Found within the acclaimed Zaha Hadid designed extension to the Serpentine’s North gallery, The Magazine is a thought-provoking restaurant by Slovakian-born Chef Tomas Kolkus whose aim is to create a contemporary, innovation dining narrative.
It’s a big statement, but Kolkus has a mission to change the face of food, shunning ingredients which have a detrimental effect on climate change, and instead championing products which have a positive impact. Farmed salmon, for instance, has been stripped from the menu, and instead been replaced with ingredients like mussels (which filter water), hydroponically grown herbs and seaweed which doesn’t require any fertilisers or irrigation.
Open for breakfast, lunch and early dinner, The Magazine is the perfect spot to recharge after a day at the park and offers a well-rounded modern European menu at any time of the day. At breakfast time you’re able to choose from things like warm, home-cooked pastries; buckwheat porridge with seasonal fruit compote or a richly spiced shakshuka. Later on in the day there’s a range of sharing plates - a selection which changes with the season, but might include dishes such as Wye Valley asparagus with miso aioli, rope-grown mussels with urfa and samphire or slow-roasted cauliflower with chickpea stew and dulse. Finish things off with a veggie-friendly agar panna cotta with elderberry syrup and blackberries or a vegan chocolate mousse.
No detail here is too small to have escaped a little eco-update, with even the menus being made from 100% recycled paper created from grass fibres. Crockery has also been designed to be as sustainable as possible, being made from recycled materials.
Interiors are on-brand Scandi-chic with plenty of clean lines and natural textures used. An exposed brick wall runs down one side, while large, curved windows flood the space with light. Zaha Hadid – who designed the building – aimed to create an intense aesthetic experience.