What: Magpie
In a nutshell: Pidgin do upmarket British/Asian-fusion dim sum and cocktails
Summing it all up: The Pidgin duo are rolling up their sleeves to get creative with the theme of dim sum in their first Zone 1 restaurant. There’ll be trays of cocktails on arrival, trolleys of dim sum at your table, and imaginative ingredients like fennel pollen, gjetost and nukazuke pickles...
The low-down
Updated 19/06/17 with opening details
The Pidgin duo are at it again. Not content with a Michelin star for their Hackney bistro, they’ve just announced a the final details of their next venture, Magpie. The project has been long in the coming, originally announced in December 2015 on this very site, and this time they're in a spot very much on the opposite side of the spectrum to Hackney - Heddon Street in the West End..
Magpie will be serving up creative British-style dim sum allowing the pair to really go to town with their culinary credentials by mixing and matching influences from all over east Asia. They’ll be using some pretty unique ingredients too - think kosho, fennel pollen and roasted miso custard.
And we're very pleased to see that the trolley concept is still in place. If you’re eating small plates then you’ll be picking them directly off the tableside trolley, with dishes like mackerel crudo, or Hoi An-style terrine with nukazuke pickles, fermented in rice bran.
Meanwhile, from the hot dishes, we’ve been told to expect plates like udon noodles with paitan broth, calabrese sausage and cavolo nero, and grilled celeriac with watermelon barbecue sauce and gjetost - a type of sweet Norwegian cheese.
There’ll also be some familiar dishes that echo Pidgin, like Galician dairy cow with lobsters, pommes sarladaises and charred lettuce with cod, fried enoki mushrooms, fermented jerusalem artichoke and cep oil. For dessert, choose from dishes like strawberry panzanella with olive oil ice cream, or a ‘prickly’ pear with miso custard and hibiscus.
For drinks, there's another trolley! It'll be loaded up with cocktails to greet you on your arrival, with playfully named concoctions like the "I’m Jim Morrison I’m Dead" made with rye, oloroso, and cherry liqueur, or the "Smoke Off The Mountain" which is a rum-based Manhattan-style drink washed with peated whiskey. Or head to the bar for even more, like the mescal and Hellfire bitters "Bo Diddly Rip Off".
The wine list will focus on smaller, independent vineyards, particularly those from California, with plenty available on tap.
The whole thing sounds massively exciting and if their previous ventures are anything to go by, it’ll be a fantastic addition to the West End.
More about Magpie
Where is it? 10 Heddon Street, London W1B 4BX
When does it open? 25 July 2017
How do I book? It'll be walk-in only for groups less than four.
Find out more: Visit Pidgin’s website or follow them on Twitter @pidginlondon.
