The Punchbowl

The Punchbowl in Mayfair has now opened its doors following an extensive three month refurbishment process.

The venue, located on 41 Farm Street, officially opened on 20^th October and now boasts a premium food and drinks offer which is served within revamped interiors.

The Punchbowl and James Purdey and Sons have joined forces to relaunch The Punchbowl with the aim of bringing the countryside lifestyle to the city. James Purdey and Sons established in 1814 and is known as one of the finest shotgun and rifle makers in the world. Both companies aim to embrace the best of British heritage and bring it to the fore in The Punchbowl.

The Punchbowl was built in 1729 and is now a renowned bar and dining location. The Georgian building has original design features including panelling, the staircase and fireplaces.

The Punchbowl has been entirely reconfigured during the renovation process. The design team, Cotswolds based RAW Design, has managed to respect the buildings history whilst at the same time incorporating contemporary elements into the space.

The project involved maintaining the traditional Georgian pub whilst adding a contemporary twist on the ground floor, as well as opening up the first floor to create a bright restaurant with glamorous 50’s vintage inspired décor. The second floor has been named The Club and is ideal for private gatherings with interesting gambling den connotations.

The aim of the redesign process was to reinstate key features within The Punchbowl that were removed during the last renovation, as well as develop new and enigmatic design features to keep the atmosphere current.

We caught up with Matt Rawlinson, owner of RAW Design and project designers, to find out more about the project. Matt commented:

“We moved a lot of the walls around and also relocated the dining area upstairs. This project was important to be involved with for us as it was an interesting opportunity to work in London. It was an interesting concept; we wanted to keep the original pub very historic and we wanted to respect that but we introduced interesting, fresh elements into the dining room and made it funky.”

RAW Designs has been in operation since 1996 specialising in bars, restaurants and design works in the hospitality sector for commercial clients, as well as working for private clients on some residential projects. Since their inception the firm have been involved with a plethora of high profile clients including Centre Parcs, Cirrus Inns, Palmer Hargreaves, Ballymore, Town and Country Inns, Gatecrasher, TGI Fridays, Mitchells and Butler, Luminar Leisure, Nandos, Andromeda park and A4e.

Matt added:

“We pride ourselves on our attention to detail and think about the entirety of the job, especially the fine details. Our venues speak for themselves as they are atmospheric and have a personality; which tends to explain their popularity.”

The Punchbowl has appointed Head Chef Nathan Andrews at its helm following the relaunch. He plans to embrace heritage through the menu and will work alongside local suppliers and manufacturers to provide the best in local countryside produce.

The Punch Bowl offers diners three menus to choose from; these include the pub menu located on the ground floor, the upstairs dining room menu and the bar snacks menu. The pub menu comprises traditional British pub products including hearty meat and game, fresh seasonal vegetables and rich comforting deserts.

The dining room menu channels this traditional offering but with a more modern twist. Dishes are lighter, smaller portions, and have a creative spin on British classics. These include cured Scottish salmon and flaked ham hock with lemon gel and dehydrated parsley, and foie gras, New Forest game terrine and Bayonne ham, served with fig and crispy sourdough. Even the bar snacks are simple but special, offering salt cod croquets with lemon mayonnaise.

Nathan Andrews has worked as a chef since the age of 17, working for Gordon Ramsey Holdings at Petrus, when it earned its first Michelin star. Most recently, Andrews worked as Head Chef at the Albion, an award winning gastro pub in Islington.

Nathan commented:

“I am excited about my partnership with the Punchbowl, one of the most iconic venues in London. I am using its history to create traditional dishes that are updated by the new techniques and wide array of ingredients that are now part of a 21st century kitchen. Provenance of food is key, and therefore we are sourcing our ingredients primarily from the British countryside, and from suppliers that we know and trust.

“Stunningly fresh ingredients inspire me, and will help ensure that, whilst in the heart of Mayfair, the food I am creating at the Punchbowl has the purest flavours, and that for a period of time my customers can forget that they are in central London. I need to know that the food I am serving to them contains the best ingredients. Developing longstanding and trusted relationships with producers and suppliers that share my passion for amazing quality produce is vital to ensuring that I achieve my mission. In addition, knowing where the produce comes from is essential to understanding flavours which in turn allows me to concentrate on creating innovative dishes based on balance and depth.”

