Westerns Laundry announce opening date of May 3rd
On Wednesday 3rd May, following the success of Primeur, Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim and David Gingell are to open their second restaurant in Lower Holloway. Westerns Laundry will be housed in the last remaining part of a 1950’s building, a stone’s throw away from Highbury and Islington. The restaurant will comprise of a textured, pared back aesthetic, reflecting the history of this practical space. The menu will focus on seafood and dishes made with the best possible produce, sourced from the British Isles.
Sheltered behind a feather blade fence, Westerns Laundry will be subtly hidden by a calming forecourt, planted with Himalayan Birch trees, punctuated with handmade benches designed and made by Jeremie. Cobbles, which once lined the gangway at King’s Cross Station, will lead to the floor to ceiling crittall doors, which will be pulled open for the warmer months onto the courtyard. The restaurant itself, centred around a chalk board showing the daily changing menu, will be a continuation of Jeremie’s love of bespoke, hand crafted interiors or, as he puts it ‘beautiful things made by obscure people’.
The dining room will be lined with communal tables and banquettes made from Shou Sugi Ban charred larch and covered in electric blue British velvet, lit by incandescent strip lights, now discontinued worldwide. 1940’s Michael Thonet Chairs will sit alongside kiln fired crockery from the Miami Valley Pottery in Ohio and Bristol based artisan potter, Carmel Eskell. Two centrepiece paintings by Katie Boxer will hang in the dining room, one depicting American poet and playwright James Baldwin, the other, a hungry lion in denial entitled ‘I won’t eat you’. An open kitchen will allow 10 counter seats and a 14 cover private dining room will be at the heart of the action of the kitchen, encased by Victorian bay windows.
David will work with day boats from Devon and Cornwall to source his seafood, which will be at the forefront of Westerns Laundry’s menu. Dishes from Sea bass and seaweed tartare, to Raw scallop with Le Coste olive oil will reflect the best of the English Riviera. Whilst British produce will be at Westerns Laundry’s heart, influences have also been drawn from the Catalan region and parts of Asia, with sardines, salted in house and chargrilled mackerel served with miso and chilli. Working with a small collective of farms in North Yorkshire, plates from the land will include Pork loin, chopped greens, basil and capers, and Beef rump with roast garlic butter and croutons. Green Apple Sorbet and Custard tart will complete the menu for dessert.
David says, ‘Westerns Laundry will be lighter and more delicate than Primeur, rooted in British flavours but influenced by our favourite aspects of Southern Europe with the occasional nod to Asia, with raw fish, shellfish and smoky flavours from a Robata grill. Working so closely with our suppliers means that we can create dishes that let the ingredients shine, without over complicating the cooking’
An exposed cellar, housing Westerns Laundry’s wine offering will sit within the restaurant, containing a vast wine selection of over 200 bottles, with a focus on low intervention, small scale international producers who farm their parcels with care and hand harvest their grapes. It will also feature changing wine verticals, showcasing all the cuvees from a single producer. As well as this, there will be a leather-bound, handwritten, ‘black book’ featuring fine wines and older vintages. Specialist beers, largely Belgium in origin, will be available in 750ml bottles, alongside a small batch of hand picked vermouths, with Gin and Tonic rounding off the concise spirit list.