A longstanding Borough Market trader is teaming up with the former executive chef of a Michelin-starred hotspot for a new vegetable-centric restaurant.
Turnips, which has traded fruit and vegetables at the famous market for more than 30 years, will launch a restaurant space at its stall location, serving food cooked by Tomas Lidakevicius, the former executive chef of Jason Atherton’s City Social restaurant.
Launching this week, the outdoor dining space will be open weekly from Thursday to Sunday, with Lidakevicius serving a menu of small plates, as well as a five-course tasting menu – all cooked in a converted shipping container.
Lidakevicius will be using Turnips’s “world class produce” to create vegetable-focused dishes, with a strong emphasis on seasonal ingredients. The small plates menu is set to include the likes of sweet potato and lentil croquettes; sweet ’n’ sour Brittany cauliflower; sesame seed and Provence tomato bruschetta with cavolo nero pesto, and fish balls with Sicilian pepper sauce.
The tasting menu, priced at £65 per person, will include dishes such as “outdoor” Provence tomato with prawn; 48-hour short rib served with Yorkshire beans and peas; torpedo watermelon with galangal and lemongrass, and Lazare cherry with dark chocolate for dessert.
The restaurant will also serve a selection of cocktails, as well as a wine list celebrating English varieties and producers.
“The juxtaposition between fine dining and buzzy market atmosphere is second to none and we’re so excited to be working with Tomas,” says Turnips owner Charlie Foster, son of its founders Caroline and Fred Foster.
“The meal I had at City Social when Tomas was in the kitchen was one of the best I’ve ever had and he completely shares our vision of joining the disconnect between market produce and restaurant food.”
