The story
Medlar sits on Chelsea's King's Road, serving Modern European cuisine that balances accuracy with substance. Chef and co-owner Joe Mercer Nairne learned his craft at Chez Bruce, bringing a preference for gutsy, full-blooded Franco-European flavours to the kitchen. The restaurant opened in April 2011 alongside co-owner David O'Connor, whose background includes fifteen years of front-of-house leadership at venues like The Ledbury and The Square. The kitchen focuses on seasonal ingredients sourced from the British Isles and Europe, treating them accurately and simply.
The menu features a signature crab raviolo accompanied by leek fondue and a bisque sauce. Richer options include a duck egg tart served with red wine sauce, turnip purée, lardons, and sautéed duck hearts. The kitchen also prepares rump of Belted Galloway beef accompanied by Café de Paris snils and a blend of shallot purée and béarnaise sauce. A chargrilled calf's liver dish arrives with new season's garlic, potato galette, crispy bacon, Tropea onion, and sherry vinegar. Evenings conclude with desserts such as canelés de Bordeaux enriched with pistachio cream, Argentinian garrapiñadas, tonka bean, and spiced drinking chocolate.
Pavement tables and a terrace overlook one of the leafier stretches of the King's Road, offering al fresco seating on sunny days. Inside, the long narrow dining room displays muted colours and distinctive green banquettes. Contemporary artworks by Tanya Baxter hang on the walls, while blossom-laden artificial trees add volume to the interior. Turner and Pocock designed the space to support a relaxed environment where staff allow their individual personalities to shine through. Service philosophy centres on brilliant basics and magic touches designed to enhance hospitality.
The wine list acts as a knowledgeably curated collection spanning global regions, complementing the Modern European approach to cooking. By-the-glass pours are extensive and maintained using Coravin technology. Bottle prices start at £38. Lunch service runs Monday through Saturday with fixed-price options for one, two, or three courses. Sunday offers a dedicated lunch and dinner menu with similar flexibility. The focus remains on accessible, serious dishes throughout the day.
Recognition
Details
History
3 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Pavement tables and a terrace overlooking one of the leafier stretches of the King’s Road make this hospitable but urbane Chelsea favourite a fail-safe on sunny days – although there’s also much to enjoy in the long, narrow dining room with its muted colours, distinctive green banquettes, contemporary artworks and blossom-laden artificial trees. Chef/co-owner Joe Mercer Nairne learned his craft at Chez Bruce in Wandsworth and it shows in his fondness for gutsy, full-blooded Franco-European flavours. His signature crab raviolo with leek fondue and bisque sauce is an ever-present delicacy worth savouring, as is the rich duck egg tart with red wine sauce, turnip purée, lardons and sautéed duck hearts. After that, the kitchen stays true to its remit, serving accessible, serious, muscular dishes with bags of finesse: rump of Belted Galloway beef with Café de Paris snails, shallot purée and béarnaise sauce; chargrilled calf’s liver with new season’s garlic, potato galette, crispy bacon, Tropea onion and sherry vinegar; monkfish and squid in partnership with sauce vierge, coco beans and sea aster. The kitchen goes that extra mile when it comes to dessert, fashioning eclectic, multi-part creations such as canelés de Bordeaux with pistachio cream, Argentinian garrapiñadas (sugary caramelised peanuts), tonka bean and spiced drinking chocolate. Similar dishes are available on the flexible fixed-price lunch menu (have one, two or three courses). The wine list is a knowledgeably curated and ever-evolving compendium bringing together the great, the good and the undiscovered from all quarters of the viticultural globe. By-the-glass options are generous (bolstered by top-end Coravin selections), while bottle prices start at £38.
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