The Sunday Times Magazine • 49Run by
architects
and artists,
it’s a
sensory
playground
of a place,
with
painterly
plates
of food
Sessions Arts ClubHeft
High Newton, Cumbria
hefthighnewton.co.ukI don’t know what it is about
Heft, owned by Kevin Tickle, that
caught my fancy so tenaciously,
but I’ve been waiting for it to
open seemingly since I first heard
the words. Finally, here it is, at a
spruced-up 17th-century boozer
in the Lake District, formerly less
chortlesomely known as the
Crown Inn. Ex-head chef at the
renowned Forest Side in Grasmere,Clockwise from top
left: courtroom drama
at Sessions Arts Club;
Renaissant goes big
on crayfish ravioli;
Heft shows its muscle;
Barnacle sticks fast
to a seasonal ethosSessions Arts Club
London EC1
sessionsartsclub.comImpossible not to mention the
luminously sexy Sessions at this
historic courthouse, transformed
into one of the hottest restaurants
in town. Run by architects and
artists, it’s a sensory playground of
a place, beautifully complemented
by chef Florence Knight’s painterly
plates of food (the smoked eel
and potato dish is already a classic;
the chocolate tart a must-order).
Every corner delivers another
tiny frisson of pleasure — and
even the loos are works of art.Trattoria Brutto
London EC1
brutto.co.uk“A traditional Florentine trattoria
in London,” they say. I’m not so
sure. Yes, it has a magpie collection
of hits from Florence’s greatest
restaurants: penne alla vodka; the
trademark bistecca alla Fiorentina,
with Flintstones-proportioned
T-bones from Smithfield market.
But it’s the checked tablecloths
and bar snacks — fried doughballs
(coccoli) with prosciutto and
creamy stracchino; anchovies with
sourdough and cold butter — that
give the game away: the place has
more of an NYC vibe. Russell
Norman’s first restaurant venture
since he left the Polpo group is a
genuine scene. All this and punchy
negronis for a fiver: irresistible.Barnacle
Liverpool
barnacleliverpool.co.ukGood news/bad news: Pilgrim has
moved from the mezzanine floor
of the cool Duke Street Market
in Liverpool — but is shifting to
somewhere more independent.
Meanwhile, just landed in the
space is Barnacle, a launch from
some of the city’s hottest young
guns. And Paul Askew. It’s no
secret that I wasn’t a massive fan
of his Art School — Liverpudlians
duly lacerated me for it — but I like
the idea of him loosening those
fine-dining stays with collaborators
such as Harry Marquart from
Bone and Block. Pilgrim won a Bib
Gourmand on this site, so there’s
no reason to think this — with its
mandatory local and seasonal
ethos — shouldn’t do the same.Renaissant
Bagnor, Berkshire
restaurantrenaissant.comChef Dom Robinson has been open
about almost going off the rails
trying to run his Bagnor restaurant,
the Blackbird, “skirting ... the line
of full-blown alcoholism andaddiction”. Sober now, he has
launched Renaissant (geddit?).
But am I unreasonable to wish he’d
called it the Phoenix? — a return to
the sublime Francophile cooking
that won him a Michelin star at the
Blackbird, but leaving aside the pub
element that seemed to cause him
more grief than satisfaction. This
second act is more focused but
every bit as seductive: the likes of
halibut Véronique, or a large raviolo
swollen with Kennet crayfish in a
textbook sauce Nantua. Classic in
the best sense of the word.Cumbria-born Tickle (with his wife,
Nicola) is flexing his talent in this
beautifully stripped-back space
— he’s almost certainly got stars in
his eyes. The tasting menus throb
with delights: St James and roast
yeast crumpets; smoked potato,
squid and fennel kimchi ramen;
“Dickie’s pork faggot” (not just
me, right?). Five guest bedrooms
are imminent, making the whole
package fully destination-worthy.Native at Browns
London W1
brownsfashion.com“Sustainable, conscious food” as
a descriptor might bring a gal out
in itchy hives. But when cooking
and setting are so delicious the
reaction is charm, not irritation.
Ivan Tisdall-Downes (kitchen)
and Imogen Davis (FOH) have
relocated from their previous
grungy location to a light-filled
TOP LEFT: PAUL WINCH-FURNESS courtyard and room in one of