Stevie Parle is back. Not that he ever really went away. It’s just that after a busy decade spent opening restaurants in London’s north, south, east and west prior to the pandemic, he had just one – Pastaio in Soho – until the opening of Town on Drury Lane in May.
Those who know the Birmingham-born, Ballymaloe-trained chef from earlier projects (Dock Kitchen, Sardine, Craft London, Rotorino, Palatino, JOY – some very greatly missed) will discern traces of them at Town. The first thing to note is the design, as shiny and seductive as the sports car in one of the glossy images on the wall. Design studio North End is behind the look and feel; the initial mood board (think cosmic communist) apparently having included the original Apple logo from 1977 as well as Soviet train stations and Verner Panton designs. Cream cord and chrome cantilever chairs, heavyweight granite ice buckets, Arne Jacobsen chairs and curvy oxblood tiled columns, and David Mellor cutlery are the details that will see Town splashed across all the design mags. A bright yellow oven is surely an homage to the River Cafe’s bright pink one? Parle did work there, after all. 
Parle has assembled a sure-footed team to assist on the project including executive chef Olly Pierrepont (previously head chef of Luca and La Trompette) and head chef Andy Bright (Kerridge’s Bar & Grill, Saison and Fera). For the bar, Kevin Armstrong (owner of World’s Best Bar, Satan’s Whiskers in Bethnal Green) has developed a menu of modern alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks including carbonated chargers, wine-based cocktails, and £12 Martinis that should make it rendezvous of choice before or after Totoro (Town is directly opposite the Gillian Lynne Theatre).
The real ambition, however, according to pre-opening publicity, is around sourcing and supply chains. Town is ‘helping to pioneer a new kind of relationship with growers, by investing in and growing alongside farmers using progressive and regenerative approaches.’ It has, for example, partnered with Wildfarmed, the wheat growers, and is the first restaurant to serve Wildfarmed beef (a new system where Wildfarmed’s growers introduce cattle to their farms, in the process increasing yields, biodiversity and soil health). Canterbury local Parle has also been spied boarding the high-speed train to St Pancras with boxes of asparagus and cherries sourced for him by The Goods Shed; he’s using honey from his own bees, and cheese from his brother’s farm in Ireland. Top suppliers listed on the menu include Hodmedod’s for lentils and the miso served with radishes, Todoli grapefruit with the day boat crudo, and cured meats from Coombeshead. For all that, it’s not something the diner picks up on; the place feels buzzy and fun (even when not jam-packed), you can enjoy it on an entirely superficial level, and choose the extent to which you engage with its serious intent.
Right now, so the cliché goes, the food does the talking. Sourdough with gravy speaks plain English and is, at least until the next cult dish turns up, just about the most talked about dish in London. The kitchen practices whole carcass butchery so it makes sense to make gravy a ‘thing’. Snacks take up almost as much space on the menu as starters and run from £3.50 for a gilda (an unorthodox skewering of shiso leaf, mackerel and cucumber) to £16 for Coombeshead cured Mangalitsa shoulder, and on up to £30 for smoked trout caviar with crème fraîche and crisps. Starters, from £14 for charred baby gem, peas and Spenwood to £26 for clams, inclines towards Italy for duck and Amarone pappardelle, saffron risotto and roasted bone marrow, and Kent asparagus, draped in lardo. Main courses include a cod curry for two, whole sea bass with anchovy and rosemary, and various cuts of steak (a sign of Town’s commitment to whole carcass butchery), from £20 for rump to £95 for a 900g T-bone. It’s good to find several dishes in two sizes; and the ‘Quick Lunch’, which at £28/£32, this close to touristy Covent Garden, deserves to be well known.
From a first look, Town appears a fascinating mix of contradictions. A jumping city spot from a country-dwelling chef. A specialist kitchen with a populist streak. A fun restaurant on a serious mission. It will be interesting to see what it can achieve.
WHEN 12th May 2025
WHERE 26-29 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RL
FOLLOW @town.restaurant
BOOK town.restaurant
The Good Food Guide allows three to six months before anonymously inspecting a new restaurant. Look out for a full review coming soon.
