This relaxed Michelin-starred restaurant in London's Fitzrovia serves up small plates of beautiful French food with a hefty dose of Mediterranean influences.
Fitzrovia – and Charlotte Street in particular – certainly isn’t short of top-notch restaurants. But The Ninth, Jun Tanaka’s own Michelin-starred establishment, stands out from the crowd for being incredibly affordable and boasting a menu of expertly presented French food with Mediterranean influences.
The chef’s background in some of the finest French restaurants in London, combined with the Michelin star, might make you think of stiff white tablecloths and formal, stuffy service. Don’t be fooled, however – this is relaxed casual dining with a focus on enjoyment above all else. The décor is warm, golden and inviting, with a small terrace in front for when the weather’s good, giving the ninety-cover restaurant a definite neighbourhood feel. There are seats at the bar for those wanting a quick bite and a glass of wine, with further seating upstairs for private events.
Menus are focused around family-style sharing, with small dishes divided into snacks, salads, pasta, raw and cured, fish, meat, vegetables and desserts. There’s plenty of French technique on show, but dishes also borrow from Italy, Spain and the rest of the Mediterranean, resulting in something lighter and fresher than traditional French cuisine. The set menu provides incredible value for money, offering two plates for £21, making The Ninth one of the cheapest Michelin-starred meals you can get in the UK.
The wine list covers all the major countries, both Old and New World. There’s also the chance to taste some of the finest wines from France and Italy by the glass, and the downstairs bar is on-hand if you’re after a cocktail or digestif. Service is relaxed but attentive, giving equal billing to diners who are after something small and quick and those looking to spend a few hours delving deep into the menu and tasting as many of the dishes as possible.
The Ninth is a restaurant at the top of its game, offering food which is both contemporary yet rooted in the classics at the same time. Whether you’re looking for a blowout feast for the senses or a quick lunch as you pass through Fitzrovia, The Ninth should be at the top of your list.
22 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 2NB
As a young chef breaking into the industry in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there were just a handful of restaurants at the top end of the country’s gastronomy. Jun Tanaka spent time working in nearly all of them. After mastering classical French technique under some of the greats, he now owns his own restaurant The Ninth, channelling his incredible skill into small, shareable plates of food in relaxed surroundings. But despite coming from a very food-focused family, he had a few other ideas before he settled on becoming a chef.
‘I was born in New York then lived in Japan until I was seven, when my family moved over to the UK,’ says Jun. ‘I’ve been here ever since. Eating was a massive part of my life and something I absolutely loved, so I was always interested in cooking, but my first career choice was to become a film critic when I was about eight. My parents were always very supportive, so my father asked me to actually write a critique of a film I’d watched. That sort of sucked the joy out of it, so I thought I might become an artist instead. That then morphed into becoming a musician, as I went to Trinity College of Music playing piano and cello in my early teens, but when I got there I realised my talents were nothing compared to some of the other kids! After that I decided on cooking, and that was the one that stuck.’
