A new culinary-led pub and dining room, The Parakeet, is set to open on Kentish Town Road in March in the landmark Victorian building that for many years was known as the Oxford.
With ex-BRAT chef – and born-and-bred North Londoner – Ben Allen at the helm, alongside sous-chef Ed Jennings, the 60-cover dining room will serve locally sourced, seasonal dishes, expertly cooked over flames on their custom-made grill.
It’s a personal project from longstanding residents Steve Ball and Riz Shaikh of The Columbo Group, who own the Jazz Cafe and Blues Kitchen in Camden, amongst other venues. This latest venture is born out of their love of the London restaurant scene and desire to bring something new to the Kentish Town neighbourhood.
“We live in the local area,” says Steve, “and with The Parakeet, we want to build something that gives back to our neighbourhood, and that fits the description of somewhere we’d want to hang out with our family and friends. It’s great to have Ben Allen on board as Head Chef: he’s someone we really admire, and we can’t wait for visitors (and ourselves) to sit down and have a taste of the seasonal menu he’s created.”
Serving a produce-led, seasonally changing blackboard menu, diners can expect a selection of modern European dishes influenced by Allen’s professional chef experience at fine dining restaurants, which, as well as world-renowned BRAT in Shoreditch, includes the 2 Michelin Star Steirereck restaurant in Austria.
Cooking over fire will be a key component of the menu at The Parakeet throughout the seasons, with many of Ben and Ed’s dishes built around the use of a custom flame grill. Signature dishes are set to include Poached Oyster with Pickled Elderflower, Trout with Sea herbs and Butter sauce (pictured above), Wood Roasted Rabbit, Kohlrabi and Curry Leaf and Braised Leeks, Pecorino and Smoked Mushrooms (pictured below). The menu will also feature meat and fish-based sharing dishes built around locally sourced ox cheek and bream.
“We’re hugely excited to be able to put our own creative stamp on the menu here at The Parakeet with our seasonal menus,” says Ben. “Each season has its own unique benefits: spring is exciting with new shoots like wild garlic, while the short asparagus season is a favourite. We both love autumnal flavours with comforting cold weather food, and the challenge of being creative with limited variety in winter, as well as the abundance of summer.’
The Parakeet will retain much of its former incarnations the Oxford’s local character in the pub room, which is to feature its own separate food and drinks menu for spontaneous locals stopping by. Throughout the rooms, the interior, lighting and ornate antique furnishing have been designed to complement the ample natural light and airy space.
The Parakeet will also serve a carefully curated wine list, centering around biodynamic and low intervention wines – visitors can expect the list to feature selections from producers including Seasmoke, and J. Rochioli.
The building’s previous incarnations over the last half century have included the Jorene Celeste, the Vulture’s Perch and the Oxford Vaults. So why the latest name change? “There are loads of them on the Heath,” says head Steve, “which is just up the road. So it made sense, really.” You can’t say fairer than that.
Main image: Ed Jennings and Ben Allen by Justin De Souza.
This is a sponsored post created in association with The Columbo Group. If you’re a business who would like to reach out to thousands of North Londoners, please email: info@kentishtowner.co.uk
