Joe Laker, the former head chef of the soon-to-close Fenn in Fulham, is set to open a new restaurant on Shoreditch’s Nile Street.
Called Counter 71, and featuring basement bar Lowcountry beneath, the 16-seater counter-only dining space is promising to serve an eclectic mix of contemporary dishes in a tasting menu-only format that uses ingredients from across Britain.
Alongside more familiar produce will be lesser known ingredients which have risen in prominence in Britain due to innovations in cultivation and rising temperatures. Chillies and citrus fruits are listed among these ingredients not typically associated with our traditionally cooler climbs, but which have gained enough traction — and quality — to be considered menu-worthy.
Full details on the scale of the menu are still under wraps, but from the early information released, the blend of top tier ingredients and creative delivery looks promising. Langoustine broth with pickled carrot and brown crab donut with scallop roe sound like enticing uses of premium British seafood, while a cheese and Marmite scone with Poacher custard should be an interesting play on the classic cheese course.
Laker previously led the kitchen at Fenn, the highly acclaimed but ill-fated restaurant in Fulham which is set to close at the end of the month. The trio behind it, Toby Neil, Luke Wasserman and Johnnie Crowe, last week were awarded a Michelin star for their newest restaurant, St Barts.
Speaking to the Standard, Laker said of Counter 71: “This is the first time in my career that I have had full creative control — I feel creatively liberated and I can’t wait to get started.”
He added: “Guests will have complete access to the inner workings of the kitchen, watching every step we go through directly from the counter.”
In contrast to the marble-topped dining with open kitchen and tasting menu which comprises Counter 71, the basement bar Lowcountry sounds an altogether more casual affair. Opening beneath the main dining space, it promises to evoke the cocktail bar culture of Georgia and North Carolina with drinks built around bourbon and rye.
Headed up by Savannah-born Ryan Sheehan — another Fenn alumni — Lowcountry is set to take what it describes as a “culinary approach” to the cocktails, to reduce waste, maximise flavours and keep with the seasons. Of the listings so far revealed, the bacon-washed “Fat-Fashioned” sounds a sure fire hit.
Laker, who has spent time in both Alabama and South Carolina, has created a bar menu dedicated to classic American flavours using British ingredients, including the likes of shrimp and grits prawn toast and pimento cheese rarebit.
The opening follows a number of other notable launches in the area, namely Zapote and Maene, bucking last year’s trend of W11 being the hottest postcode in town.
