Fallow

Fallow opened in St James’s Market in 2021 after chefs Jack Croft and Will Murray left Dinner by Heston Blumenthal to build a menu around ingredients most kitchens throw away, following a series of pop up residencies that built up a following before they had a permanent site.

The corn ribs, seasoned with kombu and grilled until sticky, have become the dish regulars order for anyone who has not been before, usually as a snack ahead of the main courses. The mushroom parfait, made from fungi grown in house, is another fixture, alongside 45 day dry aged dairy cow steaks and a Sunday roast built around fallow deer rather than beef. Small plates, larger sharing dishes, sides and snacks are all mixed together on the menu rather than split into rigid starter and main sections, which suits a table that wants to graze rather than order a fixed three courses.

Inside, the room is relaxed rather than formal, with an open kitchen and staff who talk through the sourcing without sounding rehearsed. Much of the produce comes from the owners’ own smallholding near Esher, and the restaurant is upfront about using less common cuts and ingredients rather than treating sustainability as a marketing line.

A set lunch at around £44 is genuinely good value for the quality on the plate, but sides and supplements add up fast on the à la carte menu, and a casual dinner for two with wine can run well past what first impressions of the room suggest.

What sticks after a visit is that the sustainability angle feels operational rather than decorative. This is a kitchen making its point through what actually turns up on the plate rather than through signage or a mission statement printed on the menu.

The St James’s Market setting, a modern pedestrianised square tucked behind Piccadilly Circus, gives the restaurant a slightly corporate backdrop that does not always match the ambition of the cooking inside, and the surrounding office towers mean lunch service can feel more transactional than dinner. Booking ahead is strongly recommended, since walk in tables are scarce at peak times and the dining room, while comfortable, is not especially large for the level of demand the restaurant now attracts.