Cook a restaurant-style meal with Stevie Parle's indulgent dinner recipes

Telegraph

10-05-2025

At a time when many London restaurateurs are battening down the hatches, buffeted by tax increases, rising costs and staff shortages, Stevie Parle is making a statement of grand intent. Stepping into his new restaurant, Town, on the Holborn side of London's Drury Lane, is like entering a portal to a glamorous, mid-century world, all cherry-red tiles and curvilinear surfaces, the pass enclosed in a bright green façade.
'There's a lot of business still to be done in London,' Parle says, over coffee next door while builders put the finishing touches on things. 'I know you hear a lot of doom and gloom, but if you get it right, it still works. Obviously, there are lots of things I'm worried about, but I think it's gonna fly. London is a resilient place, and there are a lot of people who need a good night out.'
At 40, Parle has known the best and worst of the industry. He has been a chef since he was 17, training at Ballymaloe and The River Cafe before opening his own restaurant, Dock Kitchen, in Ladbroke Grove in 2009, when he was just 24. Others followed – Palatino, Rotorino, Sardine with his former head chef Alex Jackson – as well as books and TV and restaurant columns. Some of Parle's ventures have been more successful than others. Those earlier restaurants have closed, but Pastaio, the Soho pasta restaurant he opened in 2017, is on the verge of becoming an institution.
Town may be his most ambitious project yet – a reflection of the fact that, after years recovering from the financial effects of Covid, he is finally in a position to come out swinging. 'We had more than a million pounds of pandemic debt racked up, but we have been working through that, that's nearly done,' he says, hopefully. 'We are getting there.'
Town's menu began with ingredients, working with trusted suppliers and building up from there. Key is Wildfarmed, the organic grain company started by Groove Armada musician Andy Cato, which is now supplying beef that adheres to the same scrupulous standards as its grain. 'It has been about who do we know who is growing what in the right way,' Parle says.
As the dishes selected for The Telegraph – smoky chilli scallops, duck leg ragu, cherry pie – suggest, this means fresh, seasonal vegetables with satisfyingly indulgent fish and meat. 'One of the things I've noticed about the way the food is going is the contrast of roughness and elegance that I'm enjoying,' he says. 'I told the chefs not to make the pie look all fancy. I want the edge to be crimped but keep it messy.'
Although the sourcing is integral, it will not come with the kind of lecture some restaurants seem to relish. Fun is the order of the day, with a large 40-seat bar as you enter, with drinks by Bethnal Green cocktail bar Satan's Whiskers.
'Not to be negative about the London restaurant scene but I feel we have branched out in two ways,' he says. 'There are restaurants delivering good times and medium food, and restaurants delivering excellent food in a slightly worthy or preachy environment. I wanted to marry [great food] with the great night out, the aesthetic values, service and drinks of some of the restaurants that de-prioritise food.'
As for the restaurant's name, Parle says it came from a desire not to sound too concept-driven or region-specific. 'I didn't want it to be a concept restaurant, I didn't want it to be from anywhere in particular,' he says. 'It's about using all our knowledge to work out what's the best way to cook this bit of lamb. We just happened upon 'Town'. It's 'night on the town'. It feels good. It's good for puns without being a pun.'