It’s always comforting when you walk into a new restaurant and feel welcomed like you’re an old friend; maybe not best friends, but you can definitely place their face from another great restaurant. That’s what it feels like here. The Lavery has a collective of hospitality veterans (who have worked at some of London and NYC’s finest) behind it, and from the pre-opening friends and family photos, it’s clear they are very well connected.
The Building
A classic South Ken Grade II listed townhouse; look for the green waving flag above, and you’ve found it. Climb up the staircase and enter the elegant, light-filled room. Here you’ll find high ceilings, ornate plasterwork, baroque mirrors, original fireplaces, tiling, and scandi-style simple wooden furniture. The building and mirrors have been restored, and the overall vibe here is updated original.
The Menu
Yohei Furuhashi heads up the kitchen, and his nine years at The River Café definitely shows. The menu is similar in that it uses the freshest produce to create extremely elevated simple dishes. Menu items include perfectly cooked asparagus with Iberiko tomato, bottarga and mache; Ligurian artichoke salad, rocket, parmesan and Amalfi lemon; pappardelle, slow cooked rabbit, tomato, bay, green olive, and chilli; lamb neck fillet with grilled asparagus, Umbrian lentils, chilli and mint. A stand out dish was the “Lavery Mess’ with pomelo, passionfruit and pistachio.
It’s the kind of menu you could eat again and again, wondering just how much butter is in each dish, or what exactly is making it taste that good. Likely, it’s just exceptional cooking skills.
Cocktails are retro-inspired and include things like a perfectly executed orange martini; we’re fans of the mini-tini size, too.
To note
Their events space is set across sleek galleries and modernised heritage spaces and they can accommodate small and large events.
