Labombe by Trivet reinvents an unforgettable Cool Britannia hangout

For those who can keep in mind the Nineties, have been you even there? Definitely, the habitués of the Met Bar may battle to recall wild nights spent on the definitive watering gap of Cool Britannia, on the bottom ground of the Como Metropolitan London lodge. Now, the positioning of the late Nineties legend has been reborn as Labombe, due to the crew behind two-Michelin-starred Trivet in Bermondsey, with a temper that’s extra ‘Champagne Supernova’ than ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’.

Wallpaper* dines at Labombe by Trivet

The temper: wine of the instances

Labombe started life as a one-night-a-week wine bar when Trivet was closed on Mondays. Co-owners Jonny Lake (chef) and Isa Bal (grasp sommelier) are calling this evolution of Labombe ‘a wine-forward restaurant’ and the very first thing that friends see by the doorway is a glass-enclosed wine cellar, with greater than 1,000 bottles on show.

Meals doesn’t play second fiddle, although. An open kitchen runs behind the eating counter, whereas the eating room past has been designed in impartial tones and textures by Umay Çeviker of Derin Yeşil Architects – cognac-suede banquettes, natural-wood flooring, Calacatta Viola marble-topped tables – illuminated by lighting by Lee Broom and Kreon and separated by sliding glass doorways that give the choice for personal dinners and wine tastings.

‘We have been influenced by northern European modernism,’ says Çeviker, ‘a design language that values clear proportions and restraint, however we sought to steadiness it with Mediterranean ease. The result’s a steadiness of readability and heat. This guided lots of our [interior design] selections: Rimadesio for his or her smooth and exact sliding methods, Sørensen for his or her timeless nubuck surfaces, and the usage of heat, textured plaster to melt the geometry of the house.’

Color comes courtesy of a rotating show of works by younger British artists, loaned by Chiltern Avenue’s Incubator gallery in a nod in direction of the YBAs of the Nineties. ‘This layer of artwork helps the house keep alive, altering with time and including wit, vibrancy and up to date aptitude to the eating expertise,’ Çeviker provides.

The meals: thrilling grilling

Day-to-day cooking duties fall to move chef Evan Extra, who labored at The Fats Duck when Lake was its govt head chef. Punchy flavours from the grill-focused menus embrace a snack of a sizzling tongue bun adopted by Lake’s sweet-and-sour signature of costoletta alla Milanese with recent cabbage and agrodolce, with an equally sweet-and-sharp steadiness on show in a dessert of crème caramel with a bitter steak of Campari.

Bal, in the meantime, has left the wine providing within the succesful palms of Trivet’s former sommelier Philipp Reinstaller, who received the UK sommelier of the 12 months award in 2024. There’s a selected emphasis on providing older vintages and uncommon choices by the glass, although there may be extra on a regular basis ingesting, too.

If the wines are Eurocentric, cocktails take a extra world method, with a Ginza Bitter, an umami-laden mixture of whisky and a salty-sour umeboshi garnish impressed by Bal and Lake’s ingesting classes within the namesake Tokyo district, which sounds nearly as a lot enjoyable as an evening on the Met Bar.