Illustrious Chef and his partners, Gabriel and Jose Luis Gonzalez have announced their upcoming new restaurant: LIMA Floral, following LIMA London’s resounding success.
Gabriel Gonzalez, co-owner ofLIMA, comments, “We are so excited to have found a beautiful site in Covent Garden. After two years of operatingLima, we thought it was time to develop a casual and fun offering with serious food credentials in this foodie destination. The cuisine will be of very high quality, using traditional and unique cooking techniques.LIMAFloralwill be split in two spaces: the main restaurant and a ‘piqueos bar’ (essentially a bar serving tapas dishes which is very traditional in Peru).”
Following alaunchto critical acclaim in August 2012,LIMAbecame the first Peruvian restaurant in Europe to be awarded a Michelin star in September 2013. In reflection of this, the menu at the new site, overseen by Martinez and head chef Robert Ortiz, will feature some ofLIMA’s most popular dishes alongside new plates. Interestingly, Martinez is a founding member of Peru’s Mater Initiative, a multidisciplinary group of Peruvian chefs, scientist and ecologists who travel around Peru’s diverse landscape discovering unique edible plants and ingredients with the goal of sharing them and information about the cultural and biodiversity of Peru’s produce. Through this, the menu will include some of these rare Peruvian ingredients, which have yet to appear onLondonmenus, coming from remote places in the Amazon basin and the Andes altitudes. The menus atLimaFloralwill also showcase produce from the British Isles as part of the team’s philosophy to work in harmony with the environment, supporting sustainable fishing in the UK and local producers.
Highlights ofLIMAFloralmenu will includescallops with chia ceviche,Amazonian fish with warm causaandkholrabi and quinoa tiradito. Some key native vegetables and fruits from Peru will be showcased in unusual forms and shapes to bring new tastes and experiences to customers. The bar menu will be designed for sharing and served as finger food, with small piqueo dishes, best described as Peruvian tapas. Some small plates will includegrouper with rocoto tiger’s milk cevicheandtuna and seared aubergine tiradito.These dishes will sit alongside an extensive cocktail list which will feature variations on the classic Pisco Sour, made with infusions of Peru’s national drink with Amazonian fruits, Andean herbs, and local UK products as well.
The restaurant and bar interior design is by B3 designers, B3’s previous restaurant projects include Gymkhana, Bubbledogs and ROKA. The vision of the project will have strong native influences throughout; large arched windows create a bright and airy dining room on the ground floor, while the basement bar will be a comfortable drinking den, with a fun and high quality bar menu.
Located on the corner of Garrick Street andFloralStreet, the new restaurant will be within a historic building which was originally built as a monastery, and more recently home to The Forge restaurant. The new site, at 14 Garrick Street, will seat approximately 70 customers, with an additional basement space of 30 covers, a specialist Pisco bar plus a private dining room.
The building is owned and managed by Capco.Beverley Churchill, Creative Director said “TheLIMAteam’s new project is the perfect addition to Covent Garden’s thriving dining scene and continues our strategy of partnering the world’s most exciting restaurateurs and foodies to premiere UK-first concepts in the neighbourhood.”
The new site will be an exciting addition to the dining scene inLondon. The project presents an opportunity for theLIMAteam to introduce more of Peru’s culture and biodiversity toLondonthrough food, while the inclusion of a bar offers a new dimension and vibrancy to theLIMAbrand.
14 Garrick Street
London
WC2E 9BJ