There has been a lot of talk in London recently over the arrival of a key player on the Manhattan restaurant scene, Balthazar’s. But this isn’t the only acclaimed New York dining treat that is heading our way, as we recently discovered on a little side street stumble through Chelsea.
The successful collection of New York based restaurants that are owned, designed and operated by Manhattan’s Crown Group Hospitality have always seemed to pay homage to Britain, with restaurants, The Lion, Bill’s Food and Wine, and The Windsor Bars. Now the acclaimed group has turned their successful formula on its head by bringing a little bit of America to the classic English establishment in their first property this side of the pond. The property is Red house, a mid -1800s building nestled down a cobbled side street in West London’s Chelsea neighbourhood. In typical Chelsea fashion, the restaurant is prim and polished. In fact the restaurant makes you feel as though you’re embracing Chelsea living in it’s most authentic form, a few streets away from the see-and-be-seen King’s Road. Locals sit here with premium lagers flush against the restaurants large street-side windows. Back in the dining room the restaurant’s neighbours have popped by for a late night bite, or a full feast.
In our typical gluttonous fashion we did it feast style, starting with two appetizer, the Fontina cheese fondue with hazelnuts and grilled sour dough and Chelsea green asparagus with crispy quails eggs and chorizo Dressing. The later was excellent for summer with the asparagus cooked slightly crisp. The fondue was simply a cheese lover like my self’s best friend.
For mains, I went with the seared tuna loin with red pepper fennel salad, saffron and black olive. Again the tuna was cooked to perfection, and in the age of the mini dish these were truly American style portions. My fellow diner went for the American classic, the prime British beef burger with smoked cheddar, homemade pickles and fresh bacon. We figured no British establishment could claim they have American roots without the ability to make a decent burger, and we’re happy to say that Red House can definitely keep the word American in there. Stuffed to the brim, our chatty server convinced us leaving without dessert would be a big mistake and it turns out I had room to share a light and fluffy passion fruit soufflé after all.
So whether you are a Chelsea local or just want to enjoy the best of the neighbourhood for the day, we encourage you to stumble upon 2 Elystan Street as we did. Pair it with a walk along the Chelsea Embankment and a stop over in the acclaimed Saatchi Gallery and you’ll begin to wonder why you don’t come to this part of town more often!