Earlier this week, there was news that Tom Kerridge's Chelsea pub, The Butcher's Tap and Grill was closing, with the team behind it saying it gave them "an opportunity to regroup, rethink and rebuild".
It turns out that they didn't need that much thinking time, because there are already plans to reopen it as a new pub, The Chalk Freehouse.
The new pub will be a showcase for chef Tom De Keyser, who has worked with Kerridge for 12 years, most recently as Head Chef at the two-Michelin-starred The Hand and Flowers. As a result, it now seems to be being reworked into a pub that's more in the Hand and Flowers mould, perhaps what it should have been from the get-go. That's particularly evident in one dish directly taken from the Marlow pub, The Hand and Flowers' chicken & duck liver parfait with poultry jelly and apricot chutney.
Also on the menu, you'll find:
- Baked saffron rice with oxtail and grilled marrow.
- Pork chop schnitzel with smoked bacon cabbage and fried duck egg
- Roasted ray wing with crispy cockles and anchovy & garlic dressing
- Curry-roasted baby chicken with braised butter beans and preserved lemon
We're most intrigued by dessert, which goes a little out-there with a warm pork fat Chelsea bun with vanilla custard. There will, of course, be a Sunday roast too.
Wines will be chosen by another Hand & Flowers alum, and the whole place is getting a light refresh. However, the aim to keep this as a "wet pub" (i.e. drinks-led) that they talked a lot about under its previous guise isn't so evident with this reset, although you can get just drinks at the bar and in the garden.
In fairness, this rework does seem much more like a version of the pub that they should have launched with, so we can see the revamp doing much better this time around.
More about The Chalk Freehouse
Where is it? 25-27 Tryon Street, Chelsea, London SW3 3LG
When does it open? Monday 16 June 2025
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @thechalkfreehouse
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