Homes & Gardens UK – September 2019

MY LONDON

TOP,FROMLEFTThebakeryatStJohnRestaurantinSmithfield;a selectionofsalvagedand
FE ATURE reclaimed offerings at Retrouvius; the magnificent Art Deco Senate House in Bloomsbury

PATRICK HAMILTON COURTNEY

PHOTOGRAPH

(ST JOHN RESTAURANT) STEFAN JOHNSON/ALAMY

Polpo restaurateur Russell Norman on the capital’s hotspots

SecretAddress?

RetrouviusinKensalGreen.It’san

architecturalsalvageandreclamation

warehouse– anAladdin’scaveofArtDeco

lightfittings,mid-20th-centuryfurniture

andindustrialephemera.I oftencomeaway

witha taxifullofobjectsI didn’tknowI

needed until precisely 45 minutes before.

FavouriteLondonbuilding?

SenateHouseonMaletStreetis Charles

Holden’smasterpieceandgetsmoregorgeous

witheachpassingyear.Theinteriorsare

justasimpressiveasthePortlandstone,

pyramid-likeexterior.I spentmanylong

hoursthereasa postgradatUCLinthelate

Nineties. It’s an architectural icon.

Culinaryspiritualhome?

WhenRichardBeattyandI wereplotting

ideasforourfirstPolporestaurant,we’d

breakat4pmforteaanda sliceofDijon

mustardtartatMaisonBertauxonGreek

Street.WewouldchatwithMicheleand

Tania,thesistersbehindthecounter,and

hearallthelatestSohogossip.Westillmeet

there regularly. And I have the Dijon slice.

Interiorthatinspires?

I’vealwaysadmiredHazlitt’sonFrithStreet.

TheGeorgianfeaturesseembarelytouched

in 300 yearsbutthisis asmuchartasit is

accident,thearchitecthavingworked

sympathetically with the 1718 townhouse.

Favouriteautumnhangout?

Whenthedaysgetthatorangecrepuscular

glow,I lovethewalkfromBlackheathVillage

toGreenwichObservatory.Therewardatthe

endis theviewoftheThamessnakingeast

andwestandeverylandmarkinthecityand

the West End looking so clear and so close.

Theshopsyouwouldn’tbewithout?

LinaStoresonBrewerStreetforpastaand

Italiandrygoods;MargaretHowellon

WigmoreStreetforshirtsandjumpers;

ChoosingKeepingonTowerStreetfor

Blackwing 602 pencils and other stationery.

Lastsupper?

StJohnRestaurantinSmithfieldhasbeen

a constantinmyadultculinarylife.I’dchoose

a rathermodestsupperofdevilledkidneys

and a negroni. That would be all I need.