Brett Redman and Margaret Crow, the duo behind The Richmond in Hackney, have announced that their highly anticipated second restaurant Neptune has opened in London’s Bloomsbury.
The 102-cover restaurant and 30-seater bar shares the same DNA as the pair’s former Hackney restaurant, bringing together Brett’s cooking with Margaret’s warm style and hospitality. They have created a completely new seafood-focused menu for Neptune, based around an informal approach to the classic oyster bar as well as featuring Brett’s signature wood-fired cooking in the extensive a la carte menu.
The oyster bar located the centre of Neptune’s dining room serves a variety of oysters and shellfish selected from independent growers around the UK. Diners can also order towering seafood platters that evolve with the seasons, featuring classic chilled and raw dishes, all spiked with diverse flavours. Dishes include: Wild mussels with a saffron, orange & bay leaf soffrito, Wild rock oyster aguachile, Trout tartare, dill and crème fraiche.
Alongside this guests can order from an array of refreshing twists on classic seafood dishes, such ‘Sardine boquerones with fried parsley’, ‘Smoked eel chowder, quail eggs and curry butter’ and the house made agnolotti filled with red prawn and served in a lemon and sansho pepper broth.
A full vegetarian menu is also available upon request featuring a housemade Cornish Kombu caviar served with vegan waffles, as well as celeriac carpaccio with ajo blanco & nori.
The bar programme features a selection of fresh cocktails best paired with oysters and shellfish, including ‘Nepotism’, a gin and mezcal creation served straight up with lime, agave, sugar snaps and dill, as well as other inventive tipples like the ‘Elysium Fizz’, with gin, pear, bamboo, lime and Brazil bitters.
Neptune’s extensive wine list comprises of small-scale, quality producers, curated by Isabelle Legeron MW, the world’s foremost authority on natural and low-intervention wines. There is a large selection of grower champagnes to pair with raw dishes, as well as a section dedicated to what Neptune calls ‘Island Wines’: fresh, mineral and saline wines from regions such as Corsica, Santorini, Tenerife, Sardinia and Sicily. Classics appear on the list next to less common grape varieties, but Neptune’s approach to wine always mirrors their approach to food: low-intervention and terroir-focussed.
In designing the restaurant, Margaret worked with Russell Sage Studio to revive the existing Grade II-listed dining room by adding a graphic wooden floor, peach ceiling and a centrally located pewter-top bar, creating a space that is as elegant as it is inviting from breakfast through to late evening. Unexpected colour combinations create a unique and eclectic aesthetic in the true spirit of the Bloomsbury set. The walls are adorned with artworks curated by Antonia Marsh, which will go on to become a rolling exhibition series in the restaurant. The first artist to display works at Neptune is emerging painter George Rouy, known for his charged, hypnotic paintings of figures, flora and fauna in enigmatic space.
Neptune is now open for dinner at The Principal Hotel in Bloomsbury. Reservations can be made online HERE or by email reservations@neptune.london. Breakfast, lunch and brunch services soon to follow.
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Louise Walker is AGLAIA’s Editor in charge of all content creation and management. She splits her time between London and Miami, and can always be found at a swanky hotel bar sipping on a Negroni. Contact her for any questions or if you would like to become an AGLAIA Contributor: hello@aglaiamagazine.com
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