The mill has become the heartbeat of the capital's most hip restaurants. Some might even question what's taken it so long – after all, bread sets the tone of a meal. These are the London eateries that don't only make their own bread, but mill their own flour.
Beautiful, rustic and invitingly homely – the heartbeat of Jolene is its on-site bakery, which defines much of the menu. The stone mill, which is constantly in action, turns heritage grains into memorable sourdough bread, croissants, madeleines, cakes and pasta.
It is a trailblazer of the new movement for restaurants with on-site bakeries, and the latest opening from restaurateurs Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim and David Gingell, who also run North London hits Primeur and Westerns Laundry.
Naturally, we are huge fans of their slow-carb sourdough. Aside from its perfect mahogany brown crust and rich flavour, this is bread that acts like a probiotic and is good for us. The lengthy fermentation process means that it is low on the glycemic index, reducing blood sugar levels whilst enabling the maximum absorption of minerals.
At breakfast, opt for wonderful croissants and simple eggs on toast. Lunch is a menu of few choices: try the house-made papparadelle with beef cheek ragu or a plate of British charcuterie, cheese and bread.
Come the evening, the menu features cod, roasted on the bone with olives and artichokes; half a roast chicken with aioli; and chocolate cake or baked custard with pears and caramel for dessert. This is the kind of food that feels nutritious as well as delicious.
Dinner for two with drinks from £90
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Flor, a wine bar with a bakery attached, is the hotly anticipated Borough Market venture from James Lowe and John Ogier – the team behind perennially fashionable Lyle's.
At Flor, head of pastry Anna Higham explains: 'We want to elevate grains whose provenance fits with our ethos of local and sustainable.'
Flor's menu will offer bread matching as well as wine partnering.
Prices TBC
AOK Cafe has impeccable pedigree and exudes understated luxury. It's owned by Kelly Landesberg, the daughter of the Chairman of The Arts Club. Sebastian Chiono, the head of pastry, ensures all baked goods served are free from refined sugar, and there are dairy and gluten-free variations of everything (bar croissants). Jewish challah bread is a speciality.
The menu embraces Mediterranean and Californian culinary influences, with joyfully healthy, if somewhat pricey, dishes. Head chef is Kostas Rampias, formerly at Momo, so there are plenty of Moroccan accents: look out for spiced prawns with chermoula, or grilled chicken with pak choi and Medjool dates.
Dinner for two with drinks: £140
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Both a café and a restaurant with an in-house bakery and on-site gin distillery, Serata Hall – like siblings Canova and Martello Hall – is a hub for work and play. It's open all day and has DJs, wine and social events on tap in the evenings.
The on-site Little Tower Bakery produces a distinctive choice of slow-carb breads and pistachio croissants; blueberry and lemon drizzle cakes; and Italian style bomboloni doughnuts.
Splendid 48-hour fermented pizza dough baked in the coal oven is the foundation of the restaurant. Besides exuberantly topped pizzas, there's a good choice of pasta including gorgonzola, walnut and truffle oil. There's plenty for vegans too, including beetroot gnocchi.
Dinner for two including drinks: £60
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Robin Gill of The Dairy – whose Guinness sourdough elevates the simplest scrambled egg and home-cured smoked salmon to an exceptional breakfast – is opening Darby's, a restaurant with bakery, within Vauxhall’s Embassy Gardens Tower (next door to the US Embassy) in mid-May.
The food will focus on Irish produce, with live-fire cooking taking a key role. Inspired by the illustrious jazz career of Robin’s dad, Darby’s harks back to the sophistication, elegance and style of the 1950s and 60s. The name was coined during one of his father Earl’s tours of the US when the Walt Disney classic Darby O’Gill and the Little People was in its heyday. The nickname stuck instantly and the new restaurant will seek to fuse the culinary talent of Robin’s team with an appreciation of life’s pleasures without gimmicks – his father’s defining leitmotif.
Darby’s in-house bakery will operate alongside an in-house butchery and home-made charcuterie, reflecting Gill and The Dairy team's fanatical obsession with definitive ingredients.
Dinner for two with drinks £120
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Way, way ahead of the curve, Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver opened their bakery-cum-café-cum-restaurant back in 2013 in a former bank, and have been delighting their fans ever since with impeccably cooked, down-to-earth British food.
Favourites include a robust and piquant Welsh Rarebit; duck hearts on toast; lemon sole; brown shrimp and capers; and braised mutton, turnip and anchovy.
Eccles cake served with Lancashire cheese or freshly baked madeleines are a must for dessert.
Breakfast like a king with bacon, kippers or kidneys on St John's renowned sourdough.
Dinner for two including drinks: £120
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