Florence Knight is back, and for her next trick she’s serving otherworldly glamour. Lunette, on the 11th floor of Nick Jones’s new hotel, St Clement, near Temple, is the chef’s new restaurant and her first venture since departing Sessions Arts Club in early 2024. It officially opens on November 3.
Accessed via a lift, a maze of corridors and a metal staircase, it’s a space tucked away in a part of town you’d least expect. Designed by Alex Eagle, Sophie Hodges and Knight herself, the vast room is confident in its simplicity, inviting just a clutch of diners to stretch out on squidgy off-white sofas and crouch over bijou lacquered tables while drinking in the view of the city.
By day, the dining room is flooded with dazzling natural light, its stainless-steel surfaces reflecting the sky and jigsaw of buildings beyond the windows. After dark, the panorama becomes a backdrop of twinkling lights, with the Southbank Centre’s bright, dynamic sign glinting across the bar.
Knight’s gleaming open kitchen sits by the entrance, while stacks of her personal books, flickering candles and pared-back flower arrangements are dotted throughout the space. Generous tables give groups room to spread out, while couples can enjoy an uninterrupted view. “I love the idea of pairing twos next to each other in front of the window with nobody in front of you,” Knight tells Broadsheet.
The food is arranged as a set menu. At lunch, there are four courses for £80, or at dinner, for £110 diners are served between six and eight nibbles, bigger dishes and palate cleansers. True to her trademark style, Knight continues to showcase timely British ingredients prepared with a considered, artistic attention to detail.
“The food has become more exacting,” she says. While her beautifully plated dishes may remain relatively spare in appearance, their preparation is more involved than ever. “The complexity of the kitchen [here] means I can offer more clarity.”
The menu, which promises both new and familiar flavours, changes with the seasons. So far, highlights include a mouthful of pomme souffle with smoked eel, roe and nasturtium, and an unctuous golden crab rice with peppered egg yolk. There are ribbons of squid with runner beans and yarrow, as well as a slender slice of chocolate and feuilletine tart, and a crunchy, fennel-dusted candied grape to finish.
Water is served in handblown glassware by Danish designer Alexander Kirkeby, that’s placed on colourful coasters made using fabric offcuts from Alex Eagle Studio. Three house cocktails are available; the sweet Cedro Martini arrives in a featherweight stem in two instalments, keeping the second half cold while you finish the first. A wine pairing is available for £80, and there is an array of European wines offered by the glass and bottle. Three non-alcoholic cocktails, including a concoction of pear, lovage and celery are on hand, as well as a booze-free pairing at £60.
The atmospheric playlist is a collaborative jumble of the team’s tastes, with new finds that Knight hopes will get people Shazaming (on a recent visit, it included Sade’s Smooth Operator, I’m On Fire by Bruce Springsteen and Massive Attack’s Teardrop). “There should be nostalgic tracks and classics that people love,” she says. No doubt, in a decade or so, Lunette itself will be one of them.
Lunette
Level 11, St Clement, London WC2R 2NF
02046326750
Hours:
Tue to Sat Midday–1.30pm, 5.30pm–9pm
