Classics Revisited: Launceston Place

Ben Murphy’s previous restaurant, east London newcomer The Woodford, was in a former incarnation a nightclub which closed down because of a shooting. It’s safe to say that’s never likely to happen at the chef’s new home, Launceston Place, which opened as a restaurant on one of the prettiest corners of Kensington in 1986. In the 1990s LP was one of Princess Diana’s favourite places to eat (she appreciated the discretion afforded by the warren of small rooms) and since 2007 it has been owned by blue-chip operator D&D London. 

The restaurant group has positioned Launceston Place as one of the foodiest members in its sprawling portfolio, first drafting in ex-Marcus Wareing chef Tristan Welch and then Tim Allen, who won a Michelin star which departed with him in 2015. Murphy might not have had a Michelin star at The Woodford but he hauled in pretty much every other accolade to suburban Zone 4, picking up awards as Chef to Watch, Breakthrough Chef of the Year and London Restaurant of the Year throughout 2016.  

Before The Woodford, Murphy had worked at Koffmann’s and The Greenhouse in London, two Michelin three-stars in France, Les Prés d’Eugénie in the south west and Epicure in Paris, and the three-star Eleven Madison Park in New York. All of which is to say that Murphy is an ambitious and very talented young chef who has served a traditional apprenticeship learning from the masters instead of selling tacos out of the back of a van before crowdfunding a restaurant in Hackney.  

It’s important to know the back story because while Launceston Place’s cutesy location might suggest in-the-know local, Murphy’s cooking shouts London-wide destination – somewhere to settle in for an eight-course tasting menu rather than a plate of steak and chips on the way home. 

Dishes are tersely described and while the combinations might sound surprising, the biggest shock is that a 26-year-old demonstrates such a mastery over flavour and the visual assurance to know exactly how a plate should look. Octopus with chorizo, chicken wing and ginger might not scream "eat me!", but the arrangement of springy tentacle beckoning under fried chicken in a clear pool of stock is a marvel of light, white-meat flavours.    

Japanese ingredients are deployed adroitly, whether the aromatic pairing of yuzu with lobster, or citrusy ponzu cutting through the sweetly meaty richness of presa ibérica, the butter-soft cut of pork taken from the shoulder of acorn-munching Spanish pigs.    

Make no mistake, this is very serious cooking indeed, but there’s light-heartedness along the way too. Meals start with an amuse bouche "Jammie Dodger" in which the Valentine heart of jam is replaced by savoury red pepper. A dish of "egg and soldiers" is an egg shell filed with celeriac custard sitting on a bone-white porcelain stand shaped like a chicken claw, a pile of brioche soldiers standing to attention on the side. Murphy makes his own version of a deep-fried McCain potato Smile, grinning alongside the presa, and for pudding there’s a Wall’s Solero made from mango and coconut, complete with protruding ice-lolly stick.             

Kudos to you if you had heard of The Woodford, let alone eaten there. Kensington, however, is a much easier place to try the cooking of someone we will be hearing a lot more about. Launceston Place’s hot-shot chefs have a habit of disappearing after a couple of years. Catch Murphy while you can: D&D’s star signing will very soon be playing in the chef premier league.  

Who to take: Someone who wants to eat the cooking of the next big thing 

What to order: Add the premium wine pairing (£149) to the eight-course tasting menu (£70) 
Launceston Place, 1a Launceston Place, London, W8 5RL
​launcestonplace-restaurant.co.uk

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