The Origin City motto is ‘Rustic City Chic.’ One that revolves around honest and authentic cooking, combining British fine dining and old family traditions, with a touch of Scottish ruggedness, in the heart of the city. This is a meaty affair and never has a restaurant embodied such a motto with awesome ingredients and superb dishes. This is the kind of place where every plate could be a signature dish.
A family affair
Origin City is a new, family run restaurant in West Smithfield, evolving from the same team that launched 56 West Smithfield Wine Bar & Shop. The restaurant is a representation of the family’s passions, fused together to bring an authentic pasture to plate, note to tail dining experience. From the food and drink to the interiors, Origin City combines British fine dining and old family traditions with a touch of Scottish ruggedness and Provençal art de vivre.
The interiors
Origin City is a stylish space, with tweed-backed banquettes and burgundy and emerald chairs, secluded booths, and long sharing tables with crisp white tablecloths. Captivating murals adorn the walls and dark wood panelling, reclaimed oak floors and low-hanging lights create an elegant yet intimate ambiance. With an open kitchen at the back of the restaurant, you can watch the chefs cooking and adding finishing touches to plates.
The Food
All of the meat comes from the family’s 600 acre organic farm in Argyll, Scotland, with traditional heritage breeds such as Black Aberdeen Angus, Large Black and Tamworth outdoor-reared pigs, and Texel Lamb. All of the seafood comes from their aquafarm Loch Fyne Oyster, and in keeping with their ethos, the wine list also features many award-winning wines from their organic family vineyard, Château De La Cômbe, in Provence.
Executive Chef Graham Chatham, who has over 35 years of fine dining experience and has worked at well-renowned restaurants such as Rules and The Langham, creates dishes that celebrate every part of the animal, in line with the restaurant’s ‘no waste, great taste’ philosophy. With all of the meat butchered in-house and state-of-the-art ageing facilities the challenge is not in finding the perfect steak or chop but to provide a nose to tail dining experience, which champions British cuisine. From fine dining to traditional dishes that come with a big hit of nostalgia, Graham has reimagined British classics, with a twist that nods to the family’s roots.
Changing daily to showcase both what’s in season and the fresh produce from the farm, you can expect dishes such as house-made charcuterie and pickles, Black Angus steak tartare, Deviled Ox Tongue, Tamworth Pork Tonnato, Aged Black pig cutlet with savoy cabbage and sauce charcutière, halibut Anchoïade, Grilled Texel Lamb with sweetbread, merguez and salsa verde, alongside classics like dry-aged Black Angus sirloin and ribeye. Mains are generous and very much focused on the meat which has such provenance and doesn’t need much added to it.
A below-the-radar bread and nduja butter is not what you expect. It is around 80% nduja with the creaminess of butter also running through. A really unique bread and butter offering with a moreish potato and thyme sourdough. A deconstructed ‘ham, egg and cheese’ is a great choice to enjoy with their signature cocktails. A pork tonnato featured delicate thinly sliced pork loin in a brilliant tuna dressing with capers. The favourite was a Morteau sausage with some lentils. So many flavours and textures with that smoky herby sausage coming through so well.
The Drinks
The drinks are also a key element at Origin City. To complement the family wines, mixologist Giacomo has curated a special drinks menu, with a selection of apéritifs, cocktails and digestives, boasting punchy vermouths, Scottish whisky and amaro liqueurs. On the terrace, you will find a Provençal haven in the heart of London, providing the perfect spot to enjoy a pre-dinner apéritif or cocktail.
In a nutshell
One of our favourite openings of the year. A celebration of all things meat and proper brilliant cooking.
To discover more, please visit: origincity.co.uk
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All imagery courtesy of Origin City.