Richard McLellan’s Wilder restaurant and bar to open in Shoreditch

Chef Richard McLellan has announced the opening of his new restaurant and bar, Wilder, launching on Wednesday 16 October 2019, at Boundary London, Shoreditch.

Previously of Typing Room and Michelin-starred Alyn Williams at The Westbury, McLellan has partnered with restaurateur Sir Terence Conran to open his first solo venture in the basement of east London institution the Boundary London.

Inspired by McLellan’s supper clubs of the same name, where each dish included a wild element, the menu at Wilder will have many wild components from around London and other parts of the UK, many picked by McLellan himself.

With the aim to have 100% of their produce sourced from the British Isles, everything at Wilder will be as sustainable and local as possible. Gathered from independent and small scale suppliers.

McLellan said the menu at Wilder will “constantly evolve” in line with the shifting seasons, showcasing the best produce available. Sample dishes for October will include: Bread Cracker with carrot emulsion and carrot oil; Venison, beets, elderberries and rye; Plaice, cockles, black cabbage and gutweed and Meadowsweet with white chocolate and fig leaf oil.

The restaurant’s wine list is curated by consultant Lucy Ward, previously of Dinner by Heston and Noble Rot. This old-world list will include bottles from sustainable and biodynamic producers who pay the “highest degree of respect to their environment”.

Changing regularly to match McLellan’s menu, the list will include wines from small producers of Xangall from Galicia, Cecile Tremblay from Burgundy, Sylvain Dittière from the Loire Valley and Victoria Torres from the Canary Islands, alongside a few rare gems.

A small and concise cocktail menu has also been created by Alan Sherwood, founder of neighbourhood bar Little Mercies in Crouch End.

Located in the high-ceilinged basement of Boundary London, the 60-cover restaurant has been designed by Kirkwood and McCarthy and will focus on earthy tones and textures, from exposed brickwork, and walls rendered with an old-fashioned clay technique, to Ash wood tables from Jan Hendzel.

Seating will be a mixture of custom made banquette seating in the same Ash wood with chairs from Carl Hansen and Son and there will be stoneware ceramics from local ceramicist Ned Davies in Bow. A separate bar area accommodates 40 seated guests, with marble and pewter topped Benchmark tables and separate snack menu.

The front of house-team will be headed up by general manager Rachael Martin, previously of som saa in Spitalfields.