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The mighty St John is set to become the first ever restaurant to be in residence at the fabulous Fortnum & Mason.
The 317-year-old department store on Piccadilly will give over its in-house Field restaurant space from February 6-22, when St John will pop-up in its entirety while its actual restaurant in Smithfield is closed and refitted.
The wooden chairs and tables from the original restaurant will be taken to Fortnum & Mason, and the whitewashed walls and coat pegs of the dining room will be recreated, alongside a steel-clad bar for wines, beers and St John’s famously potent Negronis.
Head Chef Steve Darou will be cooking up breakfast – including the return of St John’s iconic bacon sandwich – and lunch for the duration of the residency (apart from Mondays). There’ll also be a group feasting menu on Sundays, with the likes of bone marrow and parsley salad and suet-crusted pies on offer, while the pop-up will be open for dinner on Thursdays and Fridays.
St John co-founder Trevor Gulliver has said of the history-making collab: ‘Smithfield may be closed, but it is not absent – for these three weeks we must not neglect our duty to provide our community with their vital St John fix, from a flying rarebit and a Fergroni in the bar to rolling courses in the dining room. This little jaunt feels rather frivolous, which is Fortnum’s forte. Painting it white is a bit cheeky – and a bit of cheekiness is always a good foundation for an extremely good time.’
Fortnum & Mason’s CEO Tom Athron added: ‘This residency marks a first in our 317-year history, and we are so excited to welcome St John to Piccadilly. Having long been admirers of the ethos of St John, sharing many of their values around sustainability, seasonality and quality, we are excited to be handing over the reins to Trevor and Fergus, and by doing so continue in our mission to champion extraordinary food and drink.’
St John opened in a former smoke house in 1994 on St John Street by Smithfield meat market and received a Michelin star in 2009, with founding chef Fergus Henderson being one of the most respected and revered cooks in the world. There are now St John outposts in Spitalfields and Marylebone, with bakeries in Covent Garden, Borough and Druid Street.
Want in? Book via the St John website here.
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