After a two-decade absence from London, Lussmanns is returning to the capital in late August, opening in Highgate.
Situated on the High Street the new 130 cover restaurant brings all the features that have made Lussmanns a customer favourite in the five Hertfordshire towns, plus some new ones.
Sliding glass doors will open into the front of the early 1930s building where a café-style area offers a space for relaxing with coffee, a spritz or a dish from the main menu. Customers will in future also be able to order sandwiches, salads and drinks to go.
A new bar, serving beers from Hertfordshire’s Mad Squirrel brewery, and Lussmanns own Garden Gin, made with herbs grown in their gardens, then leads into the main restaurant. And beyond this is a 30-seater walled garden.
Founder and Managing Director, Andrei Lussmann, and his team will bring their successful recipe to the site previously occupied by Côte. At its heart, Lussmanns is about relaxed, ethical dining – championing the best of British produce, promoting organic, high-welfare farming and serving a wide selection of sustainable seafood.
Lussmanns was the first small restaurant group outside London to be certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in 2014 and has won numerous awards for its sustainability.
In the main restaurant, customers can expect dishes like Label Anglais free-range chicken schnitzel, MSC Fishcake with spinach, capers and a butter sauce, and South Coast crab linguine, all of which have become customer favourites on the menu that changes eight times a year to showcase the very best ingredients from the British larder at their peak. Brunch will be served at weekends.
Andrei said: “Opening a restaurant in London feels like we’re coming home, as that’s where it all started for Lussmanns in North Kensington in 2002. We can’t wait to open our doors in historic and beautiful Highgate Village and welcome customers to come and enjoy the finest ingredients sourced from farmers, fishers and producers all practising the highest standards – and at affordable prices.”
The Lussmanns locals set menu, available from 12pm-6.30pm daily, is £20.95 for two courses and £23.95 for three.
As with all Lussmanns restaurants, the attention to sustainable detail stretches way beyond the carefully sourced food and drink. Working hand in hand with a mindful builder, the vast majority of fixtures, fittings and furniture in the classy but classless interior, have been upcycled.
Lussmanns restaurants in St Albans, Hitchin, Harpenden, Berkhamsted and Hertford have always played a big part in the local communities in which they are located, and Andrei and the team are looking forward to playing an integral role in Highgate life.
Lussmanns will open a seventh restaurant in Woburn in October. This Grade II Listed building was, until recently, a Loch Fyne restaurant and before that, an antiques centre. Situated on the Woburn Estate, close to the many local attractions like Woburn Abbey itself, the safari park and the championship golf course, it also boasts a stunning 70-metre garden.
