’s likely you’ve never picked up a guidebook to New York (it’s never less than full to the brim with a mix of tourists and locals). Regardless, their tender braised short ribs are said to be amazing…
Possibly one of the most exciting rumoured openings in our delightful capital is The Standard Hotel from Andre Balazs. Balazs incidentally also owns The Mercer in New York, where last year Kanye West rented out the penthouse to record his and Jay-Z’s album, Watch the Throne. Plans are not clear, and whispers on the internet are confusing, but what is sure is that Balazs will bring with him his own brand of laid-back glamour. If it’s anything like his other properties, I’m betting on pretty amazing restaurant and bar spaces. Both the Standard Grill and Mercer Kitchen (the latter’s kitchen overseen by the Jean-Georges Vongerichten brand) are popular eating spots for New Yorkers and in-the-know tourists. The former Boom Boom Room (now called Top of the Standard) is an 18th floor bar at, you guessed it, the top of the Standard Hotel. With smoked wood, gilded chairs and 360 degree views of the New York skyline, it’s still considered to be one of the best (and most slickly designed) bars in the Big Apple.
London has plenty more Americana to look forward to this year. The Heliot Lounge, Bar and Restaurant is set to open around May 2012. This ‘brasserie vibe’ West End restaurant will be housed in the former Hippodrome theatre (now casino) and which, quite frankly, sounds ghastly. However, it will be run by the One Group, responsible for STK restaurants (short for steak) and, more recently, the rooftop bar at the Gansevoort Hotel in New York’s Meatpacking District. They are also to open their first London-based STK in the new ME by Meliá London hotel on the corner of the Strand/Aldwych, supposedly ready for the summer.
You may or may not have heard of Sushi Samba, depending on your devotion to Sex and the City (it was featured on the show in series five, thus enjoying a fair level of hype back in the days of Carrie and co.) This Japanese/Brazilian/Peruvian fusion restaurant (whose concept admittedly sounds a little last decade) will open its first European outpost in the new Heron Tower, near Liverpool Street and, taking over the Sky Bar and Restaurant. Perhaps not top of the list, but ain’t nothing wrong with a cocktail and a view.
Of course these are not the first New York restaurateurs to try their luck this side of the pond. Daniel Boulud’s London outpost of Bar Boulud in Mandarin Oriental on Knightsbridge is highly successful (mmm, Piggy Burger…) and last year Jean-Georges Vongerichten (NY über chef whose portfolio includes Jean-Georges at The Mark, ABC Kitchen and Perry St.) brought his diffusion brand restaurant Spice Market to Wardour Street. The latter gained lukewarm reviews, suggesting that not everything translates well across the Atlantic.
The question is: what will London make of this year’s US imports? One thing’s for sure…we’re going to have fun trying.
Image: Thanks to Honest Burgers, Ltd, London and Lucky Chip, London.
