Plates London Review — Nature-Inspired, Earthy Dishes and Interiors Put "Warmth" Back Into Michelin-Star Fine Dining

It has been raining heavily when my colleague and I arrive at Plates London on an early March Thursday evening after jumping out of a Black cab on a trafficked Old Street. As the first vegan restaurant to receive a Michelin Star in the UK, and a fresh-off-the-success one, too, I feel a little hesitation in pushing its heavy wooden door open to make my way in. Not only have I spent a full day sitting in front of a screen, with my cerebral activity reduced to that of a crushed peanut as a result, but the stormy weather has managed to wipe out even the last drop of grace left inside of me. It doesn't matter. Before we know it, our coats have been hung in the cloakroom, water poured into our glasses, and a pleasantly warm, chit-chattering crowd has spoken just enough for the restaurant to mist up into a lulling, atmospheric cloud.

For a place known for its Russian roulette-style reservation system (kudos to Livingetc's Editor Hugh Metcalf for persevering in trying to get a table, and for forgiving me if I enjoyed this meal without him), Plates London feels refreshingly unassuming. Diners gesticulate widely, laugh, and taste each other's mains while seated. An L of busy stools surrounds the open kitchen, decorated with a hand-carved, wavy wooden bar frieze resemblant of folded fabric, letting guests not only peek inside of it but almost cheer the brigade up as they rush to finalize their choreographically presented courses. And naïve passersby likely unaware of the hotspot's rise (and rise) even step in with the simplest of questions, "Can we eat?" Nice try, if you ask me. Sure, it might take them a while to have their wish fulfilled, but the good news is they have landed on one of the best restaurants in London — as their much-awaited booking will later confirm.

The eatery's burgeoning popularity can't be ascribed to just one element. In many ways, doing so would mean overlooking the urge that led chef and co-founder Kirk Haworth to trial the plant-based concept with a series of culinary pop-ups alongside his sister Keeley, now Managing Director, around the British capital in 2017 before setting up shop more permanently with their Shoreditch location last June. Awarded the North West Young Chef of the Year at just 17, he cut his teeth under some of the world's most acclaimed chefs at The French Laundry, Restaurant Sat Bains, The Square, The Quay, and Northcote. While the kitchens of Michelin-starred restaurants across the globe are what allowed him to "perfect his craft", it was his 2016 diagnosis of Lyme Disease that proved game-changing.

Since then, Kirk has embraced a vegan diet to aid a healthier lifestyle, cultivating wellness and balance not just for himself, but also and especially in collaboration with the team around him as well as the wider industry. At Plates London, the chef captures the creative and gastronomic possibilities of this field, gathering "all that nature has to offer" into alchemical modern British dishes that are as good to those who taste them as they are to the planet. Because, as Kirk said, "Sustainability is not just about the earth, the food, or the ingredients — it's about people, and creating a world that's sustainable for all of us to flourish together."

Inspired by his journey, a "personal, human touch" molds both the actual plates and the restaurant's interiors into shape, Emma Shone-Sanders of Design & That, the London-based studio behind its moody, textural ambiance, tells me over Google Meet hours after my visit to it. She adds that, in her opinion, "that's what's made Plates so widely successful" — that Kirk's story can be felt throughout the decor into the subtlest details of the dining experience.

Much like the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi, which wants us to reconcile ourselves to imperfection through design, Plates London centers individuality and character over mere show. From the moment guests sit down, it is impossible to not be taken by its loosely Brutalist interiors, where rough, walnut-tinted walls become the vessel into which irregular sculptural lighting, chocolatey wood tones, striated marble tops, and gentle textiles infuse an aura of groundedness, of calm.

It is an aesthetic that, as co-founder Keeley Haworth tells me, required maturity to craft: "Before Emma became involved in the project, we were quite fresh, bright, with lots of whites that allowed the plant-based dishes to come through," she explains. While scary at first, the transition to the designer's pared-back look, with sensory cues and artisanal finishes at its core, "evolved the brand in a way that we weren't expecting, prompting us to move into uncharted territory, be a little braver, and risk it."

