Brasserie Olivia on Sloane Square: Paris's La Nouvelle Garde Arrives
Sloane Square has a new French brasserie, and this one really is from Paris. Brasserie Olivia opened on 9 July at 1 Sloane Square, the first restaurant outside France from La Nouvelle Garde, the group behind a run of brasseries in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Bordeaux and Neuilly. It brings the group's formula of home-cooked French classics to a square that already has Colbert opposite and Martino's around the corner, and it is a ten-minute walk down Sloane Street from Knightsbridge.
Who is behind it
Charles Perez and Victor Dubillot founded La Nouvelle Garde in 2019, opening Brasserie Bellanger near the Gare du Nord in Paris's 10th arrondissement that May. Olivia, named after Perez's wife, is the group's tenth restaurant and its first international one. The philosophy has made the crossing intact: everything is made in-house from raw, seasonal ingredients, and the group says there will never be tomatoes on the plate in the middle of winter. In London that means British meat, fish, vegetables and dairy, with a few French essentials, including the wine cellar and Maison Millas saucisson, brought over the Channel. Bread comes from The Dusty Knuckle, coffee from Volcano Coffee Works and beer from Harbour Brewing Co in Cornwall, and the wine list is entirely French.
What to order
The room is built around a semi-open kitchen facing the diners, a charcoal grill and a long counter, with an oyster bar sending out oysters and langoustines and a lobster tank that gives the place a knowingly retro Riviera feel. Dishes described ahead of the launch include barbecued lobster with garlic and sweet chilli butter and homemade fries, a crudo of the day's catch with citrus, steak frites with peppercorn or béarnaise sauce, and a duck confit cassoulet with sausage and Lauragais beans. Around a third of the menu is given over to the brasserie standards the group is known for in France, such as boeuf bourguignon and egg mayonnaise, and menus change with the seasons.
The retro-modern interiors are by B3, who have designed all of the group's brasseries. There are about 160 seats inside, plus a terrace on the square.
Still to come
Two parts of the plan are yet to open. The group says breakfast service will follow, as will the Venus Bar in the basement, a cocktail and listening bar with oak panelling and a deep collection of vinyl. Neither has a date yet, so watch the brasserie's own page for news.
How to get a table
Bookable tables are deliberately limited and many places are kept for walk-ins at lunch and dinner, so turning up early is a sound plan. Groups of 11 to 16 eat from set menus, and larger parties can hire part or all of the restaurant. For a first look at the room and the competition, read Harden's preview. Sloane Square station is directly outside. For more ideas nearby, see our restaurant guide.
Lead image: Wolfiewolf via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
