High expectations: Sá Pessoa’s new restaurant and bar will offer views of the London skyline
(Picture: Handout)One of Portugal’s most celebrated chefs will open his first London restaurant later this year — and it’s set to feature a rooftop bar with an infinity pool.
Henrique Sá Pessoa, who owns the two-Michelin-starred Alma in his native city of Lisbon, will launch JOIA as part of the new art’otel development at Battersea Power Station.
A 15th floor restaurant will offer Iberian dishes with a backdrop of the south London skyline, while on the floor below, a bar with floor-to-ceiling windows will serve cocktails and wine.
On the roof, guests will be able to take a dip in the swimming pool, overlooking the Grade II* listed landmark below.
JOIA’s food operation will focus on seafood, pork and rice, using ingredients from both the Iberian Peninsula and closer to home in the UK.
The menu is set to cover the likes of grilled carabineiro with creamy orzo bisque, tomato and coriander, as well as salted cod crudo, pickled onions, tomatoes and olive oil caviar.
Iberian spices will be incorporated into the bar’s cocktail menu, while the wine list will be populated by bottles produced in Portugal and Spain. Vermouth is set to take a prominent place on the menu, too.
“It is such a joy to return to London having trained here in the brilliant emerging scene in the Nineties,” said Sá Pessoa. “I love this city and I can’t wait to cook and share with the guests my take on authentic Portuguese cuisine.”
Sá Pessoa, who spent time learning at the Cordon Bleu Institute, previously had a stint in London when he worked in the kitchen of the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane hotel. He opened Alma in 2009, before relocating it to Lisbon’s Chiado neighbourhood — and it was here that Sá Pessoa first gained the two Michelin stars, only the third Portuguese chef to do so.
He also owns Lisbon restaurant Tapisco, and is executive chef at another art’otel restaurant, ARCA in Amsterdam.
