108 Garage chef Chris Denney to open new restaurant in Notting Hill

Chef Chris Denney is returning to London's Notting Hill to open a new restaurant and bar later this month.

Denney received rave reviews for his cooking at 108 Garage, also in Notting Hill, but the site closed in late 2019.

Now he is set to launch a restaurant and bar, named Fiend, on the former Santo site on Portobello Road on 23 July.

It will offer both an à la carte and six-course set menu described as a "guided culinary adventure", with dishes selected by Denney and his team.

Menu items are set to include bulgogi sweet bread with kefir cabbage and green onion; and wagyu short rib with smoked tomato and Colston Bassett stilton.

The restaurant will be spread across two floors with an open kitchen, leather banquette seating and a bespoke rosewood bar. A downstairs lounge, filled with velvet chairs and low lighting, is designed for after-dinner drinks.

Drinks will include artisanal wines, premium beers and cocktails, such as a Garibaldi made with Campari, orange, lime, passion fruit and mandarin soda.

Denney co-founded 108 Garage with business partner Luca Longobardi in 2016 after answering a Gumtree advert. The restaurant was praised by critics including Giles Coren, Fay Maschler and Jay Rayner, and its success led to Denney and Longobardi opening a second site, Southam Street, in 2017, although this has also since closed.

Denney stepped back from 108 Garage in April 2018 to focus on the wider business, but returned a few months later following the departure of chef Greg Clarke.

Fiend is Denney's personal project and Longobardi has no involvement.