Set in St John’s Wood, Soutine, is the latest restaurant from Corbin and King, the team behind The Wolseley, Bellanger, The Delaunay and more Offering all-day dining serving French food with Russian influences, the restaurant will have a similar feel and design to that of Colbert, the airy and inviting French-inspired brasserie on Sloane Square. The restaurant takes its inspiration from the strong artistic heritage of the neighbourhood. St John’s Wood has long been home to a host of artists – from Landseer, Alma-Tadema and Tissot through to Nevinson, Craxton, Minto and Freud – as well as Calderon. We spoke with Shayne Brady, the co-founder of BradyWilliams, the team behind the restaurant’s chic design to learn more about the space.
1. How will the interiors be influenced by the artistic heritage of the area?
Soutine is a restaurant designed specifically for St John’s Wood, rooted in the artistic heritage of the area. Taking inspiration from the locale and in the style of Robert Bevan’s iconic paintings of the St John’s Wood area, a commissioned, hand-painted mural wraps the staircase echoing the spirit of St John’s Wood in the early 1900s. Custom-made tile flooring and floral upholstery recall the Arts and Crafts movement at the turn of the century. Two cricketers, a nod to Lords Cricket Ground, flank the end of the main dining space.
2. For those not as knowledgeable/familiar what can you tell us about the artistic heritage of the area?
Soutine is set on the corner of St John’s Wood High Street, an area with a rich and luscious artistic heritage with numerous links to the art world. In 1878, the St John’s Wood Art School, well-known as a feeder school to The Royal Academy, was established by A. A. Calderon and Bernard Evans Ward, with early students including Lewis Baumer, Cadogan Cowper, and Byam Shaw. The artistic heritage of the area was built upon post war by the Anglo-French art centre, opened for returnees from the Parisian Art Community and founded by Alfred Rozelaar Green who studied at Académie Julian. Soutine harks back to the St John’s Wood that would be familiar to the artists who studied and painted there in the early 1900s.
3. Tell me about a specific piece you’ve sourced that you’re particularly excited about and why?A key piece sourced by Jeremy King is an abstract still life in oil, Nature Morte by Jean Hélion in 1928. A leading modernist of his time, Hélion’s early work draws from Chaïm Soutine, the restaurant’s namesake. A major contributor to the expressionist movement in Paris, Soutine developed an individual style with a focus on shape colour and texture, bridging the gap between more traditional painting techniques and the developing style of the time, Abstract expressionism. He also painted numerous chefs, staff and still lifes of food.
