Claro is an elegant restaurant in St James’s serving fresh, seasonal food inspired by the flavours of the East Mediterranean and Middle East. Claro’s St James’s site is its second outpost to the flagship Tel Aviv site, opened ten years ago. Claro is founded by four friends, including chef patron Ran Shmueli, and chef Shadi Issawy who heads up the kitchen.
Claro’s home at 12 Waterloo Place was once a bank, and it still retains much of the original features of the heritage-steeped building. The main room sits in a grand, double-height space, what was once the banking hall. A kitchen-bar sweeps through this space, offering a view of the chefs at work with the open kitchen. Despite its corporate origins, Claro still offers a warm, inviting dining space, offsetting heritage features like the original chequered stone floor with inviting wooden furnishings. There’s also outdoor seating, offering a step back from its busy central London setting.
Serving lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, Claro’s menu evokes the character of the Eastern Mediterranean, placing the same importance on fresh, seasonal ingredients as is the tradition of the Med. Vegetables take centre stage in salads involving apricots, green almonds, karah green pumpkin and wild cucumbers, topped with dried goats cheese and a honey olive vinaigrette.
Claro don’t reveal much of their menu online, but expect the same dishes as featured on the Tel Aviv outpost’s menu to feature, in dishes like a lamb cigar with freekeh, finished with a spicy zhug aioli and burnt tomato and coriander salsa, as well as Middle Eastern staples like meat skewers with labneh, and a sharing-style lamb platter with tzatziki and pita. Tel Aviv tradition is brought to London in menu items like the pillowy challah baked fresh in-house.