Fish and chips, bangers and mash and toad in the hole are just some of the British classics available at London’s first genuine all British restaurant.
Since opening in mid November, The Great British Resturant has gone down a storm, proving that British cuisine is up there with its continental rivals.
The all British inspired restaurant was born when Hammer Holdings took up the lease on a burnt out restaurant opposite the events space One Mayfair.
Peter Knight, of Hammer Holdings, explained the story behind Great British:
“When I go on visits all over the world as part of my business dealings, if I’m in France I go to a French restaurant or when I’m in Italy I go to an Italian restaurant. When my business guests come to London I have to take them to a pub or somewhere like Simpsons or Rules which are quite upmarket.
“I wanted to create somewhere that was 100% British that served well executed dishes at an affordable price with great service. We use all local produce and we do not import anything unless we absolutely have to, peppercorns are an example as they aren’t grown in the UK.
“Unusually we’re also the first British restaurant to serve exclusively British wine; we do not take French, Italian or Spanish. We work with the UK Vineyards Association to provide wine grown and made in Britain.
“It’s our first restaurant from concept to finish and we are now interested in rolling more of these out across the country.”
The British theme doesn’t end with the food, as British décor is strongly at the heart of the interior design.
The chequered tiles on the walls and floors, oak panelling, antique light fittings and recycled Victorian tiles on the table tops all give an authentic British feel.
On the interior, Peter added:
“I think that the oak panelling is very important as a feature, it was always there and when we gutted the kitchen we made sure to keep it and duplicate it throughout the restaurant.”
The British classics seem to pleasing not just the customers, as Peter explained:
“The government are very interested in the food industry as part of their promotion of Britain; I have had meetings in Downing Street to talk about promoting Britain. You know, at Great British we have British food, wine, architecture- even our chef is from Manchester- so the government is right behind venues like ours.”
The venue is 1,500 sq ft with 50 covers and the value of the project was £150,000. The work was mainly taken on in house by the building and design division of Hammer Holdings.
