It was just another morning when New York transplant Andy Kanter took his black lab out for their daily stroll. Fifteen minutes later, he returned home to his wife with a declaration: he was opening a restaurant with his next-door neighbor, the pop-up restaurateur and construction company-owner Martyn 'Simo' Simpson. To complete the ultimate dream team, they recruited one of London's best mixologists, Jerome Slesinski, and renowned chef James Knox Boothman. The restaurant, named Coal Vaults, found its home in London's thriving Soho neighborhood, on Wardour Street. Over a feast of mouth-watering pulled rabbit, sherry-braised pig cheek, wild mushroom ragu, and salted flourless chocolate cake (!), I talked with Andy and Simo about their first collaborative venture, the importance of matching dishes to drinks, the key ingredient inside their one-time-only Lindsay Lohan cocktail, and more.
Eloise Moran: So I read that Coal Vaults came out of a collaboration between a "random dog walker and a restaurant entrepreneur"...
Andy Kanter: The only part of that story that isn't true is the "random dog walker." I live next door to Simo; so it's not that random. I was out walking the dog and, as usual, I poked my nose into his business and said, "Hey, what's that you're working on?" Fifteen minutes later, I came home to my wife and said "I think we're going to invest in a restaurant."
Simo Simpson: I used to live in [photographer] Tim Walker's house in Shoreditch, and he used to let me do pop-up restaurants there. We had an illegal cocktail bar and all sorts!
How did you decide to work with [Australian chef] Magnus Reid, who did the orginial menu consultation?
SS: Magnus is a good friend of mine. We used to have an illegal cocktail bar in Shoreditch for people who wanted to escape the neighborhood's crowds at the weekend. He's done a few pop-ups of mine and is a good friend. He was my go-to guy because he was already in the restaurant world and has done very well, with The Rooftop Café and his newest café, Tuckshop. I'd seen how he cooked when he'd make things in of my little bachelor's kitchen, so I trusted him.
How is Coal Vaults different from all of the other restaurants in London's biggest neighborhood for food?
SS: I thought about where I would want to go if I wanted to go out, and I found this place, with all of its vaults, really unique. The space has a mix of private vaults and a more open, social space. Also, I love my drink and I love my food, but I don't like to have a full stomach in the middle of the night. So people can choose to have just a few dishes, or a whole array of food. We wanted it to be a truly relaxed atmosphere.
What's the history behind the space?
SS: Originally way back, this was a place to store coal. More recently it has been a Korean BBQ restaurant, a seedy nightclub, and finally a pub called The Doghouse.
AK: ––which people really love and remember. I think a lot of people had their first alcohol-related vomiting experience there.
What made you decide to match every cocktail to every dish?
SS: I wanted it to be a social form of eating, so we came up with the idea of having small plates matched to cocktails.The Mariacastaña cocktail is matched to the pulled rabbit; the citrus in the oranges goes nicely with the smoked flavors of the pineapple relish. It's a very nice mix.
Can you tell me a little about the menu?
AK: It's modern European cuisine. The most important thing is that it's seasonal. I looked at the menu last night and I think there might be only four things on there that we've had sin
Eloise Moran: So I read that Coal Vaults came out of a collaboration between a "random dog walker and a restaurant entrepreneur"...
Andy Kanter: The only part of that story that isn't true is the "random dog walker." I live next door to Simo; so it's not that random. I was out walking the dog and, as usual, I poked my nose into his business and said, "Hey, what's that you're working on?" Fifteen minutes later, I came home to my wife and said "I think we're going to invest in a restaurant."
Simo Simpson: I used to live in [photographer] Tim Walker's house in Shoreditch, and he used to let me do pop-up restaurants there. We had an illegal cocktail bar and all sorts!
How did you decide to work with [Australian chef] Magnus Reid, who did the orginial menu consultation?
SS: Magnus is a good friend of mine. We used to have an illegal cocktail bar in Shoreditch for people who wanted to escape the neighborhood's crowds at the weekend. He's done a few pop-ups of mine and is a good friend. He was my go-to guy because he was already in the restaurant world and has done very well, with The Rooftop Café and his newest café, Tuckshop. I'd seen how he cooked when he'd make things in of my little bachelor's kitchen, so I trusted him.
How is Coal Vaults different from all of the other restaurants in London's biggest neighborhood for food?
SS: I thought about where I would want to go if I wanted to go out, and I found this place, with all of its vaults, really unique. The space has a mix of private vaults and a more open, social space. Also, I love my drink and I love my food, but I don't like to have a full stomach in the middle of the night. So people can choose to have just a few dishes, or a whole array of food. We wanted it to be a truly relaxed atmosphere.
What's the history behind the space?
SS: Originally way back, this was a place to store coal. More recently it has been a Korean BBQ restaurant, a seedy nightclub, and finally a pub called The Doghouse.
AK: ––which people really love and remember. I think a lot of people had their first alcohol-related vomiting experience there.
What made you decide to match every cocktail to every dish?
SS: I wanted it to be a social form of eating, so we came up with the idea of having small plates matched to cocktails.The Mariacastaña cocktail is matched to the pulled rabbit; the citrus in the oranges goes nicely with the smoked flavors of the pineapple relish. It's a very nice mix.
Can you tell me a little about the menu?
AK: It's modern European cuisine. The most important thing is that it's seasonal. I looked at the menu last night and I think there might be only four things on there that we've had sin