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The Square (restaurant)

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by George Ho (talk | contribs) at 02:47, 13 February 2021 (→‎1997–2016: Mayfair: wikilinking Fondant icing). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

  • Comment: Not sure about Eater London or The Caterer as RS. Seems to me like a restaurant with two michelin stars is probably notable, but that being said it probably has coverage in better sources than the ones listed. I will leave it to another AfC reviewer to make the final call. Bkissin (talk) 22:13, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

The Square
Map
Restaurant information
Established13 December 1991 (1991-12-13) (St James's)
17 February 1997 (1997-02-17) (Mayfair)
Closed31 January 2020 (2020-01-31)
Previous owner(s)
  • Phil Howard (1990s–2016)
  • Nigel Platts-Martin (1991–2016)
  • Marlon Abela (2016–2020)
Head chef
  • Phil Howard (chef patron; 1990s–2016)
  • Rob Weston (1997/98–2013)
  • Josh Pelham (2013)
  • Gary Foulkes (2013–2016)
  • Yu Sugimoto (2016–2017)
  • Clément Leroy (2017–2020)
Rating
Street address32 King Street (1991–1997)
6–10 Bruton Street (1997–2020)
CountryUnited Kingdom

The Square was a London fine dining restaurant, opened on 13 December 1991 by chef Phil Howard and business partner Nigel Platts-Martin. Since its opening, the restaurant held two Michelin stars until 2016 when Howard and Platts-Martin sold it to a company held by Marlon Abela. The restaurant has been closed since 31 January 2020.

Background

Former Oxford-educated lawyer Nigel Platts-Martin and chef Marco Pierre White, co-owners of Harveys, planned to establish a second restaurant.[1] Platts-Martin and White's partnership of the project fell through.[2][3] Furthermore, profits of the critically acclaimed Harveys were less than expected, disappointing Platts-Martin.[3]

Phil Howard graduated from the University of Kent with a degree in microbiology but then, out of passion, pursued his cooking career. Before the project, Howard started working at Harveys as a chef de partie in 1989. White sacked Howard after nine months of work. Howard shifted to another restaurant Bibendum as a chef de partie under head chef Simon Hopkinson. Howard was then rehired by White in 1990 to work at Harveys especially in order to be trained for White and Platts-Martin's upcoming restaurant project.[4]

1991–2016: Phil Howard and Nigel Platts-Martin

1991–1997: St James's

Phil Howard and Nigel Platts-Martin, both inexperienced in operating a restaurant at a time, opened what became known as The Square at 32 King Street, St James's without White on 13 December 1991.[1][2][5][6] Howard became the head chef since The Square's debut, and his cooking style had been contemporary French with simplicity and elegance.[2][7] A restaurant critic Jonathan Meades in June 1992 described the original St James's location as "big, spacious, quirky" and its interior design as "pretty startling and very boldly coloured" with "[a] giantess's ear-ring hang[ing] [at a] window" and multiple gold leaf decorations.[8] The restaurant earned its first Michelin star in 1994.[9] The New York Times food critic Catharine Reynolds in November 1995 wrote, "The dining room is screened from the street by variegated ivy topiary and dangling metal spirals charitably described as gypsy earrings gone wrong".[10]

The Square's menu had changed monthly, including courses.[7][10] In November 1995, The Square served eight first course dishes, including "seared tuna with a tartare of vegetables and soy-wilted greens and a warm salad of gam[é] and chestnuts" served. In that same period, "crisp-fried vegetables" was one of second courses; venison with "mashed potatoes and carmeli[s]ed onions", one of main courses. Among the desserts, most of them "fruit-based", were a pithivier of prune purée "dosed with Armagnac" and a "sablé of raspberries".[10]

1997–2016: Mayfair

Website logo (up until 2017)

The Square was relocated to 6–10 Bruton Street of Mayfair on 17 February 1997.[7][11][12] Ben Rogers of The Independent in May 1997 described the Mayfair relocation as "very ritzy" and "appeal[ing] to the smart, international crowd". Rogers further said that the interior design of the newer location at the time contained "parquet flooring, variously coloured walls—some rendered, some white, one a rusty red—some colourful modern art, ugly brown upholstered chairs, one vaguely art-deco column and, as a centrepiece, a large bevelled mirror doing nothing in particular."[7]

