Updated 18/2/16 with menu details
If you were around, as ye olde Hot Dinners crew were, in London back in the 1990s you'll definitely remember Pharmacy. It was an ultra concept (or conceit) restaurant which was opened in Notting Hill by Damien Hirst and Matthew Freud among others. Hirst's pill pictures were on the walls, celebrities were at the tables and for a brief period it was the place to be seen at. But it closed in 2003 with the previous owners lambasting the current ones for having run down the concept. "What happened was it became a very, very shit restaurant." said Freud.
Well now Hirst is having another go at the London restaurant scene. His new Vauxhall art space - the Newport Street Gallery opened last year, and there are plans to open Pharmacy 2 with Mark Hix behind the food. The restaurant will operate as a canteen for visitors during the day as well as opening in the evening after the gallery closes. It'll serve British and European dishes.
The menu includes:
- Cuttlefish croquettes with watercress mayonnaise (£3.50)
- A plate of scarlet elf cups with sea kale and pickled ramson fruit (£12.95)
- Roast barn reared Indian rock chicken with stuffing and chips for 2-3 to share (£29.50)
- Dublin Bay prawns with Arak, wild garlic and fennel pilaf (£15.50)
- Willies Peruvian Gold chocolate mousse with honeycomb (£4.00)
- Poached Yorkshire rhubarb with saffron ice cream (£4.00)
Brunch includes dishes like Brik a l’oeuf de carnard with harissa (£6.95) and Dublin Bay prawn roll (£13.50) while for Sunday roast you can get that rock chicken (above) or Glenarm Mighty Marbled sirloin with Yorkshire pudding served with buttered flowering sprout hearts, cauliflower cheese and roast potatoes for £23.95.
There's also a decent cocktail list with 10 boozy ones - including Black Cow vodka martinis and the traditional Hix Fix as well as four non-alcoholic cocktails.
"“Damien and I have been friends for many years, sharing a love of food and art," says Hix. "Damien designed a formaldehyde ‘Cock and Bull’ for my restaurant Tramshed so it makes sense for me to exchange my skills by creating the menus at Pharmacy 2.“
Pharmacy 2 opens 23 February 2016 at Newport St, London SE11 6AJ. Opening hours will be 10am to 12 midnight, Tuesday to Saturday (with the gallery closing at 6pm) and 10am to 6pm on Sundays.
Reservations can be made at www.pharmacyrestaurant.com or by calling 0203 141 9333. Keep up with their news on Twitter @Ph2restaurant
