City types get a grilling
Anyone planning a new food-led bar venture in the City of London might be forgiven for thinking that the cusp of a credit crunch, with those all-important bonuses facing a squeeze, would be a bad time to set up.
However, pub and restaurant entrepreneurs Alex Langlands Pearse and Simon Prideaux believe they have timed their latest project just right. The newly opened Devonshire Terrace is part of the prestigious Devonshire Square development close to Liverpool Street Station.
The all-day bar and brasserie concept aims to be an everyday, lunchtime and after-work feature of the City, rather than focusing only on the top-spending occasions, which is a failing of too many ventures in the area.
The team undoubtedly understands its market. Langlands Pearse - known to one and all as Langy - started his career with Young's, and ran pubs such as the Orange Brewery in Richmond and Finches in Chelsea. In partnership with Joel Cadbury he built up Longshot, operating renowned London food pubs including the Goat in Boots, the Admiral Codrington and the Salisbury, as well as the Groucho Club.
In 2006 he formed 333 Holdings with Simon Prideaux. At Devonshire Terrace, they have recruited Justin Abbott-Charles, former head chef at Cheyne Walk Brasserie, to run the food side of the business.
The site, with a capacity of 250, has a restaurant, bar and four private dining rooms. An innovative sliding wall system allows flexibility and a maximum capacity of 100 for any one function, with each room having its own private balcony.
"We'll offer good-value, quick City lunches, be a meeting venue and also a great place to have a drink or watch the match after work," says Langy. There is also a smoke-free heated terrace, situated within the walls of an original warehouse building, in a newly created six-storey atrium, ideal for all-weather eating and drinking with an al fresco feel.
The good value, brasserie-style menu will encourage guests to match their choice of fish and meat grills with one of a selection of sauces and side orders. Dishes include roast fillet of wild sea bass; grilled tiger prawns and salmon fishcakes; veal chop on the bone; and 28-day-aged sirloin of black angus.
"Grills are a classic feature of City lunches," says Langy, "and we're offering excellent value, somewhere people will be happy to come out for a quick lunch or stay longer in the evening."
