The new 66-cover restaurant will explore the rich regional food traditions of Britain and Ireland, bringing together historic dishes, local produce and a distinctly modern approach to British cooking.
The restaurant team behind Camille will open their newest London restaurant, B. Penhale, in Farringdon this October. Affectionately known as Penhale’s, the 66-cover restaurant will celebrate the regional cooking of Britain and Ireland, drawing on traditional dishes, showcasing the best of British produce and a whole-carcass approach to cooking.
Located at 57 W. Smithfield, near the historic Smithfield Market, Penhale’s will be the latest project from restaurateurs Clare Lattin, Ratnesh Bagdai and Tom Hill, who will be joined by Elliot Hashtroudi as Chef Patron, who will also continue as Executive Chef at Camille.
Hashtroudi established a distinctive approach to seasonal British produce, direct relationships with farmers and whole-carcass butchery at the team’s Borough Market French restaurant Camille. Penhale’s marks a new chapter for Elliot, named after his grandmother, Betty Penhale, a talented home cook whose family history is closely connected to Smithfield Market. Furthermore, his maternal great-grandmother worked as a butcher at the market, making the restaurant’s location particularly personal.
Housed within an emblematic Grade II-listed building, the site has a rich restaurant history, having previously been home to the iconic French Michelin-Starred restaurant Club Gascon and Lyon’s Tea House. “I wish the Camille team and their opening of Penhale’s the same success that Club Gascon had over a generation”, remarks Chef Pascal Aussignac.
Penhale’s will comprise a 60-cover dining room and a dedicated 6-cover bar, with the latter offering a rotating chalkboard menu available exclusively for walk-ins. The white-tablecloth restaurant will draw on traditional dishes and rituals of Victorian dining, while the bar takes a broader view of this period and how migration has shaped the food of Britain and Ireland.
The menu will explore the regional cooking traditions of Great Britain and Ireland, with dishes reflecting the distinct places and communities from which they originate. Regional details will accompany dishes throughout the menu, offering guests an insight into the origins and history of what they are eating. In a similar vein to Camille, whole-carcass butchery will feature, with some offal and lesser-known cuts of meat highlighted throughout the menu.
Camille’s Head of Wine, Max Hancock, will head up the wine programme with a focus on British winemakers both in and outside Britain and Ireland. The remainder of the list will take its cues from the drinking habits of the Victorian era, reflecting pours and regions popular in Britain at the time.
Penhale’s aims to evoke a sense of nostalgia while shining a light on the food, stories and cultural history of Britain and Ireland. With its roots in Smithfield, a menu spanning the regional traditions of these islands, and a commitment to making the most of every part of the animal, Penhale’s will offer a distinctly modern take on the recipes, people and places that have shaped Britain and Ireland.