Beloved Bethnal Green restaurant The Water House Project – which grew out of supper clubs hosted by chef and founder Gabriel Waterhouse in his flat – closed last month after five years. But now, Waterhouse (ex-Galvin La Chapelle) and his business partner and wife Patricia Wakaimba have announced its follow-up: Waterhouse, a restaurant, wine bar and garden that opens in a Victorian-era warehouse off Columbia Road next month. It’ll see Waterhouse and Wakaimba take years of learnings in the industry to present a more refined vision of their restaurant.
The restaurant will look to Waterhouse’s native Northumberland – as well as the wider north-east and Scotland – for inspiration, ingredients and classic dishes and methods. Expect plenty of seafood and game, as well as a dedication to fermenting. The menu will rest on a larder of misos, vinegars and kombuchas, made when produce is at its peak and intertwined with in-season ingredients throughout the year. Many of the ingredients will come from the on-site garden, which grows herbs, flowers and seasonal produce. The north-east’s natural pantry will also supply Waterhouse: hand-dived scallops, creel-caught lobster, northern game and honey from Northumberland.
Waterhouse will open in stages. First, a 24-seat dining room that launches in August in the warehouse’s former potter’s studio. The open kitchen will incorporate the building’s original fireplace, and Waterhouse and his team will craft dishes including smoked haddock and mussel porridge, singing hinnies (a northern griddle cake) with Laphroaig cream, and cep and madeira tea. Dishes will be served as part of a tasting menu (11 courses at dinner and eight courses at lunch), with optional drinks pairings.
The bar arrives in September, in the building’s front room. It will be centred around a stainless steel and oak bar by furniture maker Herb Palmer, from where diners can order aperitifs, low-intervention wine and seasonal cocktails made with ingredients from the kitchen and garden. At launch, cocktails will include a Negroni made with mugwort harvested from Hackney and a Vesper using rosemary grown in the on-site garden. It’ll be backed up by a succinct snack menu, including crumpets with Craster kippers and house-made kipper butter, and Lindisfarne oysters with seasonal dressings.
Waterhouse and Wakaimba have collaborated with Rees Architects on the design, keeping its original open-plan layout and features, while updating it for a contemporary restaurant. Raw and industrial-style materials – painted brick, stainless steel and British timber – are used throughout, complementing historic details like fireplaces and exposed bricks.
Waterhouse opens at 7A Ezra Street , E2 7RH on August 6. The bar opens on September 3.
