London & South East Premier Hospitality

Salt + Pickle

Salt + Pickle
Written by Roma Publications

Salt + Pickle

Salt + Pickle

Now open in Crystal Palace, Salt + Pickle is a unique new concept from business partners Manish Utton-Mishra and Ian Haigh. The new delicatessen serves lunch and dinner dishes featuring pickled and cured foods as well as offering a range of local beers and small producer wines.

Salt + Pickle will cure its own meats and fish and will pickle a variety of foodstuff for their small plate selection. The menu will be an eclectic mix of dishes catering to a variety of tastes and making use of ingredients from both the UK and further afield.

Salt+ Pickle is the second venture for Manish Utton-Mishra who also owns Good Taste Food and Drink shop in Westow Hill. Ian Haigh is an acclaimed designer who founded Central Design Studio in 2010. As well as being a partner in the business, he is also responsible for Salt + Pickle’s interior and spoke to Premier Hospitality about his work on the project:

“After designing restaurants, hotels and bars for the best of 20 years I thought it would be a good idea to invest in start-ups as well. The opportunity to put this idea into practice came about and we thought we’d go for it.

“It was a really interesting project to work on. The budget was very limited, to the point where we were doing a lot of the painting and decorating ourselves and getting family and friends to help out where possible. A lot of the design elements were based on our skill set. There’s no fancy joinery because none of us could do that!

“The result is a nice, strong, independent feel which suits the location. It’s an area dominated by independent businesses.”

Initial ideas for the design began nine month ago with Ian working evenings and weekends to create the space. Salt + Pickle has 40 covers in total (30 seated and 10 at the bar) and places an emphasis on both eat in and takeaway. At 75 square metres, staying in is an intimate experience without feeling overcrowded. As well as spatial restrictions, Ian also had to work within a tight budget. He continued:

“The main inspiration for the design was the idea of subtle earthiness mixed with minimal intervention that comes from the food. Having cured and preserved pickled food means its great ingredients with very slight, minimal intervention to bring the flavours out.

“That was the key inspiration behind the whole design. We’ve done things like expose the original shop ceiling to give it a raw feel so it doesn’t feel too clinical. There’s also an element of bold geometry and colour which is on the walls but also on the branding and graphic design. I think this gives it a contemporary and dynamic edge.

“What we didn’t want to do was go down the shabby chic road like a lot of independent shops. We wanted a different feel to that. There’s a mix of furniture but it’s mainly timber accented by bright green, industrial bar stools that really set everything else off.”

Situated at 67 Westow Hill, Salt + Pickle is located amongst a hub of independent shops, cafes and restaurants. The menu will feature a number of meals using ingredients from local suppliers while the drinks menu will highlight small wine producers and local craft breweries.

Salt + Pickle

Ahead of the grand opening, Ian concluded:

“This is an idea that Manish and I have been talking about for probably four years in various different guises. To see it come to fruition is brilliant because it’s a really personal project for myself. It’s close to where I live and I’ve spent a lot of evenings and weekends working on it. It’ll be great to see it finished and open.”

Manish’s other venture in Crystal Palace, Good Taste Food and Drink, is a specialist cheese, charcuterie, beer and wine shop. A popular destination for locals since 2011, the store houses an envious collection from around the globe.

Ian established Central Design Studio in 2010 and in the time since the company has gained a reputation for designing interiors with a relaxed and informal quality.

For information on Salt + Pickle, please visit saltandpickle.com.

 

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Roma Publications