On trend: Square croissants at The Butter Club
(Picture: Steven Joyce)Two of Amsterdam’s most ambitious young chefs will open The Butter Club (acronymed — almost cooly — to TBC) in Notting Hill, bringing a menu of “inventive luxury comfort food”, craft beers, and dairy-imbued cocktails.
Gabriël Verheij and Alexandre Scour will open their restaurant on Golborne Road in February, having spent time in kitchens around the world and hosting pop-ups, residencies and supper clubs in their native Netherlands. The W10 opening marks their first permanent project.
The chefs met while working at Vanderveen in Amsterdam’s arty Oud-Zuid neighbourhood, having spent time before at the Michelin-starred RIJKS at the Rijksmuseum, at Bar du Champagne, also in the Dutch capital, and at Tonka and Vue de Monde in Melbourne, Australia.
With a dedicated fan base well-established at home, Verheij and Scour said they are now ready to bring their dishes to London — wisely choosing one of the capital’s most lauded and relevant arenas — and promise “a concise menu of globally-inspired dishes.”
Scour said: “From what I can see, Notting Hill is popping off right now — there are so many good restaurants and Golborne Road is a big part of that. It’s the ideal place to humbly show Londoners the style of cooking and flavours we’ve been developing in Amsterdam.”
On the menu will be smaller plates of fried chicken with nori mayo and caviar; BBQ langoustine and Sichuan butter sauce; and yakitori leek or maitake mushroom with po, a Korean dried meat or fish. Larger dishes to feature will be a Hokkaido milk bread lobster roll; a fried oyster mushroom bao bun with soy glaze kimchi and pickled daikon; and a “signature” fried buttermilk chicken brioche feuilletée.
Verheij and Scour have also become known for their square croissants, something of a trend in 2023, with fillings including cinnamon and pecan praline and corn and pickled blueberries. Background music? Hip hop.
“A lot of these ideas were formed when we lived together on the Nieuwe Herengracht canal,” said Verheij. “Since then we’ve been throwing supper clubs and one-off dinners at restaurants throughout Amsterdam — but bringing some of our favourite dishes to London is a huge thing for us. We can’t wait to show the UK what TBC is all about.”
