The boutique hotel Belgraves has a new chef ready to take over its restaurant. The space, you may recall, was previously run by Mark Hix before it closed last year.
Sophie Michell will be executive chef of Pont St - her background includes working for The Greenhouse and The Lanesborough. At just 19 years, she was nominated for The Craft Guild of Chefs ‘Young Chef of the Year Award’ - she's also worked for a few supermodel clients, which should help in this part of the world.
Pont St will be a seafood restaurant with an emphasis on lighter, healthier dishes. The menu will include sea urchin, chilli and garlic spaghetti with bottarga shavings; baked spiced Cornish crab with jalapeno hollandaise and sourdough croutes and poached sea trout with oyster mayonnaise, cucumber pickle and warm crushed new potatoes.
It's not all seafood - there'll be the odd meat dish such as Gloucester Old Spot pork chop with celeriac gratin, apple jelly.
The 80 cover dining room has been given a comprehensive makeover by British designer Tara Bernerd with charcoal emerald velvet banquettes and cream leather chairs. There will also be a private dining room for up to 24 guests.
Pont St will open at Belgraves Hotel, 20 Chesham Place London, SW1X 8HQ in September. It will be open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a weekend brunch. Reservations can be made on 020 3189 4850.