The Punchbowl also offers an enviable wine list which has been crafted by wine specialist Tim Atkin. Tim has been crowned the Winner of the 2014 Fortnum and Mason Award On Line Drink Writer of the Year and won the Louis Roederer Award for On Line Communicator three time and International Wine Website. Thanks to his achievements Tim Atkin is established as one of the most knowledgeable figures in the wine industry. He is especially excited to be partnering with The Punchbowl, and offering patrons the opportunity to sample the best Bordeaux wines offered at any

London establishment. Tim commented:

“As a lover of Bordeaux, I’ve had enormous fun putting together a line-up of clarets for The Punchbowl. These are available by the glass, as well as by the bottle, and cover everything from Médoc classed growths, such as Châteaux Rauzan-Ségla and Gruaud-Larose, to top, Merlot-based wines from the Right Bank appellations of Pomerol and St Emilion. The vintages are equally diverse, starting with 2010 and going back to 1999.

“The Punchbowl is surely the best place to drink Bordeaux in Mayfair.”

The Punchbowl’s new list is a mixture of classic and modern wines from France, Spain, Italy, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Australia and the USA. It’s quirky, diverse and appealingly priced, with particular focuses on red Bordeaux, English sparkling wines and some cracking fine wines from the New and Old World. The list will appeal to everyone from casual drinkers to wine buffs in search of a bargain.

Purdey and The Punchbowl partnership 

Purdey and the Punchbowl team will work together to promote the relaunched pub; promoting the ethos of the venue and celebrating the best of the British countryside traditions with the city communities of Mayfair.

Another aspect of the partnership can be viewed in The Punchbowl waiting staff will be wearing Purdey dress shirts as part of their uniform.

Purdey’s gun check shirt Purdey shirts are a full English cut, generous in length and body with back pleats affording plenty of room for movement, vital for an active day’s sport. This dapper gun check in pure cotton is teamed with mother of pearl buttons, and an elegant English collar.

The Mayfair Monday event will also be hosted by Purdey’s gun sales expert Stephen Murray, who will share his knowledge of both crafting and selling the finest bespoke shotguns and rifles.

The Punchbowl offers its congratulations to Purdey on celebrating their 200 year anniversary, and is proud to support the Purdey Awards for game and conservation. Elizabeth Walker from James Purdey & Sons said:

“Purdey are delighted to partner with a renowned venue with such heritage, whose Mayfair roots are intrinsically linked to our own since 1883.”

Partridge Ventilation

Partridge Ventilation specialise in the design, manufacture, installation and service and maintenance of kitchen ventilation systems to the highest standard. Systems are designed to comply with the latest legislation including HVCA DW172 and Defra. All of the items they design are bespoke and manufactured to give the client exactly what they want.

The firm also manufacture and install fire rated duct systems that are becoming more and more important with regard to kitchen extraction systems due to increased fire risk.

Partridge Ventilation has been in the kitchen ventilation industry for over 25 years and have seen vast changes during this time and have always strived to be a fore runner in industry improvements.

Since their inception the firm has worked alongside some high profile clients including Loungers, Cirrus Inns, River Cottage, Rick Stein, Nathan Outlaw, Jamie Oliver, National Trust, Tesco, M&S, Aqua Restaurants, KFC and St Austell Brewery.

Richard Partridge from Partridge Ventilation commented:

“Our involvement in this project has been the design, manufacture and installation of the kitchen ventilation systems and ongoing maintenance that will be imperative.

“It has been important to be involved in this project as this is a very prestigious site and has been extremely challenging to achieve the correct standard. Cirrus Inns have been a great client to work with and we look forward to working with them in the future.”

The firm pride themselves on their professionalism, flexibility and always aim to deliver what the client wants and achieve the correct standards. The firm are a one stop shop for all kitchen ventilation requirements.

Tribune Shopfitters 

Tribune Shopfitters are a refurbishment, joinery and shopfitting company undertaking contracts for clients throughout the UK and Europe. The firm has witnessed continued growth, development and expansion since being founded in 1980.

Since their inception the firm has worked for a plethora of high profile clients including All Saints, J D Wetherspoons, Shepherd Neame and Karen Millen. The firm has recently completed the renovation of The Punchbowl in Mayfair. Russel Taylor the Contracts Manager oversaw the scheme through from the inquiry to completion. Len Johnson the site manager did a fantastic job on a challenging scheme.

Russel Taylor commented:

“We are very pleased to be involved with the successful renovation of The Punchbowl for our longstanding clients Cirrus Inns. We pride ourselves on delivering a quality project above all else.”