Casa Cruz’s new menu underneath chef Jacob Rowley’s produce-led menu, mixing British substances and Latin aptitude in London’s maximum sublime surroundings.
Casa Cruz, Notting Hill’s copper-clad jewel, has unveiled its most vital culinary transformation since opening just about a decade in the past.
Beneath the professional course of newly appointed Head Chef Jacob Rowley, this cherished establishment is writing its subsequent bankruptcy with a menu that balances British provenance with delicate Latin aptitude.
A New Culinary Imaginative and prescient for a Notting Hill Icon
For just about ten years, Casa Cruz has maintained its standing as one in all West London’s maximum coveted eating locations. Nestled a number of the leafy streets of W11, the eating place has cultivated a name for outstanding hospitality, refined interiors, and a discerning clientele.
Now, because it approaches its milestone anniversary, Casa Cruz is reinforcing its culinary credentials with an bold menu refresh led via a chef whose pedigree speaks volumes.
Jacob Rowley joins Casa Cruz following an acclaimed tenure at Hampshire’s Oakley Corridor, the place his produce-led manner earned the status quo 2 AA Rosettes and 3 consecutive “Eating place of the 12 months, South East” titles on the Meals Awards, maximum just lately in 2024. Rowley’s appointment indicators Casa Cruz’s dedication to raising its eating enjoy whilst honouring the unique persona that has made it a neighbourhood favorite.
“Having risen in the course of the ranks in kitchens each in the United Kingdom and in another country, Rowley brings useful experience to turning in an outstanding eating enjoy,” notes the eating place. “His new menu for Casa Cruz marks the eating place’s most vital exchange since opening in 2015, artfully mixing a contemporary Ecu taste with a delicate nod to the Latin flavours that experience formed Casa Cruz’s spirit from the beginning.”
British Produce with International Inspiration
The brand new menu displays Rowley’s philosophy of letting outstanding substances discuss for themselves. By way of cultivating shut relationships with farmers and fishermen around the British Isles, he guarantees that each and every dish showcases the best seasonal produce at its height. This farm-to-table manner approach diners can be expecting consistent evolution, with dishes adapting to seize the essence of each and every micro-season.
Regardless of this distinctly British basis, Rowley’s creations take care of a delicate connection to the Latin influences which have been integral to Casa Cruz’s identification since its inception. This steadiness creates a eating enjoy that feels each leading edge and comfortingly acquainted to long-time consumers.
Signature Dishes: Subtle Indulgence
A few of the standout additions to the menu is the hand-picked day boat crab served with brown crab brioche French toast – a decadent aggregate that exemplifies Rowley’s ability for raising vintage flavours with technical precision. Similarly spectacular is the poached St Ewes egg, generously crowned with shaved wintry weather truffle – a dish that has briefly grow to be a favorite a number of the eating place’s Instagram-savvy clientele.
Seafood fanatics will admire the grilled Dover sole completed with wealthy rooster pores and skin butter, a masterclass in balancing refined fish with intensely savoury notes. For the ones with heartier appetites, the spectacular 1.2kg côte de boeuf gives a theatrical sharing enjoy that epitomises the convivial eating environment Casa Cruz has cultivated.
Vegetarian choices obtain the similar cautious consideration, with the beer molasses-glazed salt-baked celeriac status as a testomony to Rowley’s dedication to making enjoyable plant-based dishes that rival their meat and fish opposite numbers in each presentation and flavour. In a similar way, the roasted delica pumpkin with stracciatella demonstrates how easy substances can create odd leads to professional arms.
Past the Major Tournament
The remodeled menu extends past its headline dishes to incorporate an array of smaller plates designed for sharing and exploration. The grana padano tapioca croquettes with salsa macha be offering the very best excuse to reach early for aperitifs on the eating place’s well-known copper bar. In the meantime, the spiralized merguez sausage with apricot and inexperienced pistachio showcases Rowley’s aptitude for surprising combos.
For without equal indulgence, discerning diners are inspired to start their Casa Cruz enjoy with a caviar bump – in all probability probably the most glamorous technique to start a night in Notting Hill. Different highlights come with the vadouvan spiced lamb abdominal with pomegranate and mint, a dish that displays Rowley’s ability for balancing tough flavours with contemporary, colourful components.
Pasta aficionados will in finding pleasure within the local lobster pappardelle, which marries without equal luxurious component with comforting, hand-crafted pasta – a super instance of ways Casa Cruz bridges the space between refinement and the easy excitement of in point of fact very good meals.
