JOIA

London is no stranger to a restaurant with a good view, but JOIA’s magnificent Battersea Power Station panorama might just take the cake. Way up on the 15th floor of the Battersea art’otel, this slick art deco restaurant overlooks London’s iconic industrial landmark and a good portion of the West London skyline too.

The interiors are thoroughly serene and approachable - dusty pink corridors greet you as you exit the elevator, and inside you'll find natural wood floors, Insta-friendly pastel shades and potted plants, which add a breezy Mediterranean feel to the space. The restaurant itself wraps around the outer edge of the building, and smooth curves feature everywhere from the panoramic outer window and the patterns in the upholstery to a series of circular mirrors, mounted like portholes on a ship.

Wherever this particular ship is going, we’re in for the ride. Two Michelin-starred Portuguese chef Henrique Sa Pessoa is also on board, delivering a menu that riffs on classic flavours from his home country, from scarlet Carabineros prawns to bacalhau and Iberico ham croquetas.

Don’t come here expecting a two Michelin star level of fine dining - JOIA is much more relaxed than that, but Sa Pessoa’s cooking is comforting and delicious in equal measure. You can’t go wrong with a croqueta but JOIA’s bomba de Lisboa is a particularly delicious combo of golden crust, aioli, and rich beef and alheira sausage filling. A salt cod tortilla is equally good, the sort of reassuring thing we could happily eat everyday, ably washed down with a fresh, textural white from the Douro Valley. The best dish is saved for last - a huge steaming pot of Carabineros prawns with orzo and bisque, where staff helpfully squeeze the juices from the heads into the sauce for you.

Save some space for desserts too, especially the pudim abade priscos - a pork fat caramel flan with a sweet, bitter port caramel and mandarin sorbet. Bold, comforting dishes, magnificent views and a rooftop infinity pool soon to open - JOIA definitely has something special going for it.

The 2020s have been all about Battersea thus far; the area has undergone a serious makeover, from the establishment of a new tube station to the renovation of the iconic Battersea Power Station. Now, two Michelin-starred Portuguese chef Henrique Sa Pessoa’s new restaurant JOIA is destined to propel it to the forefront of the London dining scene.

Perched on the 15th floor of the new art’otel development with a floor-to-ceiling windowed bar on the level below, JOIA boasts incomparable views of the South London skyline. It only gets better from here: next year will see the opening of a rooftop bar and infinity pool, right beside Battersea’s Grade II listed power station.

This isn’t Sa Pessoa’s first appearance on the London culinary scene. After training at the Cordon Bleu Institute, he began working in the kitchen of the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane hotel. Now he’s one of the most highly acclaimed chefs in Portugal, owning Lisbon-based two-Michelin-starred Alma and Tapisco, as well as being the executive chef at sister art’otel restaurant ARCA in Amsterdam.

The menu is true to the robust, authentic flavours of Sa Pessoa’s native Portugal, featuring elegant, elevated versions of many classic Portuguese dishes, with an emphasis on seafood, pork and rice. The menu includes snacks such as Iberico ham croquetas, salt cod tortilla and hand dived scallops with black alioli sabayon. For main courses there is a choice of larger plates like wild mushroom and black truffle rice and Madeira-braised pork cheeks, but JOIA also offers whole Carabineros prawns, catch of the day fish and aged steaks from the josper grill.

Don’t forget to check out JOIA Bar whilst you’re here, as the glass walls make it one of the most stunning cocktail lounges London has to offer. It’s the ideal spot to peruse an extensive list of Portuguese and Spanish wines and vermouths while taking in the striking city views.