Chelsea Counter sees The Dover's Martin Kuczmarski stealth launching another new restaurant

It was this time last year that restaurateur Martin Kuczmarski revealed he was about to open a new, naughtier sibling to the Dover, the Dover Street Counter (as well as his first Chelsea restaurant, Martino's). And for this year's early Christmas present, he's rather stealthily opened a second version of Dover Street Counter in Chelsea.

The Chelsea Counter is, like its Mayfair counterpart, channelling the counter dining scene of 1950s Los Angeles. The menu, as Martin has said, is inspired by luxury hotel in-room service, so a happy mix of everything from French dip burgers to spaghetti all’assassina. As for drinks, expect a wide range of margaritas on the cocktail front and plenty of great vinyl from Martin's own collection.

The space he's taken over was the old Meat The Fish on Cadogan Gardens, which had both a big counter and dining room at the rear. We don't know yet how he's configured the room, but the counter is always going to be at the heart of it.

Expect this place to be the hardest table to book in Chelsea in the run-up to this year's festive season.