Trivet

Bermondsey, London

The Fat Duck alumni Jonny Lake and Isa Bal’s debut solo project is a restaurant of calm ambition

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Located on a surprisingly quiet street moments from London Bridge station, Trivet is the debut solo project from The Fat Duck alumni Jonny Lake and Isa Bal. Opened in 2018, the quietly ambitious restaurant takes its name from the iron tripods that were once placed over a fire for a cooking pot or kettle to stand on.

The cooking here isn’t nearly as low-tech as the restaurant’s name might suggest, but it’s certainly a lot more understated than that of Heston Blumenthal’s Bray-based flagship, which the Canadian-born Lake oversaw for nine years as executive chef. His style is creative and precise (as one would expect given his experience), but also stripped back and unfussy. Taking influence from the pair’s travels, the menu changes regularly, but there are a few constants including chicken with a vinegar sauce; and Hokkaido potato, a stunning baked potato mille-feuille with sake and white chocolate mousse.

Then there’s Turkish-born Bal’s wine list. One of the world’s most distinguished sommeliers, he has created a list that features an extensive selection of wines from the Middle East, Georgia and Armenia, as well as more obvious wine producing countries. Bal has taken the unique approach of putting the list in chronological order, starting at around 7,000 BC (Georgia, Armenia and Turkey), and including 4,300 BC (Lebanon, Syria and Israel).

Trivet’s dining room is classy and muted with an open kitchen and a bar area in which Lake offers a menu of lighter bites designed to be paired with the restaurant’s extensive by-the-glass selection. The duo might have swapped the flamboyance of The Fat Duck for something far more low key, but they still know how to dazzle.