Tom Brown made his name in London at The Capital hotel as the head chef of Outlaw’s restaurant before going solo, first with contemporary fine-diner Cornerstone in Hackney, then with seafood small plates at Pearly Queen in Spitalfields. With the closure of Cornerstone in 2024, the chef is returning to both Knightsbridge and tasting menus with this self-titled hotel dining room.
Wallpaper* dines at Tom Brown at The Capital
The mood: Small is beautiful
The Capital was a boutique hotel before anyone had invented the term and its restaurant sticks to the small-is-beautiful vibe with space for only 28 diners. Guests begin their experience with a snack in the kitchen before being seated in a dining room of high ceilings and tall windows, with walls lined with Arte International wallpaper, a Richard Bagguley mural on the ceiling and Stark carpet on the floor. Try and arrive early: the tiny bar (also refurbished) is a hidden gem for elegant cocktails without the Knightsbridge bling.
'Working with the historic building, given the generous ceiling and window heights within the restaurant area, the design challenge became the transition between the two spaces. The design requirement needed to allow the restaurant to embrace a lighter and fresher ambience whilst complementing the cosy, intimate atmosphere of the bar,' says Sarah Daniels, founder of DO Design Studio.
The food: formal fine dining with a light touch
Brown developed an affinity for the fish and seafood of his native Cornwall when he was working with two-Michelin-starred Nathan Outlaw at the St Enodoc Hotel in Rock. His commitment to sustainable seafood extends not only to a having an oyster tattooed on the back of his head but for using every part of responsibly caught fish. Two tasting menus offer five or nine courses, kicking off with a skewer of steamed mussel stuffed with mussel parfait and dipped in fig and port jelly before progressing through the likes of a cuttlefish ravioli in which the ‘pasta’ is crafted entirely from fish. Diners with smaller appetites may might wish to come for lunch, when there are three, five and seven course selections.
Tom Brown at The Capital is located at 24, 22 Basil St, London SW3 1AT; tombrownatthecapital.com
-
Griffin Frazen on conceiving the cinematic runway sets for New York label Khaite: ‘If people feel moved we’ve succeeded’The architectural designer – who helped conceive the sets for ‘The Brutalist’ – collaborates with his wife Catherine Holstein on the scenography for her Khaite runway shows, the latest of which took place in NYFW this past weekend
-
How to travel meaningfully in an increasingly generic worldLauren Ho explores the need for resonance, not reach, in the way we choose to make journeys of discovery
-
Glenn Sestig brings his fashion-infused design to a French Riviera flagshipThe Belgian architect is the creative force behind the modern-meets-Mediterranean design of shoe label Morobé’s new store in Saint-Tropez
-
A first look inside Kudu Marylebone, where South African dining meets contemporary designA beloved South-African restaurant relocates to central London, featuring Fabled Studio-designed interiors that thread in African tones and textures
-
Carmela’s joins London’s pizza renaissanceA Little Italy-inspired pizzeria lands in Islington with 13-inch pies, pepperoni heat and big flavour energy
-
Has the ice cream parlour come of age?A global wave of architecture studios is treating the scoop as spectacle, turning parlours into immersive social spaces
-
Legado brings a bold Spanish legacy to ShoreditchMichelin-starred chef Nieves Barragán Mohacho’s second venture marries design-led interiors with regional Spanish flavours rarely found in London
-
The Macbeth, an icon of indie sleaze, goes from grotty to gastroAn East End legend meets Portuguese small plates in Jamie Allan’s ambitious revival of a beloved Hackney watering hole
-
A complete collection of Phaidon’s ‘Contemporary Artists Series’ is on display in LondonA 30-year project reaching 100 volumes is being celebrated with an exhibition at the 45 Park Lane hotel, including limited-edition works by Kaws and Dana Schutz
-
London’s best pizza restaurant gets a new home in MayfairSecure a slice of New York-style pizza in central London as Crisp Pizza teams up with the Devonshire pub to set up shop in the relaunched The Marlborough
-
At this east London listening bar, mezcal-fuelled cocktails hit as hard as the basslinesIn Bethnal Green, Little Fires pairs vinyl grooves with mezcal margaritas and Oaxacan sharing plates
