The Liberty store on the corner of Regent Street and Great Marlborough Street is one of the most fabulous buildings in Central London, as if in an arts and crafts overload the Tudor revival of Metroland has been given the Gormenghast treatment. You cannot just walk by, and everyone from locals to tourists loves going there. But up to now there has not been a restaurant or bar to hang around this fantasy palace. Unlike pretty much every other big store in London from Harrods to Harvey Nicks.
Up to now. To mark its 150th anniversary year, on 8th April Seventy Five at Liberty opens on the second floor of the iconic Regent Street store, the first stand-alone restaurant from British dining specialists Goose + Berry.
Taking its name from the year Liberty was founded – 1875 – Seventy Five has been designed to match and reflect the store. Head Chef Joe Holness, formerly of Fera at Claridge’s and Da Terra, describes the menu as taking its cues from modern British cuisine, celebrating fresh, seasonal ingredients sourced locally and sustainably, including herbs and honey from Goose + Berry’s own hives. It will be open from breakfast through lunch and afternoon tea to dinner.
Sample dishes from the menu include goat’s cheese & almond croquettes and torched mackerel with pickled carrot and chervil sauce sit alongside larger plates of Swaledale chicken breast with salsify and thyme, British Hampshire pork chop and fresh herb salsa verde, and for pudding a creamy chocolate mousse with preserved cherries. Interestingly, the cocktails are inspired by the store’s signature LBTY fragrance collection. Creations are named after specific scents and incorporate key notes such as Adelphi Sun, which blends jasmine with fresh and zesty grapefruit.
It will also be interesting to see what people make of the interior, where the interiors seek to combine arts and crafts influences with contemporary design. Wall panels showcase Chinoiserie motifs, and Persian Garden illustrations, with vintage velvet references and with wallpaper with intricate botanical designs complemented by contemporary geometric patterns, creating a sophisticated interplay of colour and texture. Liberty says the standout feature is the bespoke fabric ceiling installation, a central focal point and first of its kind. I can’t wait to take a look in person.
Seventy Five also plans to celebrate the commitment to art of Liberty with an ongoing Artist in Residence series, where the walls of the dining room will showcase the work of different artists, all available for purchase. The first Artist in Residence is quite a name – renowned cartoonist, illustrator and writer, Sir Quentin Saxby Blake, offering guests a rare opportunity to own a piece of illustrated history.
So this looks like quite a big opening, and I have to say that the whole concept of a restaurant in Liberty is one where you just think why did it take them so long?