The Square had offered seasonal (monthly or otherwise) menus, which had been originally done since its debut in St James's, set in a single price.[7] Either The Square's list of wines, champagne, and burgundy, guided by a sommelier, had been at least eighty (or eighty-one) pages long,[13] or amount of wines (starting from £18.50 house wine) in the list had been at least 400.[7] In May 1997, the menu included two-course meals starting with £35, like a set meal serving "a moist slice of seared salmon with samphire" as the first course; three-course meals starting with £40; and desserts, like a "warm apple fondant with apple sorbet [...] drizzled with a creamy apple syrup".[7] In March 1998, nine dishes were offered for each of at least two or three courses as well as desserts. A "velouté of truffles with tortellini of girolles and parmesan" was one of amuse-bouches. Starter course choices for two-course meal included "roast foie gras with caramelised endive and muscat grapes" and "a sauté of scallops and langoustines with chanterelles". Main course choices for the two-course included "herb-crusted saddle of lamb with white-bean puree and garlic" and "roast Bresse pigeon with a tarragon mousseline and foie gras".[14]

When the financial crisis of 2007–2008 occurred, The Square's lunch business had been affected for a long term.[15] After multimillion-pound Mayfair eateries Sexy Fish and Park Chinois debuted in 2015, rents and premium rates increased for offices and other restaurants around the area, like The Square and Hibiscus.[16] In March 2016, Howard and Platts-Martin, a co-owner who had also been its wine expert for many years,[14] sold The Square to Marlon Abela Restaurant Corporation (MARC), Marlon Abela's eponymous restaurant group, for US$4 million.[5][17]

Howard later in 2016 opened a new restaurant Elystan Street, whose menu is less complex than The Square's, with his business partner Rebecca Mascarenhas. Elystan Street earned its first Michelin star in October 2017.[18][19][20]

Head chefs and others

The Square had gone through various head chefs while Howard had been its chef patron throughout most of his tenure.[21][22][23] Rob Weston was one of the restaurant's chefs from 1991 to 1993 or 1994. After working for three other world-class restaurants in London and Paris, Weston became its head chef in 1997 or 1998.[24][25] In Feburary 2013, Weston left The Square to become the head chef of a Chiswick restaurant La Trompette, owned by Nigel Platts-Martin and Bruce Poole, which was reopened later that period after refurbishment.[25][26]

Australian chef Josh Pelham worked previously as a sous-chef of Kitchen W8, one of restaurants owned by Phil Howard, which earned its first Michelin star in 2011.[27] Pelham was promoted head chef as announced in early March 2013.[28] Pelham was reported in August 2013 to have been The Square's senior sous-chef since then[29] and in March 2014 to have left The Square for a Melbourne restaurant.[30]

Gary Foulkes, one of The Square's sous chef from 2005 to 2011, then succeeded Pelham in late March 2013 after Foulkes's two-year world travelling.[31][32] Foulkes left The Square in March 2016 when it was sold to MARC.[26] Foulkes later became the executive chef of Angler at South Place Hotel, owned by D&D London, in June 2016.[33]

Other previous sous chefs were Neil Borthwick, husband of Angela Hartnett;[34] Brett Graham, who would later become head chef and then chef patron of The Ledbury since its 2005 opening;[35][36][37]

Reception to Howard's tenure

James Villas of Town & Country in June 1996 praised "Howard's brilliant, highly personal approach to modern British cookery" that had resulted in "intelligent, well-balanced" dishes.[38] The Times restaurant critic Sheila Keating in November 1997 described his dishes as "exquisitely complex", which she found was one of reasons for the first Michelin star (1994).[39] Another reviewer of The Times in October 2003 praised Howard's "striking modern twists" on French classical cuisine, like "seared loin of venison with deep-fried quail's egg and a salad of beetroot and apple".[40]

The Square earned its second Michelin star in January 1998.[24][41] It had also held four Rosettes by AA plc from 2007 to 2016 and eight out of ten by the Good Food Guide from 1999 to 2016.[42][43][44] The Square was also awarded the BMW SquareMeal Restaurant of the Year in 2001 and 2007[45][46] and ranked seventh Britain's best restaurant at the 2012 National Restaurant Awards.[28]