The Environment: Subtle Allure
Casa Cruz’s bodily house stays as charming as ever. Unfold throughout two handsomely designed flooring and topped with a sought-after rooftop terrace, the eating place continues to provide more than one stories underneath one roof. The intimate, copper-clad bar stays a point of interest, whilst the eating areas strike a steadiness between see-and-be-seen pleasure and neighbourhood heat.
It’s this duality that has cemented Casa Cruz’s place in London’s aggressive eating panorama. Whilst it draws a notable clientele that comes with one of the most town’s maximum recognisable faces, it hasn’t ever sacrificed the welcoming environment that makes regulars really feel like they’ve found out a hidden gem, regardless of the eating place’s established popularity.
A Decade of Excellence
As Casa Cruz approaches its 10th anniversary, this menu refresh represents extra than simply new dishes – it’s a observation of intent. By way of bringing in a ability like Rowley and making an investment in a complete culinary overhaul, the eating place demonstrates its dedication to evolution whilst respecting the weather that experience made it a hit.
The timing couldn’t be higher. As London’s eating scene continues to conform, established venues will have to in finding techniques to stay related with out chasing traits. Casa Cruz’s manner – specializing in outstanding substances, professional preparation, and an environment that balances exclusivity with heat – positions it completely for its subsequent decade.
The Chef’s Adventure
Jacob Rowley’s trail to Casa Cruz displays a occupation devoted to culinary excellence. His enjoy spans prestigious kitchens each locally and across the world, offering him with a various repertoire of ways and influences. Then again, it’s his dedication to construction direct relationships with manufacturers that in point of fact distinguishes his manner.
At Oakley Corridor, this philosophy earned the eating place no longer most effective vital acclaim but additionally exceptional consistency – as evidenced via their 3 consecutive regional Eating place of the 12 months titles. By way of bringing this similar determination to Casa Cruz, Rowley guarantees that each and every plate that leaves his kitchen represents the head of seasonal British produce.
His technical talent lets in him to steadiness simplicity with sophistication, developing dishes that galvanize with out overwhelming. This manner aligns completely with Casa Cruz’s ethos of understated luxurious – an enjoy that feels particular with out being pretentious.
Having a look Ahead
With this menu release, Casa Cruz positions itself for any other a hit decade in London’s ever-changing gastronomic panorama. By way of making an investment in culinary excellence whilst keeping up the ambience and repair that has constructed its popularity, the eating place demonstrates a considerate option to evolution.
For Notting Hill citizens, the refresh gives a renewed reason why to consult with a neighbourhood favorite. For guests, it supplies an original style of recent London eating at its greatest – refined but welcoming, bold but approachable.
As Jacob Rowley settles into his position and continues to expand his imaginative and prescient for Casa Cruz’s culinary identification, diners can be expecting ongoing innovation inside the framework he has established. Seasonal menu adjustments will exhibit the most productive of British produce right through the 12 months, making sure that repeat visits praise with new discoveries.
The Essence of Casa Cruz
At its core, Casa Cruz stays what it has all the time been – an intimate, heat, and stylish neighbourhood eating place and bar that occurs to even be one in all London’s maximum coveted eating locations. The copper accents, the rooftop terrace, the subtle clientele – those components give a contribution to the enjoy however don’t outline it.
What defines Casa Cruz is its dedication to making memorable evenings. Whether or not that’s via a wonderfully done Dover sole, an outstanding shared côte de boeuf, or just the nice and cozy welcome that greets each and every visitor, the eating place understands that true luxurious lies in consideration to element and authentic hospitality.
With Jacob Rowley’s leading edge new menu, Casa Cruz reaffirms its position in London’s culinary firmament – a cafe that respects custom whilst embracing evolution, that celebrates British produce whilst acknowledging international influences, and that provides exclusivity with out sacrificing heat. For the ones lucky sufficient to protected a desk, an odd eating enjoy awaits.
A Vacation spot for Discerning Diners
As phrase spreads of Rowley’s culinary reinvention at Casa Cruz, securing a reservation might grow to be much more coveted than prior to. For the ones making plans a consult with, the advice is obvious – e-book neatly prematurely, arrive early to experience a pre-dinner drink on the copper bar, and include an urge for food for exploration.
Whether or not you’re a long-time patron fascinated about this new bankruptcy or a first-time customer desperate to enjoy one in all Notting Hill’s defining eating locations, Casa Cruz guarantees a night of remarkable meals in a surroundings that completely balances sophistication with convenience. Just about a decade after opening its doorways, this neighbourhood gem continues to polish brighter than ever.
*Pictures: Haydon Perrier
