The "Our Ratatouille"
What can you tell us about Restaurant Ours?
It's the next restaurant from Tom Sellers, who has been showered with plaudits for Restaurant Story at Tower Bridge. This is his second London restaurant and it's a very different beast from the first.
What's the difference?
First off, we can see that it's targeted at quite a different audience this time around. While Restaurant Story with its highly crafted tasting menus is more high-end foodie, this is best described as a West London Sexy Fish. So it's aiming for a more lively buzz this time around - with the whole upper floor a dedicated bar.
Where is it?
It's about 5 minutes walk from South Kensington tube station - very near to Bibendum. The actual restaurant entrance is accessed via a glass walkway off Brompton Road. You may remember it from its previous incarnation The Collection.
Who's it suitable for?
A bit of a cross-section. Fans of Sellers' food will see plenty to get them excited, but expect to see many moneyed Kensington folk here too. And given its hidden-away vibe and red carpet ready entrance, it'll be popular with the odd celeb too.
"Our steak tartare"
What about meeting for a drink before?
You can always head to the bar upstairs first - and even if you're not coming to the restaurant it would be well worth popping up there for a cocktail and some snacks too (you don't need a reservation). If you fancy a pint, then we'd highly recommend The Hour Glass, which is only across the road. Just try not to be tempted by a scotch egg or sausage roll before heading over to Ours.
Where should we sit?
We'd say that sitting in the raised section near the open kitchen seems to be the A-list space and there are some booths at the back of the room that look like prime spots too. We also like the look of the private dining room on the first floor with a view down over the action.
And what are the must-have dishes?
The list is split into sections: starters, raw, salads, mains, beef, sides and desserts. Prices are in the mid-high range, so it's not a place to head to if you're on a budget. But we don't think that will bother the locals.
Handily, most of those sections have an "our" dish - such as "Our steak tartare". so those are the signatures to head straight for. Our own particular recommendations are:
- "Our ratatouille" (£17) - This is the dish that was taught to Tom Sellers by top US chef Thomas Keller, so he's rightly proud of it. It's a VERY impressive looking dish and destined for many Instagram feeds.
- "Our chips, pecorino, foie gras" (£7) - just reading the description should put this one on your list, but in case you need further info - this sees them shaving frozen foie gras over the chips. It is VERY good, as is the very smoky half roasted cauliflower (£5).
- Not an "our" dish, but we loved the lamb, butter lettuce and morels (£30), not least because of some fabulously fresh peas that came with.
And it's worth having a good go through the snacks section. Both the shrimp and yuzu toastie (£12) and the oyster tempura at £3 each are fun.
"Our chips, pecorino, foie gras"
How about drinks?
The drinks list is surprisingly reasonable, given the area and potential clientele, with wines starting from £20 a bottle (with a good few choices under £35), and cocktails around the £9 mark. Yes, you CAN spend up to £295 on a bottle if you really want to, just as it's possible to economise here.
Overall?
Ours is distinctly different to Story, and primarily aimed at quite a different crowd. But the room was split between foodie followers and South Ken locals in the first few days of opening when we visited. If you do manage to beg, steal or borrow a table there you'll find a restaurant already pretty confident that it has a hit on its hands.
Restaurant Ours is at 264 Brompton Road, London SW3 2AS. Find out more about Restaurant Ours.
Hot Dinners were invited to Restaurant Ours, prices were correct at the time of writing.
