Looking into the restaurant at Ronnie's
So there's another new American restaurant in town that no one knew was coming?
That's right. Hot on the heels of the arrival of Automat in Mayfair comes Ronnie's, a new American meets Mediterranean style restaurant that we only found out was happening a few weeks ago.
It's connected, but separate to the flagship Kith London store and is the brand's first standalone restaurant. The Ronnie in question is Kith's founder, Ronnie Fieg. It's an all-day restaurant, open from breakfast through to around 10pm at the moment, and they're calling it a 'love letter' to New York.
Where is it?
The store is on the upper section of Regent Street, about a minute's walk from Oxford Circus. Ronnie's is on the corner of Regent Street and Mortimer Street. In essence, it's completely separated from the shop, although there is an unbilled door between the two that you get to go through if you're a big spender, we hear.
This is what you're looking out for.
Where's a good place to meet friends for a drink first?
Handily, Ronnie's has its own separate bar hidden away at the back. We gave the cocktail menu here a decent going-over and thought both the spicy margaritas and martinis were on point.
The standalone bar at Ronnie's
And where should we sit?
This restaurant is very easy on the eye, which is no surprise when you see how gorgeous the store next door is. There is some counter dining, but the best tables would be the large booths down the left-hand side of the dining room as you enter.
What's on the menu?
We were here on previews when the only option was the brunch menu. That's focused on snacks, brunch-style dishes, sandwiches and salads. In the evening, more substantial dishes like a chicken schnitzel, mixed grill and butterflied whole branzino are on offer. They're also about to open for weekend brunch.
Here's what we had.
Crispy mozzarella with Petrossian Ossetra Royal Caviar (£28) - a fun snack, but really you're paying for the generous topping of caviar.
Crudites and mezze (£22) - apologies for the slightly crap photo of what turned out to be a delicious and easily shareable starter. The house flatbread (not in shot) was fantastic and you get to choose three veggie dips/toppings from a choice of seven. We can particularly recommend the caulibaba and the matbucha.
Caviar slider (£38) - the perfect main for someone on one of those weight loss jabs who still wants to treat themselves.
The Don Ron Burger (£30) - two dry-aged patties, American cheese, Russian dressing and pickles. Although the patties here tasted great, ours were overcooked, so this suffered by comparison to the burger we'd had so recently at Automat. That said, the Ronnie's fries are things of wonder. Think chip-shaped roast potatoes.
Anything else?
We have to give a shout-out to the sides in general. The onion rings were very good, and this mushroom dish could have been a meal on its own.
Mushrooms on hummus (£12)
Onion rings (£9)
Room for dessert?
Honestly, we didn't have room after all that. But we did get the least calorific-sounding option on the menu, which turned out to be pretty decent.
Brûléed pears and cream served with an anise shortbread (£15)
What we would suggest instead is going next door to Kith Treats soft serve bar, which might be more fun.
Get a soft serve with all manner of toppings at Treats.
Overall thoughts:
Ronnie Fieg didn't get to where he is today without putting the work in, and the menu at Ronnie's has been given a lot more thought than any other in-store restaurant would have bothered with. They've also brought in the likes of Zak Jones-Gold (Soho House, The Chancery and Clerkenwell Dining Room) to run the front of house, presiding over a team of enthusiastic and likeable staff. Personally, we can see ourselves making full use of the bar as a very handy spot for a cocktail when trying to escape the Oxford Street hordes.
More about Ronnie's
Where is it? 314 Regent Street, London W1B 2QS
How to book: Book online here.
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @ronniesnyc
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Ronnie's. Prices correct at time of publication.
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