The former Young Turk chef at Shoreditch restaurant Lyle’s says he no longer has to “play it safe” after two years running one of London’s most lauded new dining destinations.
James Lowe said the kitchen now runs smoothly enough to cope with more frequent, seasonal menu overhauls and experimental ingredients and dishes.
The Modern British restaurant in The Tea Building won its first Michelin star last year and has now made the shortlist of six for the Evening Standard’s Champagne Laurent-Perrier London Restaurant of the Year award.
Mr Lowe, 34, said growing confidence in the kitchen meant “we have been able to change things more regularly with less need to play it safe.
“You want to put every idea into practice as soon as possible, but when your restaurant is new or overworked or understaffed that is hard to push forward.”
He said every dish on the spring menu was new. Examples of imaginative dishes he has been able to add include monkfish liver with blood orange.
“With ingredients I like to look for interesting and under-represented things that make us stand out. I found this fantastic supplier who I persuaded to deliver us the liver as well every time they landed monkfish. I’m at the point where I think it’s amazing, but you still have to convince people sometimes.”
Mr Lowe said he was delighted by making the shortlist for the top prize at the Evening Standard Restaurant Awards next month: “It’s really nice to know when we’ve got our heads down in the restaurant every day the outside world thinks things are going well.”
The winners of all six awards will be announced on the opening night of the Taste of London festival on June 15.
