Standing out in Soho’s dense warren of eclectic eateries and rowdy drinking holes is always a difficult task. Flavour Bastard seeks to snare attention from the off, with its brash moniker and indefinable concept.
Designed by AfroditiKrassa, the restaurant features nods to Italian architect Carlo Scarpa in its elevated use of humble and unexpected materials. Hefty concrete panels clad the walls, softened by hand-applied gold leaf; whilst pebbledash – surely the most unfashionable material of all and typically associated with oh-so-grim suburbia – is reimagined as a tactile, industrial treatment for the bar and lower walls.
Bespoke wall lights, inspired by Scarpa’s sculptural work, throw pillars of light and shadow around the dining room, highlighting a colour palette dominated by deep purple. It’s an inviting vision and provides an antidote to the frenetic energy of the neighbourhood, whilst no doubt feeding off it.
The unconventional design speaks to the cuisine, which defies categorisation. Part Indian, part Middle Eastern and with fanciful Mediterranean flourishes, it isn’t grounded in any one culture, but is instead a story of various flavours that have run away from home and which now live together on Frith Street. Roast sweet potato is combined with chilli popcorn; duck egg with pickled watermelon; and glazed aubergine with peanut-buckwheat crumble on a menu composed of sharing plates and grin-inducing one-bite tasters.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
63-64 Frith St
-
The Bombardier Global 8000 flies faster and higher to make the most of your time in the airA wellness machine with wings: Bombardier’s new Global 8000 isn’t quite a spa in the sky, but the Canadian manufacturer reckons its flagship business jet will give your health a boost
-
A former fisherman’s cottage in Brittany is transformed by a new timber extensionParis-based architects A-platz have woven new elements into the stone fabric of this traditional Breton cottage
-
New York's members-only boom shows no sign of stopping – and it's about to get even more nicheFrom bathing clubs to listening bars, gatekeeping is back in a big way. Here's what's driving the wave of exclusivity
-
At last: a London hotel that’s great for groups and extended staysThe July London Victoria, a new aparthotel concept just steps away from one of the city's busiest rail stations, is perfect for weekends and long-term visits alike
-
French bistro restaurant Maset channels the ease of the Mediterranean in LondonThis Marylebone restaurant is shaped by the coastal flavours, materials and rhythms of southern France
-
Sir Devonshire Square is a new kind of hotel for the City of LondonA Dutch hospitality group makes its London debut with a design-forward hotel offering a lighter, more playful take on the City’s usual formality
-
This sculptural London seafood restaurant was shaped by ‘the emotions of the sea’In Hanover Square, Mazarine pairs a bold, pearlescent interior with modern coastal cuisine led by ‘bistronomy’ pioneer chef Thierry Laborde
-
Montcalm Mayfair opens a new chapter for a once-overlooked London hotelA thoughtful reinvention brings craftsmanship, character and an unexpected sense of warmth to a London hotel that was never previously on the radar
-
Follow the white rabbit to London’s first Korean matcha houseTokkia, which translates to ‘Hey bunny’ in Korean, was designed by Stephenson-Edwards studio to feel like a modern burrow. Take a look inside
-
Poon’s returns in majestic form at Somerset HouseHome-style Chinese cooking refined through generations of the Poon family craft
-
One of London’s favourite coffee shops just opened in Harvey NicholsKuro Coffee’s latest outpost brings its Japanese-inspired design to the London department store
