A mirror is to be held up at London’s oldest department store next month: for the first time in Fortnum & Mason’s 317-year history, it will welcome an outside restaurant, as east London institution St. John pitches up in a whole new postcode.
From February 6 till the 25th, and while the self-described Smithfield “mothership” closes for a refit, St. John will relocate to Piccadilly, where in a room overlooking the busy streets below, Welsh rarebits, suet-crusted pies and velvet madeleines will find safe harbour.
The move might be called unprecedented. Not only is the residency a first for Fortnum's, but for St. John. Though with Michelin pedigree, the restaurant is understated and faintly solitary. To sit down to a plate of Fergus Henderson’s bone marrow and parsley salad in a dining room that isn’t decorated with only white paint and wooden coat pegs might feel disconcerting.
Almost certainly, in fact, which is why the telltale vernacular of St. John is to be recreated entirely in Piccadilly in the store’s Field restaurant on the ground-floor mezzanine. The original tables and chairs will be moved to Fortnum & Mason, walls painted and pegs installed; the team won’t change, nor will the menu, though the opportunity to bring back the restaurant’s celebrated bacon sandwich has not been ignored.
St. John co-founder and wine man Trevor Gulliver dubbed the collaboration a “frivolous jaunt” and the space a “temporary home”. He has been given carte blanche. “You will be in St. John,” the Standard was told. Even a steel bar, much like the one in Smithfield, will be installed. But St. John fans might be surprised by the foray into the West End.
“This is a new year in many ways, and the happily unexpected can happen,” said Gulliver. “From a thought to a conversation, to a joyous collaboration.”
He added it was the result of a “fortuitous” lunch, saying: “If nothing else, this is an adventure. While we close in Smithfield, we don’t want to stop, so we’re going to jump on the Piccadilly line and get off with our pots and pans. The three weeks of closure at Smithfield means we had an opportunity for a little bit of fun while continuing to provide our community with all the ways they use St. John, from a flying rarebit and a Fergroni (a negroni to Henderson’s own recipe) in the bar to rolling courses in the dining room.
“This little jaunt feels rather frivolous, which is Fortnum’s forte. Painting it white is a bit cheeky — and a bit of cheekiness is always a good foundation for an extremely good time.”
St. John head chef Steve Darou, together with his brigade, will move over with the furniture, the slipcovers and the Vieille Prune. On the menu, grilled langoustines, smoked eel with potato and dill, faggots with white beans, and chicken and trotter pie, among other dishes. The bar area will serve cocktails, own-label wines, and vintages selected by Gulliver.
Given the location, there will be an emphasis on breakfast and lunchtime dining during the week, and very early dinners with theatre-goers in mind, but the restaurant will close at 6.30pm. It will, however, open later on the three weekends in situ till 8.30pm. At Fortnum’s food and drink studio on the third floor, wine evenings are being arranged.
The store’s CEO, Tom Athron, said he was “excited” to hand over the keys. “Having long been admirers of their ethos, sharing many of their values around sustainability, seasonality and quality, we are excited to be handing over the reins to Trevor and Fergus, and by doing so continue in our mission to champion extraordinary food and drink,” he said.
