Updated 6/11/23 with chef info
At their original restaurant Il Portico, they boast of being the oldest family-run restaurant in London. Now the family behind that are getting ready to unveil a new place that focuses on French Basque regional cuisine.
La Palombe opens next week on the site of the ill-fated Pino, also by the same family, which only lasted a year. But while that was also Italian like Il Portico, this move to a French Basque menu sounds like it'll be quite different.
For the menu they say it'll be "a celebration of terroir, provenance and open fire cooking. The concept is high-end rural French, with a heavy emphasis on the Southwest & Basque country."
The restaurant will feature an open kitchen with a large woodfired grill and rotisserie as a centrepiece. The family also own a small farm down in Kent where they're hoping to source much of the menu's wild produce like venison, woodpigeon and wild mushrooms. Truffles will feature on the menu too.
“With La Palombe, I’m more determined than ever to revert to ancestral methods of food production," says owner James Chiavarini. "Hunting, gathering, fermenting, and grilling over wood all feature heavily. I want to turn the clock back to a time before the industrial food complex took control of our food chain."
More about La Palombe
Where is it? 267 Kensington High St, London W8 6NA
When does it open? 7 November 2023
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @lapalombe.kensington
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