Let me tell you a story. A story about a lad from Nottingham who spent his youth working alongside some of the planet’s greatest chefs – Thomas Keller, René Redzepi – before opening his own restaurant in Bermondsey at the tender age of 26. That restaurant won a Michelin star, and then another Michelin star, and soon our hero had the culinary world at his feet. What to do? Better open another restaurant.
Thus the tale of Tom Sellers, his groundbreaking flagship Restaurant Story and the more recent Story Cellar, which opened in April 2023. (A third restaurant, Dovetale, has since opened in 1 Hotel Mayfair – but let’s not get ahead of the narrative.) Story Cellar has been greeted almost as rapturously as its illustrious predecessor, so I took my friend Sam along to Covent Garden to find out if the hype was justified.
First things first: it isn’t in a cellar. The vibe is very bistro – a little corner of Paris dropped into Neal’s Yard. Chequered floors, marble-topped bar, an open kitchen where rotisserie chickens rotate over flame and the white-tunicked chefs go about their business with the quiet efficiency of a hit squad. Sam was struck by the calmness of the scene: as with most modern kitchens (certainly the open ones), the vibe is more Centre Court than WrestleMania.
The very chic interior
Before the food, a word on the impeccable staff. Executive chef Tom Phillips ran the show with expert efficiency; our server Guneev was charm personified; and Jash the sommelier is suave enough to be a viable candidate for the next James Bond. It was Jash who suggested starting off with an Aviation cocktail – a lovely light little thing, sweet without being sickly – and continued to keep us well-watered throughout the meal.
And what a meal! It started with a terrific tuna tartare, fat pink cubes of tuna perfectly seasoned with lemon and wasabi, and never let up. The already famed escargot bolognese is a showstopper masquerading as the opening act. It's flavoured with bone marrow, Madeira and enough red wine to kill a horse. The result is crazy good – richer than Croesus, as moreish as a cocaine addiction. “One of those dishes that when you eat it you don't want it to end,” says Sam, nonetheless ending his portion pretty quickly.
Rotisserie chicken
For the main, we had rotisserie chicken. Story Cellar is famous for its rotisserie chicken – with good reason, it transpires. This is the alpha and omega, rotisserie chicken ascended to its final form. Brined overnight, vacuum-sealed, covered in its own juices, topped with butter and then stuck on the grill. It tastes every bit as good as that previous sentence suggests.
The rotisserie chicken was my favourite, but Sam favoured the dry-aged pork chop. It was served in a jus mixed with brandy, creating a sauce so decadent it would make Dorian Gray join the clergy. A grilled kiwi topping the meat added a lovely touch of sweetness, while that sauce proved very hospitable to our perfectly cooked bowl of frites.
Bread and butter pudding
Dessert could be an afterthought. Instead, the bread and butter pudding might even be the highlight. My grandad was a connoisseur of bread and butter pudding; how I wish the old man could have experienced this one – perhaps the finest I’ve ever consumed. We were also treated to a new cassis blackcurrant liqueur. “It's like turbocharged Ribena,” says Jash, and I can't top the description. “It blows your bloody socks off,” says Sam. OK, maybe that.
Indeed, “blows your bloody socks off” is an apt summation of the restaurant as a whole. You stagger onto the cobbles full in both stomach and heart. This is one story you’ll want to revisit over and over again.
View on Instagram
17 Neal's Yard, London WC2H 9DP; Story Cellar
