Soulful slice of minimalism: the main dining room
(Picture: Adrian Lourie)Even as someone who grew up in the shadow of Bluewater, with an avowed soft spot for massive shopping centres, the revamped Battersea Power Station is a challenge. In fact, it is probably something more actively unnerving than that. Served by a lavish new Northern Line stop and heralded by toe-curling, Brentian signage (“Electric buzzing vibes this way!”), it manages, somehow, to simultaneously bewilder and underwhelm; a gleaming airport mega mall of already-ubiquitous brands, suspicious security guards, and acres of “coming soon” hoardings that underline the sense of an inadvertent monument to lots of things that aren’t quite ready yet. Roll up, roll up — but not until summer 2023.
However, if you stroll a little way towards Nine Elms, that freshly prospected haunch of the capital near Vauxhall, you’ll find something unexpectedly grounded, soulful and fully realised. Because there, opposite the shimmering fortress of the US Embassy building, sits a dim-lit slice of careful Japanese cool and beauty. This is Evernight, the brainchild of chefs Lynus Lim and Chase Lovecky. And it really might be one of the most quietly remarkable restaurants currently operating in the city.
