Han & Han: ex-Hakkasan chef Jeff Tan opens in Belgravia in November
Belgravia is getting a serious new Chinese restaurant. Jeff Tan, the chef who led the kitchen when Hakkasan Mayfair opened, is opening Han & Han, his first flagship, at 16 St Barnabas Street in November. The news broke this week, and for anyone who remembers the early Hakkasan years, it is one of the more intriguing announcements of the autumn.
The chef
Tan has more than three decades in hospitality. Born in Malaysia, where he began cooking, he worked in Singapore at Crystal Jade Palace and the Conrad International Centennial before moving to London in 2004 as a senior chef at Hakkasan Hanway Place. When Hakkasan Mayfair opened in 2010 he was its chef de cuisine, and the restaurant earned a Michelin star nine months later, as Restaurant Online reports.
He left the group in 2014 to lead the kitchen at Yuan at Atlantis The Palm in Dubai, set up a Chinese cuisine consultancy in 2021, and has worked on projects in Madrid. He has also cooked privately for clients including the former French president François Hollande and the former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak.
The name
Han & Han refers to the two Hans in Tan's life: his mother's surname and his own name, Jeff Seng Han Tan. It is a personal project, and his first flagship after many years of leading kitchens for other groups, from London to Dubai and Madrid.
What to expect
The cooking is modern Chinese built on traditional techniques, with an emphasis on seasonal tasting menus. Dishes announced so far include:
- A 36-hour dry-aged Peking duck with homemade black truffle pancakes.
- Teochew-style wild seabream.
- 1986 wild king prawns.
- Shanghai-style braised wheat gluten.
- Braised pumpkin with dried shrimp roe.
Prices have not yet been published, and the full menu is still to be confirmed.
The space
Han & Han is intimate, with around 40 covers across two floors. The ground floor holds the main dining room, while the lower ground floor has a tea room and a private dining room. The site was previously Roussillon, which Hot Dinners believes closed more than a decade ago, so this quiet corner of Belgravia is finally getting a restaurant again.
Why it matters
Knightsbridge and Belgravia diners are well served for Japanese and Italian cooking, but a chef-led Chinese restaurant with this pedigree is a rarer prospect. The tasting menu format and the tea room suggest a place for long, considered meals rather than a quick dinner, and the private dining room will appeal to anyone hosting in the neighbourhood over the festive season.
How to follow it
No exact opening date has been set beyond November, and further details are expected closer to launch. Tan's Instagram is the best place to watch for bookings opening, and with only 40 covers, early tables are likely to go quickly. Sloane Square is the nearest Underground station. For other new tables nearby, see our restaurant guide.
Lead image: Ewan-M via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
