Rebecca visits Cafe Linea for The Arbuturian in Chelsea’s Duke of York’s Square, the perfect spot for a post-Saatchi exhibition debrief…
Let’s face it – diners eat with their eyes long before food is placed before them, so when I entered Cafe Linea on Duke of York’s Square, just off Chelsea’s well-heeled King’s Road and Sloane Square, I was exceedingly optimistic about lunch. Not only do they have a seasonal florist at the entrance – a divine array of seasonal British hydrangeas were for sale during my visit – but a glass fronted cabinet highlighting the supreme talents of their 24-hour bakery and patisserie team; the viennoiserie including an almond croissant, cinnamon Roll and peach & bourbon hand pie is so tempting that you’ll wish you’d arrived early enough to catch coffee and a pastry too!
Nor can the strikingly handsome interior design by Dion & Arles fail to take your breath away; not least because you can have no concept, from the exterior, of the depth of this premises until you step inside. This grade II-listed building, originally a shopping arcade during the 19th century, has been transformed by the visionary husband and wife team Greg and Felicity Godik into a chic, yet relaxed dining venue with a hip neighbourhood feel. The impressive vaulted ceiling creates architectural impact, while a long bar with stools in the front portion of this slender space (hence ‘Linea’) adds glamour and an open invitation to pop in for coffee and cake without a reservation. You’ll find further seating and a semi-open kitchen in the more intimate rear of the restaurant, equally enhanced with warm lighting and arched alcoves showcasing an array of seasonally rotating artworks curated by Art Untamed and Hettie Reatchlous, all available to purchase. Apt considering that Cafe Linea’s next door neighbour is the Saatchi Gallery.
As London restaurant premises and locations go, Cafe Linea’s is about as good as it gets, with natural light streaming through the floor to ceiling windows, while a spacious, 80-cover al fresco terrace offers a lush and tranquil outlook over the square’s public lawn, by far the loveliest outdoor spot belonging to the eateries within the Duke of York’s foodie enclave. Don’t let the ‘cafe’ in the name fool you – a term as pleasantly misleading as the restaurant frontage – Cafe Linea is a grand all-day cafe in the European tradition of Paris or Lisbon, serving everything from breakfast and lunch, coffee and cakes, to cocktails and snacks, before morphing into as romantic a candlelit dinner venue as you’re likely to find without a three month waiting list.
Those planning to pop the question could do a darn sight worse than reserving a window table here, thanks to good solid cookery by Head Chef Simon Merrick (formerly of Richard Corrigan’s restaurants) and Chef-Partner Carolina Ferpozzi who both take pride in designing an appealingly unfussy à la carte which focuses on premium ingredients beautifully prepared, like my starter of Scottish salmon tartare presented in two half oyster shells resting on a bed of pebbles, finished with an unctuous oyster dressing to balance the acidic notes and toasted wild rice for texture and nuttiness. The popular sour-glazed sugar pit pork main course was an altogether heartier affair, partnered with a crunchy slaw and smoked pineapple and lychee salsa – comfort food heaven with a side of skinny fries with rosemary salt. Cafe Linea also have a cellar featuring over 130 bottles from small, independent producers, and a cocktail list designed to pair with the menu, although as a non drinker I’d like to see a stronger alcohol free choice including 0% wine and bubbly.
Just remember that waving away the dessert menu is not an option. Alongside the headlined basque cheesecake, ‘afters’ are a showcase for Cafe Linea’s exceptional patisserie and can therefore be boxed to go, although after seeing the gleaming beauties in the cabinet as you enter the restaurant, you’d have to possess the restraint of a saint to turn down the chance to sample one of the dainty ‘Linea Minis’ right there and then with a coffee – the only suitable way to conclude a meal here. Choose from Tarts, including the classic strawberry which my guest enjoyed, Choux, Biscuit Sandwiches and Cakes, such as the raspberry spiral (the only gluten free option) which was a task not to polish off in a few bites.
It’s hard to believe that the restaurant only opened this summer, for Cafe Linea already has an assured service style thanks to the presence of co-owner Felicity who is so hands-on that I spotted her overseeing front of house and taking a meeting with the chefs after lunch service. Just as they intended, old friends gather here for a decadent weekend brunch ahead of an afternoon shopping on the King’s Road; it’s where fathers and daughters (as in my case) enjoy a leisurely lunch before a classical music concert at the nearby Cadogan Hall; while it is most certainly the spot for lovers – the only diners I fully encourage to order a generous selection of Linea Minis to go, with perhaps some viennoiserie for the next morning. Thanks to a round-the-clock bakery, everything is as fresh as possible, as evident from the numerous trays of patisserie you’ll see being carried from the kitchen to the front of the restaurant in order to replenish the cake counter.
Whoever your lucky date, I advise you to take someone you love to Cafe Linea, striking any friends and family out of your life for eternity if they’re the kind of people likely to shun a proffered dessert menu with a polite smile and an, ‘I couldn’t possibly!’ or a ‘Not for me,’. If you happen to dine with someone greedy enough to order two or three Linea Minis so much the better, for anyone who doesn’t realise that skipping dessert is the equivalent of failing to read the last page of a great novel is ‘Not for me’ and I’d rather take Hemmingway along. A famous cafe-lover, he once summed up the importance of the all-day venue to a local community in his story, ‘A Clean, Well-Lighted Place’, in which a waiter says, “Each night I am reluctant to close up because there may be some one who needs the café.”
Cafe Linea, 90 Duke of York’s Square, Chelsea, London SW4 3LY. For more information or reservations please visit the website. Photography by Kristy Noble.
