Details
Opening hours
Mon-Sat: 12pm-12am
Address
70 Leonard Street, Shoreditch, EC2A 4QX
More info
020 7739 1291
We love a good collab, and upon hearing that St John’s Andrew Clarke and Jackson Boxer of Brunswick House were teaming up to open a restaurant in Shoreditch, we had to go check it out.
Décor and Vibe
One thing’s for sure – St Leonards feels like a hotspot. The atmosphere was more party than restaurant when we arrived at 7pm, which we loved. It seemed like conversations were happening everywhere – people standing up and walking over to other diners, or enjoying a drink on the street outside. This is refined dining with a casual edge. The space is light and industrial, and arranged around the two open counters (a raw bar and an open fire) by the kitchen, where you’ll see both Andrew Clarke and Jackson Boxer working their magic (and giving each other the odd high five).
Food and Drink
St Leonards works with two opposing concepts – ice and fire – and it makes for a surprisingly harmonious menu. The ice bar chills the raw and fish components, and the meat’s ready for charring by the hearth. The menu changes very often (depending on what’s seasonal, and what’s available from Jackson’s family farm), but you can expect the small plates to be dominated by fresh veg, cured fish and vibrant flavours, and the mains to consist of heartier dishes like bavette and middlewhite pork.
Top tip
Whether you have them natural, dressed or flamed, don’t skip the oysters.
Highlight
If it’s available, try the monkfish. Charred on the hearth and then served with a sweet sea buckthorn molasses, it was one of our favourites on our visit.