The Times named The Square in October 2003 one of top twenty "Haute cuisine restaurants"[40] and in March 2007 one of top ten "restaurants for wine".[13] The Times ranked the restaurant out of top 100 British restaurants number 12 in 2010 with a score of 9.63 out of ten,[47] number 15 in 2011 with a 9.57 score,[48] and number 18 in 2012.[49] The Times in 2013 ranked it fifth out of top ten restaurants for desserts and number 22 out of top 100 British restaurants with a 9.57 score, noting Howard's unwillingness "to tamper with the classic French flavour combinations, tried and tested over generations" and criticism toward "modern restaurant cooking [that] has a tendency to overcomplication [sic]".[49] The Times ranked it down to number 35 in 2014 with a score of 9.54[50] and then number 42 in 2015 with a 9.52 score, praising its " 'highly innovative' cuisine".[51]

2016–2020: Marlon Abela

Under Marlon Abela's ownership, the restaurant lost its two Michelin stars in October 2016.[52][53][54] After the August 2017 closure for renovations, the restaurant regained its first Michelin star in 2017 around the time of the October 2017 reopening.[55][56][57] In December 2017, Ben McCormack of The Telegraph wrote that The Square was not the same signature restaurant associated with chef Phil Howard and that the soul of The Square departed when Howard moved to Elystan Street, where he currently operates. Nonetheless, McCormark appreciated Abela's efforts to run the "formal fine dining" restaurant, which "is an increasingly narrow and niche market".[58]

In 2019, MARC reported 2017 net losses and unpaid accounts.[54][56] On 8 January 2020, MARC was liquidated after the High Court of Justice granted the HM Revenue and Customs's petition filed on 6 November 2019.[56][59] On 31 January 2020, property administrators abruptly closed The Square and another MARC-owned place Morton's Club during their lunch hours.[54][56][60] The administrators also seized other properties and assets of MARC, including Michelin-starred The Greenhouse, which has been closed as of late June 2020.[61][62][63] Since its indefinite closure, The Square lost its Michelin star in January 2021.[64]

During MARC's ownership, Dan Fletcher, The Square's sous chef under Howard, was promoted the head chef in March 2016.[26] In September 2016, Japanese-born Yu Sugimoto succeeded Fletcher.[65] Sugimoto left the position in August 2017 before the restaurant's refurbishment and returned to Japan for his family.[66][62] The Square's final head chef was Clément Leroy from November 2017 to its January 2020 closure.[62]

References

General

  • Howard, Philip (2012). "Introduction". The Square: The Cookbook – Volume 1: Savoury. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781906650599. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Notes

