Hide, the Michelin-starred restaurant on Piccadilly, is to combine its two food offerings into one this summer, to offer what its chef-patron Ollie Dabbous has called “the best of both worlds.”
At present, the building consists of a first floor offering called Above at Hide, which exclusively serves a fine-dining tasting menu; a ground floor offering known simply as Hide; and Below, a cocktail bar overseen by group bar manager Oskar Kinberg. Since opening in 2018, the first and ground have served decidedly different dishes. From August, the two menus will be offered throughout.
“We’ve basically decided to reconfigure the restaurant into one singular restaurant,” says Dabbous. “It gives my guests greater flexibility, with every menu on every floor.”
As part of the change, the name “Above” will be scrapped, and breakfast will be served on both floors. “Before, the first floor didn’t serve breakfast and we often had people asking to sit up there,” says Dabbous. “It was about time we opened it up, given breakfast is our busiest service — maybe because we’re not just doing another hotel offering. It’s healthy, light, progressive, sexy, and something we’re proud of.”
Dabbous added that beside the practical benefits of having one offering throughout — “it means we can be more streamlined, more cost-efficient” — he hoped it would clear up confusion over what exactly Hide offers. “There’s always been some misunderstanding over which floor is better, and which one the star is for,” Dabbous explained. “The star has always been for the whole site, but people assume it’s just for the tasting menu at Above.”
The confusion may have stemmed from the restaurant’s early days, when the initial messaging made it clear the two floors were vastly different operations. The forthcoming change will see the diners on both floors offered the same à la carte and tasting menus, and while Dabbous clarified that while food will change, “some of our signature dishes from Above will definitely remain.”
The change will be rolled out from August 3, with the restaurant closing on August 1 and 2 for “family and friends’ tastings” as the team bed in to the new service. August is typically a quiet month for restaurants, which Dabbous acknowledged would make it easier for the team to adjust to the change. “It gives us breathing space to get things right,” the chef said. “In terms of the back of house operation, there’ll be a bit of reconfiguring for everyone. It’s the same team but with slightly different protocols.”
Dabbous told the Standard that despite the rejig, there had not been any job cuts to the team.
“Really all we’re doing is blending the finesse from upstairs with the barefoot luxury of the ground floor,” he said.
