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Riding House Bloomsbury, the decade-long awaited next iteration of Fitzrovia’s Riding House Café, has today announced an opening date of 8th June 2022, with a soft launch period from 25th May. The latest opening from restaurateur Adam White, Riding House Bloomsbury will see the cosmopolitan area treated to the next evolution of their much-loved contemporary all-day menus, courtesy of Chef Partner Henry Omereye. 

Having opened Riding House Café in 2011 and Rail House Café in 2017, both of which were preceded by the Garrison and Village East in Bermondsey, White has long been committed to opening restaurants which can make a significant difference to the neighbourhood. Riding House Bloomsbury will follow in these footsteps, providing the historical area with a members club-like atmosphere, bringing residents together through offering a broad, accessible, lively modern brasserie that works across the day for any occasion.

Menus will be international, contemporary and unfussy, comprising breakfast and all-day dining including healthier options, bowls and skewers alongside more decadent dishes. Together, Omereye and Riding House Bloomsbury’s Head Chef, Gerald Mirey, who is rejoining the Riding House family having previously been Head Chef at White’s The Garrison, have created a range of new dishes which will launch exclusively at Bloomsbury. 

Inspired by the respective time Omereye and Mirey have spent abroad – across the Caribbean, Nigeria and Japan – small plates and skewers might see Grilled flatbread, smoked cod roe, tomato, wasabi tobiko, Earl grey cured trout, citrus kosho & sour cream and Flat iron steak & comté yakitori with goma dare. Main dishes will include Caraway harissa chicken and cassava chips with fennel and cardamom gravy, Teriyaki rabbit legs, shiitake mushroom, sweet potato champ & crispy kaleand Miso grilled sea bass, nuoc cham & pickled cucumber. Dessert will also see new versions of old favourites such as Hot doughnuts with milk jam, whilst breakfast brings Pea fritters, oak-smoked salmon and asparagus and Green shakshuka, green tomato confit, asparagus, spinach, peas and St. Ewe egg. 

Drinks will be overseen by Harry Hughes, joining the team from the likes of The Ned, and will see a bar dominated by large whiskey barrels of Negroni, Martini, Old Fashioned and rum Manhattan, aged within the barrels. New in-house cocktails making their debut at Bloomsbury will include the Piña Picante with Tequila infused in-house, pineapple skins and chilli, shaken with citrus and sweetened with agave, the refreshing Caribbean Storm; a blend of Guatemalan and Jamaican rums muddled with fresh watermelon and topped with ginger beer, and the Mile High; a smart, elegant drink with Aviation gin, violet, blackcurrant, citrus and cherry bitters.

Riding House Bloomsbury will be housed in Bloomsbury’s The Brunswick Centre, a listed, Brutalist piece of architecture. Interiors will see White working for the fourth time with Lou Davies of Box 9. Together they will continue what has become an unintended theme of contrasting stark exteriors with warm, timeless interiors. At 6,000 square foot, with 165 covers indoors, and another 60 on the terrace, the space will include their trademark long, imposing comfortable bar and open kitchen.

The main restaurant space will feature significant concrete booths that take inspiration from the building. These are combined with a softening myriad of salvaged restored furniture and bespoke pieces, with complimenting tables that have been created by innovative British tradesmen using repurposed stone, marble and metal, in various combinations, to give guests a unique experience depending on their table. 

Heavy mahogany doors, salvaged from a historic Mayfair members’ club, will be used throughout the building, with oak panelling rescued from Oversley Castle in Warwickshire before it was redeveloped, lining the walls. A private dining room will seat 14 around a substantial, salvaged timber round table featuring a great marble ‘lazy Susan’ for circulating the sharing plates of larger groups or for plugging your laptop into in the afternoon. 

Joining Henry Omereye, Gerald Mirey and Harry Hughes at Riding House Bloomsbury is accomplished General Manager Antony Colli – previously of Gordon Ramsay Group and the Providores – who is rejoining the company having previously been General Manager at Riding House Café. He brings across with him many of the trusted long standing team members from the original location.  

White comments ‘We had such an enjoyable experience seeing the impact that the Garrison and Village East had on Bermondsey, then Riding House Café on Fitzrovia, that our focus has become solely on opening a restaurant that can make a difference. London has so many restaurants now, it becomes difficult to open one that is actually needed and enjoys a close relationship with its guests. We hope that Riding House Bloomsbury fills that gap in Bloomsbury in the same way that Riding House Café did so long ago, with our goal to be a members’ club without membership.’

David Smith, Senior Asset Manager at The Brunswick Centre comments: ‘This is a hugely exciting time for The Brunswick and represents a significant step forward in strengthening the dining offer at the centre. This opening will represent the culmination of a process involving identifying the right operator for the centre and then working with them to ensure that the space enables them to realise their vision. We have had a great relationship with the Riding House team throughout and will continue to work with them to ensure the success of the launch.’

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Riding House Bloomsbury will open on 8th June – preceded by a soft launch period from 25th May which will see 50% off food only. Bookings are now open. 

Riding House Bloomsbury, The Brunswick Centre, Bloomsbury, WC1N 1AF

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