Outcrop, a restaurant and arts space from Luca founders Johnny Smith and Daniel Willis, and three Secret Cinema alumni - Tom Allott, Andrea Moccia and Sabrina Goreeba - will open at 180 The Strand on 23rd June. A verdant courtyard at the heart of the Brutalist creative hub, Outcrop will serve as an inner-city oasis within London’s West End to connect guests with nature.
Outcrop’s restaurant will be run by AngloThai’s John Chantarasak, showcasing his signature Thai cooking using ingredients from the bountiful British summer larder. Inspired by Outcrop’s mission, John has created a menu with a focus on seasonal British vegetables, as well as a smaller selection of native breed animals and line-caught fish, all cooked over charcoal in keeping with the traditional cooking practices of rural Thailand.
Outcrop will source UK-grown ingredients such as ginger, chillies, Thai basil and lemongrass, alongside London honey and native British grains. Whole ingredient cooking and preservation techniques will ensure the kitchen upholds a sustainable and low waste ethos. Dishes will include: Root Vegetable Som Tam, Tamarind & London Honey; Salt-Baked Beetroot, Scallop Roe Chilli Jam and Wild Garlic; Wye Valley Asparagus and Sunflower Seed Satay; Coconut Smoked Turbot Bone Broth; Skate Wing Jungle Curry; Thai Tea Burnt Cream.
Award-winning Bar Manager Rob Simpson, who honed his experience at restaurants including The Clove Club and Gymkhana, has collaborated with Outcrop to curate a drinks list making use of hedgerow fruits, spirits and botanicals from the best producers across the UK. Guests will be able to choose from a selection of cocktails made using exclusively British ingredients, such as the British Margarita, made from barley eau de vie, London honey and gooseberry, or the Outcrop Martini, which combines London dry gin with a homemade herb garden vermouth, served ice cold. Outcrop will work with a small collection of UK-based distilleries striving to have a more positive impact: building soil health, eschewing pesticides, growing heritage grains, and using smarter ecological packaging.
Desiree Chantarasak of AngloThai will curate Outcrop’s wine list of exciting, low-intervention European wines, all served on tap by the glass or carafe. Uncharted and Modal Wines will supply their wines to Outcrop in recycled and refillable kegs, completely eliminating the waste caused by glass bottles.
Outcrop will also play host to an arts and music programme, including a central installation exploring the world beyond our senses. The musical line up will be built around an audiophile sound system featuring four vintage Klipschorn speakers, where rising and established DJ talent will create musical journeys throughout the space, inspired by the natural world.
London-based, South African producer, DJ and curator Esa Williams will be collaborating with artist Chisara Agor on an interdisciplinary performance piece exploring both the migration of swallows from South Africa to the UK and the African diaspora. The project will combine music, movement and visual art to draw upon themes of human history, spirituality and ecology, and will culminate in a live performance featuring classical, folk, electronic, jazz, avant-garde and South & West African traditions.
Outcrop will also work with Sam Willis, one-half of the critically acclaimed Ecstatic Recordings label and of Mojo award-winning band “Walls”, to create a soundtrack and musical collage exploring music’s relationship to nature, playfully integrating organic and synthetic instrumentation from all over the world. A full music programme will be announced over the coming weeks, and will feature John Gomez (NTS), Joel Martin (Quiet Village), Daniel John Willis & Mr Pedro (NTS).
Outcrop’s founding team is made up of world-class figures from hospitality and entertainment including Daniel Willis and Johnny Smith (co-founders of Michelin-starred The Clove Club and Luca), alongside three Secret Cinema alumni - Tom Allott, Andrea Moccia and Sabrina Goreeba. It aims to be a new type of gathering place - a green social club within the city that brings people together to eat, drink and have fun, all whilst striving to have a positive impact on the planet.
Initially launching for a three month limited run at 180 The Strand, in the longer term Outcrop plans to link buildings in cities with large-scale regeneration efforts in the countryside, mobilising communities in cities to increase biodiversity in rural areas.
Outcrop will take walk-ins and reservations for the bar and restaurant, which seats up to 30 guests.
Launching on 23rd June for three months, Outcrop will be open Wednesday to Friday, 17:00 - 23:30 and Saturday, 11:00 to 00:00.
