Long gone are the days when eating out in London was sneered at. These days you can get any cuisine from around the world and with so many places to choose from deciding where to go is no easy feat. Far from being a dining trend, organic and locally sourced menus are a priority for many of London’s diners. Haute Living takes a look at our Haute 5 organic and locally sourced restaurants.
108 Marylebone
108 Marylebone is a relaxed brasserie attracting a busy lunchtime trade as well as a loyal clientele to the adjoining bar for after-work drinks or pre-dinner aperitifs. Informal though 108 Marylebone’s space may be, it does however take it’s suppliers very seriously.
Where possible all produce and ingredients are sourced from the local neighborhood businesses, including the award-winning Fromgerie, The Ginger Pig and Biggles Sausages. Using only the best ingredients, 108 Marylebone creates simple, classic dishes such as roast Biggles venison sausages and baked haddock fillet with herb crust. Menus are designed to reflect seasonality of produce and change every couple of months while the specials change daily.
108 Marylebone Lane, London W1U 2QE
020 7969 3900
The Park Terrace Restaurant
Situated on what has been described an one of the finest restaurant locations in London, The Park Terrace Restaurant on the ground floor of the 5-star Royal Gardens hotel looks out over the stunningly serene Kensington Gardens.
Spacious, light and elegant, the Park Terrace Restaurant focuses on using fresh, locally sourced produce to create traditionally British dishes—very much in keeping with the delicate English tea garden surroundings. The lunch menu offers five courses, which includes cured English meats, rhubarb and orange chutney, rosemary and sherry marinated Shetland salmon with pickled cucumber and traditional desserts such as baked lemon curd raspberry sorbet.
Royal Garden Hotel, 2-24 Kensington High Street, London, W8 4PT
020 7937 8000
Konstam at The Prince Albert
Konstam at The Prince Albert has been a hit since it’s opening in 2006. The restaurant boasts that over 80 percent of the produce used in the kitchen is grown or reared within the area covered by the London tube network. Konstam’s commitment to seasonal produce and local sourcing leads to a focus on Northern and Central European cuisine.
Expect a carefully selected menu depending on what is available from local farmers and where quality dishes reside over quantity. At lunchtime you’ll find simple dishes such as the asparagus, spenwood and spätzle gratin with mixed leaf salad or the pan-fried mersea sea bass with fried potatoes, fried green tomatoes. Dinnertime see dishes such as the Charcoal-grilled leg of Amersham hogget with herb barley, spinach and the Charcoal-grilled pigeon breast with roast onion, hazelnut & parsley salad.
It’s always useful to know where to get good quality and organic food in the King’s Cross area, pay a visit and you might be in for a pleasant surprise.
Konstam at the Prince Albert, 2 Acton Street, King’s Cross, London WC1X 9NA
020 7833 5040
The Duke of Cambridge
The UK’s only gastropub to be certified by the Soil Association, The Duke of Cambridge serves hugely acclaimed organic food sourced from independent producers.
Since opening in 1998 their ethical business ideals have paved the way for other gastro pubs to follow: 80 percent of the fresh produce served comes from the Home Counties and food miles are kept impressively low. Not a year has passed without The Duke of Cambridge winning some kind of award. Indeed, 2010 has already seen them crowned the winner of the Sustainable City Award and last year, among many other awards, winner of the RSPC Ethical Business Award.
Expect hearty, rustic, British food with Mediterranean influences. Chefs ensure that nothing goes to waste. Instead of buying individual cuts of pork, for example, they buy a whole carcass and use every part of the animal. The farmer gets a decent payment for his animal, nothing is wasted and guests get to try a broader range of dishes.
The list goes on and with a menu that changes twice daily according to what is at the peak of freshness and flavor, you’re best to arrive early and see what’s on the menu when you get there. Guaranteed, it’s going to be good. For everyone.
30 St. Peter’s Street, London N1
020 8986 5384
Top Floor At Smiths
Smiths of Smithfield’s is the Grade II listed, four-floor restaurant in the heart of Smithfield market—London’s only working meat market. The restaurant’s priority has always been to serve simple food made from the finest locally sources ingredients and with the meat market is right outside, you know that British beef on your plate has not traveled far.
Top Floor At Smiths is a more subdued affair than the other floors. It’s a spacious, plainly decorated room, given color by a red back-lit bar while balcony seating and two huge glass walls offer attractive views of the City rooftops. It has a very New York warehouse feel and to put it simply; it’s all about the steak here. The menu is complemented by an extensive wine list with prices that suit the expense accounts of the nearby banking and financial services clientele.
67-77 Charterhouse St., London EC1M 6HJ
020 7251 7950
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June 3, 2010$15,000,000 • Carmel, CA
