Swedish chef Niklas Ekstedt to open restaurant at Great Scotland Yard hotel

Swedish chef Niklas Ekstedt is to open his first UK restaurant at London's Great Scotland Yard hotel this September.

The venture will replace Robin Gill's restaurant the Yard, which opened in December 2019 to mixed reviews.

Ekstedt is best known for his eponymous Michelin-starred restaurant in Stockholm, where chefs cook entirely using charcoal, smoke and ‘natural heat'.

His London restaurant, named Ekstedt at the Yard, will focus on wood-fired cooking with guests sat around an open kitchen.

It will serve some of the chef's signature dishes, including oyster flambadour with smoked apple and beurre blanc nasturtium; reindeer, smoked celeriac, black pudding and salt-baked roots to share; and a Cep soufflé with birch ice-cream and blueberries.

Drinks will include cocktails and natural wines, while butter, bread, pickles, ferments and cultures will all be made in-house.

Ekstedt said: "This is a huge moment for me, I have been in love with the UK for years, my family moved here when we were younger, and London has always felt like a second home for me. The team and I can't wait to start cooking".

The Great Scotland Yard hotel opened in 2019 and is operated by Hyatt Hotels as part of its Unbound Collection.