Hedone to reopen as new restaurant with no menu

Mikael Jonsson, chef-patron of Hedone London, is to close down Hedone for ten days and on the same site re-open a new version of his restaurant (still to be called Hedone) with no menu. Instead it will propose to its customers two different tasting ‘menus’ though neither will be written down.

Once the new Hedone reopens it will have undergone minor refurbishments including new furniture and a makeover of the dining room and most importantly, it will radically reduce the number seated in the dining room. Instead of seating 40 covers, Hedone will seat just 18 in the main room and up to 4 on stools overlooking the open kitchen.

The restaurant will be opened for dinner Tuesday to Saturday and for lunch on Saturday only.

The food will also change dramatically - by reducing the number of covers served, the food will be more elaborate and it will be possible to use increasingly sophisticated techniques. Chef Jonsson will be offering his customers the opportunity to experience his restaurant which will no longer have a menu.

Never one to do things the ‘normal way’, Swedish born, Jonsson was fortunate enough to eat in some of the best restaurants in Europe before he had even left school. It was a world which intrigued him but it didn’t claim him. Instead he became a lawyer in Sweden before settling in France. Now he has made his mark as a chef via his restaurant in Chiswick, he is destined to take another gamble.

>>>Read more about him in our interview here

The prices have yet to be set but one will have more exclusive or rare ingredients which chef Jonsson believes will be an exciting and liberating customised experience for the many returning customers that he and business partner Aurelie Jean-Marie-Flore cherish.

The new concept will concentrate on food and with the reduced numbers, chef Jonsson and his kitchen brigade will be able to pour all of their energy into creating more refined food. The dishes will be constantly changing. Having no menu gives the chef the freedom to do this.

One aspect that chef Jonsson wants to create it is a work environment that will be more attractive to the staff, as today’s work hours simply lead to high turnover. With fewer services, working hours will be more forgiving than that which is the norm in fine dining establishments in the UK.

He said: “I want my chefs to come back to work every week rested and full of energy. It is just not the case today”.

The closing and then re-opening is set to take place this October.

Learn more about Mikael and his love for ingredients in our video with him below: