Casual fine dining
While nothing new, the casual fine dining movement will gather momentum this year, particularly in its London epicentre, where new openings will be characterised by their ability to cater to all manner of dining scenarios.
White tablecloth venues will still continue to thrive, and serve their niche of the market for special occasion celebrations and splash out suppers, but new players will largely do away with formality in favour of fun.
The likes of Lyle’s and The Clove Club in Shoreditch epitomise this ethos of serving Michelin-starred cuisine in a casual setting, giving diners the best of both worlds by delivering both fabulous food and a buzzy ambiance in a relaxed environment.
Expect to see many more venues following suit, from Michael Sager’s Fare Bar + Canteen in Clerkenwell, which offers everything from Middle Eastern flatbreads and craft cocktails to wine on tap; to Coal Office in the shiny new Coal Drops Yard development in Kings Cross, which melds Tom Dixon interiors with punchy plates from former Palomar and Barbary chef Assaf Granit that cherry pick the best bits of Israeli, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine.
Across town at the Bloomberg Arcade, Andrew Wong’s sister site to his Michelin-starred A. Wong – Kym’s – embodies the high-end fast casual ethos. It’s a joyful little space serving exciting, delicious dishes that zap your taste buds with fiery flavours at fair prices for its postcode.
