St. JOHN, the iconic London restaurant pioneered by restaurateurs Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver’s, is set to open its first out-of-London site in Los Angeles.
If all goes to plan, St. JOHN Los Angeles will open its doors in mid-October, taking up residence inside the Platform shopping centre in Culver City. The restaurant is still under construction, so little has been revealed about the look so far, but we do know that the space will be similar in size to the original St. JOHN restaurant in Smithfield. The restaurant will also have the same pared-back aesthetic, featuring large grey concrete slabs.
The food menu has also not been finalised, but we do know who will be heading up the kitchen. Although Henderson and Gulliver will be travelling to LA regularly to check in on the restaurant, the kitchen will be led by chef Jonathan Woolway, who has worked at the St. JOHN Smithfield site since 2008 and who has acted as head chef for the restaurant since 2014. He will relocate to Los Angeles to take up his new position.
The minimalist dining room at the original St. John location
The menu will likely adopt the nose-to-tail approach that made St. JOHN's name, with popular dishes at the London sites including the deceptively simple likes of deviled kidneys and roasted bone marrow.
St. JOHN first opened its doors in London 25 years ago, revitalising a very British approach to food and sourcing, as well as popularising nose-to-tail dining which is now seen at several of the capital’s most successful restaurants, such as Lyle’s and Smokestak (both found in Shoreditch), Temper in Soho and Native in Borough.
Currently, Henderson and Gulliver’s portfolio encompasses the original St. JOHN restaurant in Smithfield, a second location called St. John Bread + Wine near Spitalfields Market, and a bakery in Neal’s Yard.
If all that talk of LA has you craving a holiday, check out our favourite American restaurants in the capital.