Corenucopia by Clare Smyth

A real 'luxury bistro'

 

Gilda and fried chicken with caviar

Corenucopia by Clare Smyth arrives in Chelsea with an unapologetically confident pitch: a “luxury bistro” that brings the same meticulous technique and ingredient respect of Clare Smyth’s flagship to a room that’s meant to feel more accessible than a three-Michelin-star tasting menu. That lineage matters here because it shapes not only expectations but execution: the menus are built around elevated British classics (think fish & chips and toad in the hole) rather than culinary experiments, with a focused potato side menu inspired by the chef’s Northern Irish childhood.

Seafood vol-au-vent

Crispy veal sweetbread, honey and mustard, pickled red cabbage

Dover sole fish and chips

The Dover sole Fish and Chips is the restaurant’s cheeky manifesto: familiar comfort on the surface but executed with the technical exactitude of a top kitchen — batter that’s light, fish that flakes with a whisper, very good Dover sole for sure, but for £52 a pop, that is 2 Michelin stars main course price tag so it was just too expensive for my liking. What didn't work for me was the chicken kiev, it was stuffed with Spanish aged ham and topped with a black truffle sauce, but given the hallmark of a chicken kiev is its garlic sauce, it just dominated all the fancy ingredients, which ended up just tasting like an ordinary chicken kiev, but it cost me over £30, ouch.

Chicken kiev cordon bleu

Potatos trio

Custard tart

The conversation about Corenucopia cannot escape the question of value. The restaurant is explicitly positioned as a luxury bistro, and that positioning comes with price signals that will make many diners pause: à la carte mains and sides add up more quickly than you might expect for an establishment billing itself as a bistro, you will need to part away around £150 for a 3 course meal with side dish and snacks easily, before wine. Corenucopia can feel misaligned, and for me, it was simply too expensive. In short: the food is at times excellent and the dining experience is immaculately managed, but the value equation asks diners to pay not only for skill and provenance but for the name, the room, and the quiet luxury that comes with the Clare Smyth brand.

 

Food 3/5

What I paid

£125

Average cost without drinks and services:
£100


18-22 Holbein Pl, London SW1W 8NL

https://www.corenucopia.com/