17/3/26 - updated with the opening date
Recently, Taqueria rebranded to TAQ after 20 years and Smokehouse became Bistro Sablé. Now here comes another big rebrand. After nine years, Nest in Shoreditch is about to be relaunched as Tavern.
Owned by the same team that also runs Michelin-starred Restaurant St Barts, Tavern is co-founded by Johnnie Crowe. He will be helping in the kitchen here, and the new Tavern is being billed as a British bistro, planning to serve up "generous, nostalgic British cooking". In charge of the kitchen as Head Chef will be Kirsty Easterbrook (previously sous chef at St Barts) and she's joined by Executive Chef, Brendan Appleby, who was Head Chef at St Barts. So it looks like they're bringing some of that expertise over from their Michelin-starred restaurant.
As for the kinds of dishes on offer, we can expect snacks like devilled pig skin with smoked cod’s roe, hogget scrumpets with mint and Tavern sausage with curry sauce. There will also be a chunion ‘puff’ - a cheese and onion-filled gougère and barbecued cuttlefish and pork XO skewers. Plus, on the larger side, Brixham turbot with English sparkling wine and cobnut sauce and Tamworth pork served nose to tail with cider mustard sauce..
So even though they're going for a more "relaxed" direction, those new dishes do sound like a lot of work is going into them. Considered rebrands have proven to be pretty successful of late, so this should be one to watch.
More about Tavern
Where is it? 374-378 Old St, London EC1V 9LT
When does it open? 28 April 2026 (Nest closes on 28 March)
Find out more: Follow them on Instagram @nest_food.
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