Rick Stein announced this week that he will be opening a restaurant in Barnes – his first restaurant in the capital.
Rick Stein and Jill Stein’s, Stein’s Trading Ltd, completed the acquisition of The Depot in Barnes village on Monday, October 3 – with the previous owners are retiring after 30 years of trading.
The business will continue to employ the full 40-strong team and will run the restaurant in its current form until the end of December, before a refurbishment in the New Year.
Rick and Jill Stein opened their first restaurant The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall back in 1975.
The Depot is the latest restaurant for Rick and Jill, adding to restaurants in Cornwall, Winchester, Sandbanks and Marlborough.
The Depot is nestled in the Tideway Yard, a renovated Victorian cobbled courtyard – an award-winning conversion with a secluded south-facing entrance patio.
Rick Stein said: “I’ve often been asked if I’ll ever have a restaurant in London, and to be honest, I’ve always said I wouldn’t, but when I went to have a look at The Depot it struck me how perfect a place it was: overlooking the Thames, being wonderfully close to central London but far enough out to feel like you’re in your own community, a little village almost.”
The restaurant boasts parquet flooring, high ceilings and a conservatory running the length of the room framing magnificent views of the Thames.
Mr Stein continued: “I watched people popping in on their way home from work, escaping the hustle and bustle of city life to sit back, have some food and a good bottle of wine and relax. It’s such an exciting opportunity and one we wanted to accept with pleasure.”
The news will be welcome by gourmet food lovers after a recent guide revealed that only 6% of Michelin Star restaurants in London are south of the river.
Image courtesy of Moreno Berti via Flickr, with thanks