  1. ^ a b Howard 2012, p. 12.
  2. ^ a b c Hayler, Andy (March 2009). "Phil Howard". Andy Hayler's Restaurant Guide (Interview). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b Lynes, Andy (29 June 2006). "Nigel Platts-Martin: The quiet man?". The Caterer. Vol. 196, no. 4431. pp. 24–28. ISSN 0008-7777. Retrieved 1 February 2021. Also accessible via ProQuest; document no. 222761903.
  4. ^ Howard 2012, pp. 8, 10, 12.
  5. ^ a b Harmer, Janet (22 March 2016). "Philip Howard leaves the Square as restaurant is sold to Marlon Abela". The Caterer. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  6. ^ Harrison, Bridget (23 November 1996). "In the best possible taste". The Times. London. ISSN 0140-0460. ProQuest 318659781. Retrieved 1 February 2021 – via ProQuest.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Rogers, Ben (24 May 1997). "That's rich". The Independent. p. 50. ProQuest 312640581. Retrieved 1 February 2021 – via ProQuest.
  8. ^ Meades, Jonathan (20 June 1992). "Restaurant Guide". The Times. ProQuest 319064102. Retrieved 3 February 2021 – via ProQuest. Document no. 319064102.
  9. ^ "Phil Howard, Head Chef and co-owner of The Square". The Staff Canteen. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Reynolds, Catharine (19 November 1995). "Choice Tables: Chefs Who Dare to Be British". The New York Times. Travel section, p. 6. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 109471114. Retrieved 3 February 2021 – via ProQuest.
  11. ^ Stock, Jon (15 February 1997). "Food and Drink: Anyone for plastic pop-up poultry timers?". The Daily Telegraph. p. 13. ISSN 0307-1235. ProQuest 317636615. Document no. 317636615.
  12. ^ "Philip Howard". The Caterer. 12 May 2005. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  13. ^ a b "10 Top restaurants for wine". The Times. 3 March 2007. p. 30. ISSN 0140-0460. ProQuest 319705963. Retrieved 1 February 2021. Document no. 319705963.
  14. ^ a b Fingleton, David (14 March 1998). "Restaurant: The Square and Les Saveurs". The Spectator. Vol. 280, no. 8849. p. 57. ISSN 0038-6952. Document no. 201103429; accession no. 03651053.
  15. ^ "Chef Phil Howard on drug addiction, Alpine 'escapes' and a green kitchen". Spear's (Interview). Interviewed by William Sitwell. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  16. ^ Whittle, Natalie (5 February 2016). "Mayfair restaurants are off". Financial Times. p. 1. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 4 February 2021. Article title for print edition is "Mayfair restaurants hope to pack up and cash in on soaring West End rents". Also accessible via ProQuest; document no. 1772125522.
  17. ^ Megaw, Nicholas (18 January 2018). "Venerable London wine merchant imperilled by new owner". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 February 2021. Also accessible via ProQuest; document no. 2002889566.
  18. ^ "According to LTI, these are London's top restaurants". CNN. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  19. ^ "MICHELIN Guide Great Britain and Ireland 2018 Selection". Michelin Guide. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  20. ^ McAllister, James (6 February 2020). "Toby Burrowes quits Elystan Street over 'professional difference of opinion'". Big Hospitality. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  21. ^ Johnson, Angella (9 March 1996). "Trafalgar Square pigeons for sale? It's no flight of fancy". The Guardian. p. 1. ISSN 0261-3077. ProQuest 294995529. Retrieved 3 February 2021. Document no. 294995529.
  22. ^ "CATERER & HOTELKEEPER: 1998 Catey Awards -- honouring all that is good in UK hospitality industry". Coventry, England: Normans Media Ltd. M2 Presswire. 9 July 1998. ProQuest 444406056. Retrieved 1 February 2021 – via ProQuest.
  23. ^ "Phil Howard". BBC. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  24. ^ a b Howard 2012, p. 13.
  25. ^ a b Kühn, Kerstin (14 February 2013). "Head chef Rob Weston leaves two-Michelin-starred the Square". The Caterer. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  26. ^ a b c Shaw, Lucy (29 March 2016). "Two Michelin Star Restaurant The Square Sold". The Drinks Business. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  27. ^ "Phil Howard Promotes Josh Pelham to Head Chef at The Square". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Vol. 203, no. 4768. 8 March 2013. p. 8. ISSN 0008-7777. Document no. 1330867794.
  28. ^ a b Dobbin, Marika; Hingston, Chris. "All squared off: Young Melbourne chef hits the big time in London". The Age. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  29. ^ Lethlean, John (10 August 2013). "Magic Square". Weekend Australian. p. 2 – via ProQuest. Document no. 1418714632.
  30. ^ Lethlean, John (6 May 2014). "First Bite". The Australian. ISSN 1038-8761. Document no. 1520746681.
  31. ^ Kühn, Kerstin (22 March 2013). "Phil Howard appoints Gary Foulkes as head chef at the Square". The Caterer. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  32. ^ "Gary Foulkes, head chef, The Square, Mayfair". The Staff Canteen (Interview). 15 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  33. ^ "Minute on the Clock: Gary Foulkes". The Caterer (Interview). Vol. 206, no. 4935. Interviewed by Katherine Price. 29 July – 4 August 2016. p. 52. ISSN 2055-7817. ProQuest 1809050787 – via ProQuest.
