New openings in SW3

Forthcoming restaurant openings in Chelsea

The restaurant business is a transient place and it seems no more so than in Chelsea.

Places come and go here and though there are a number of mainstays that have lasted for a considerable length of time, some last barely even two years. Beauchamp Place, commonly known to many as “bankrupt alley” is a prime example and despite rave reviews, venues such as Galoupet lasted less than a year. Equally, Farhad Farman-Farmaian’s Beauchamp Club, lauded as a rival to Annabel’s by Vanity Fair and W Magazine, is now empty and elsewhere on Sydney Street, Frankie Dettori’s Sette has now become Marco Pierre White’s Sydney Street Grill.

Meanwhile on Walton Street, Valentino Seferi’s ever popular Jak’s Café was forced to close by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea’s planning department last October and the talk of the town is that the institution that is Scalini was supposedly sold (though the management will remain) in the last weeks.

On a positive note, the coming months will be marked with the opening of a number of exciting new restaurants. Here, we list a selection:

Red House, 2 Elystan Street, SW3 3NS – A sign in the window reads: “We’re doing a bit of decorating but will be opening shortly” – A conversation with a builder revealed it should open on Thursday this week.

No website or contact details yet

Little is known of quite what this former public house will be yet other than that it is owned by an American couple, but its name is an indicator that the proprietors are planning a return to the venue’s original roots. Since the original The Red House pub closed in the 1990s, this site has variously been Cahoots, Album and The Markham Inn. None have prospered and locals will be watching what is coming with anticipation.

Entourage, 104 Draycott Avenue, SW3 3AE – Opening this week.

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7581 8053

Website: http://affairerestaurant.co.uk

The Le Suquet seafood restaurant formerly occupied this premises for many years but became tired and unloved. The stench of drains was more typical than the “taste of the Cote d’Azur” that they promised but now, the owners of the neighbouring pizza restaurant, Monello, have transformed this a three-floor venue into a Mediterranean bar, restaurant and roof terrace. Given their much deserved success at 100 Draycott Avenue, we anticipate that many will seek out the Entourage Café.

The Five Fields, 8 – 9 Blacklands Terrace, SW3 2SP – Due to have opened in February but still under construction.

Website: http://www.fivefieldsrestaurant.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/The5Fields

A location in the 1966 film Blow-Up starring Vanessa Redgrave, the Spanish restaurant El Blason occupied this site for many years. Taking its name from the “notorious” Five Fields of Chelsea, the haunt of “rogues, footpads and highway men” in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, chef patron Taylor Bonneyman will offer “modern seasonal cooking which will pay particular attention to Britain’s finest artisanal produce”. Reports suggest that the restaurant will be open for dinner only from Tuesday to Saturday and a three course fixed price menu will be set at £45 and an eight course tasting menu at £65.