  34. ^ Day, Elizabeth (17 August 2013). "Angela Hartnett: 'The first feeling I had was shock'". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  35. ^ "Just Opened – All the Latest Openings! (The Ledbury, London)". Caterer & Hotelkeeper. Vol. 194, no. 4373. 5–11 May 2005. p. 16. ISSN 0008-7777. ProQuest 222790875 – via ProQuest..
  36. ^ Ryan, Rosemary (January 2010). "Brett Graham is guest at 2010 Appetite for Excellence awards". Hospitality. Glebe, Australia. ISSN 1328-021X. ProQuest 929673077.
  37. ^ Bowles, Tom Parker (23 October 2019). "Get ahead of the game: where to eat". Country Life. p. 68. ISSN 0045-8856. ProQuest 2313057445 – via ProQuest.
  38. ^ Villas, James (June 1996). "London, tried and new". Town & Country. ISSN 0040-9952 – via ESBCOhost. Accession Number: 9605261029.
  39. ^ Keating, Sheila (1 November 1997). "The matchmaker". The Times. "Taste of the Times", p. 4.
  40. ^ a b "20 Top Haute cuisine restaurants". The Times. 18 October 2003. p. 4. ISSN 0140-0460. Document no. 318949246.
  41. ^ Young, Robin (21 January 1998). "French food bible toasts great British pub grub". The Times. p. 10. ISSN 0140-0460. ProQuest 317895130. Retrieved 2 February 2021 – via ProQuest. Document no. 317895130.
  42. ^ Bateman, Michael (6 June 1999). "Eating In: Table manners". The Independent. pp. 38–39. ISSN 0951-9467. ProQuest 312879516. Retrieved 1 February 2021 – via ProQuest.
  43. ^ "An interview with Phil Howard". mymuybueno (Interview). 23 April 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  44. ^ Kühn, Kerstin (18 January 2007). "The Square wins four AA rosettes". Caterer. Vol. 197, no. 4459. p. 11. ISSN 0008-7777. Retrieved 1 February 2021. Alternatively accessible via ProQuest; document no. 222780442.
  45. ^ "BMW Squaremeal Award - Hall of Fame". SquareMeal. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  46. ^ "Restaurant of the Year - The Square [2]". SquareMeal. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  47. ^ "The Food List: West Country winner". Sunday Times. 31 October 2010. ISSN 0956-1382. Document no. 761206010.
  48. ^ "15 The Square". Sunday Times. 30 October 2011. p. 10. ISSN 0956-1382. Document no. 900950179.
  49. ^ a b "Britain's top 100 restaurants: The depths of Devon deliver a classy kind of soul food". Sunday Times. 3 November 2013. ISSN 0956-1382. ProQuest 1448010387. Document no. 1448010387.
  50. ^ "Mersey beats go to number one". Sunday Times. 19 October 2014. ISSN 0956-1382. Document no. 1613664989.
  51. ^ "Fishy business". Sunday Times. 8 November 2015. p. 16. ISSN 0956-1382. Document no. 1731642974.
  52. ^ Masters, Daniel (10 October 2016). "Michelin Guide 2017: New but obsolete? At last recognition for the Ritz and Veeraswamy". The Up Coming. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  53. ^ Harmer, Janet (3 October 2016). "Michelin removes stars from 16 restaurants". The Caterer. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  54. ^ a b c Stagg, James (3 February 2020). "Michelin-starred the Square restaurant closed by administrators". The Caterer. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  55. ^ "MICHELIN Guide Great Britain and Ireland 2018 Selection". Michelin Guide. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  56. ^ a b c d Hansen, James (3 February 2020). "Administrators Seize Michelin-Starred Mayfair Restaurant The Square Mid-Service". Eater London. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  57. ^ Hansen, James (1 October 2018) [2 October 2017]. "MicheLOL: Michelin Fails to Announce a Michelin Star". Eater London. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  58. ^ Mccormack, Ben (11 December 2017). "The Square review: a serious restaurant for serious times". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 February 2021. Also accessible via ProQuest; document no. 1975521005.
  59. ^ Meddings, Sabah (12 January 2020). "Mayfair empire close to collapse — again". Sunday Times. p. 3. Also accessible at The Times (subscription required).
  60. ^ Armstrong, Ashley (3 February 2020). "Your lunch is off: Mayfair restaurant is closed mid-meal". The Times. p. 15. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 1 February 2021. Also accessible via ProQuest; document no. 2350008734.
  61. ^ Lake, Emma (3 February 2020). "Umu follows sister sites the Square and Morton's into administration as Marlon Abela's restaurant empire crumbles". The Caterer. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  62. ^ a b c Dawn-Hiscox, Tanwen (31 January 2020). "Administrators close down Michelin-starred restaurant The Square". The Staff Canteen. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  63. ^ Lake, Emma (29 June 2020). "Chef Alex Dilling confirms closure of the Greenhouse in Mayfair after restaurant is wound up in court". The Caterer.
  64. ^ Baldwin, Caroline (25 January 2021). "Michelin makes surprise deletions from 2021 guide". The Caterer. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  65. ^ Witts, Sophie (21 September 2016). "The Square names Yu Sugimoto as executive chef". Big Hospitality. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  66. ^ Pathiaki, Katie (15 August 2017). "Head chef Yu Sugimoto leaves the Square as it closes for refurbishment". The Caterer. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
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