For the Design & That founder, the challenge lay in "creating this earthy feeling". From the very beginning, they were set on the striking wall finish that distinguishes the end result. It is an effect they achieved through "a natural, sustainable clay plaster product by Cornwall-based manufacturer Clayworks. This has a lot of movement in it and we chose it precisely because of its ability to change the energy of the space," Emma adds. It was also about selecting materials that could convey warmth; something the studio and Keeley nailed thanks to the richness of the wood, the golden ochre hue of the arched banquette seating and upholstery, the crisp linen curtains, and the numerous one-of-a-kind creations that complement the dining room — be it the hand-pressed ceramics that adorn its corners and shelves, the unruly, inherently tactile serveware the food comes in, or the glazed terracotta and fabric table lamp that rests in a nook of the restaurant's left-hand side.

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More than anything, "we wanted Plates to be a celebration of artistry, craftsmanship, and our connection to nature — something we share with what Kirk and the team are doing as well," the designer explains. Drawing from the genuine flavors at the heart of the eatery's gastronomic offering, its boldly inventive pairings, and theatrical presentation, she honed in on a layered, tonal effect that would "feel inviting, comfortable, and soothing" without ever overshadowing the food: the restaurant's true protagonist. In doing so, Emma had the proof of how "you can still create a pleasantly cocooning space relying exclusively on pigments and materials that you would find out in nature," she says. Yet, whether in the seven or eight-course tasting menu of Plates London or its clay-walled interiors, such references are never obvious.

Heartwarming wild garlic soup arrives in an espresso cup-size mug, accompanied by a soft-centered, sweet-and-sour apple and buckwheat truffle that, at least to my unprepared taste buds, feels more akin to an indulgent dessert than a starter. A shell-looking bowl of Amela tomato, vegan ricotta, mashua root, sour gooseberry, and Kinoma, topped with fuming frozen tarragon and eaten while sipping lukewarm barbecued tomato broth, looks like an edible representation of a volcanic eruption. A caramelized Lion's Mane mushroom, tucked underneath a layer of silky cauliflower cream, coupled with smoked pancetta-like cubes of preserved rhubarb, and finished with green peppercorn sauce, renders the soul-lifting power of the best Sunday roasts.

Meanwhile, in the guilty pleasure department, the palate-cleansing mint ice cream with chewy beets, sweet pea, and kombu gives rice pudding a 'superfood' — and delicious — upgrade before diners reach peak culinary decadence with Plates London's grand finale: a stunningly assembled, raw cacao gateau with sour cherry, coconut blossom ice cream, African pepper, and toasted macadamia and raw caramel sauce the buttery, luscious feel of which will stay with you for days (only for the right reasons, of course).

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Born of a desire to "create from the plate", as Keeley Haworth tells me, the eatery moves beyond the conventional, and often reductive, understanding of vegan cuisine to pursue continuous, flavor-led experimentation. Designer Emma Shone-Sanders took that experimentation transversely. "What Emma did brilliantly was reflect Plates' identity deep into nature and well past its surface," the co-founder says of the restaurant design, which scratches beneath the 'leafy' in search of colors, shapes, and sensations with more primordial roots — details that, precisely because of their timeless essence, speak to us all.

At Plates London, meticulously layered ingredients combine to tell a story, with multiple notes manifesting as guests proceed to enjoy every mouthful. The same is true of Shone-Sanders' interiors, whose hiddenmost features — from the mesmerizing grain of its wine cabinet and bar seating to the gently wrapping lines of its banquette — become more prominent the longer you linger in the restaurant. Just like no element alone can create a whole dish, but instead, it's the sum of all ingredients that makes magic happen, "Plates wouldn't be the same without its carefully chosen materials, the attention to detail manifested throughout it, and the people who bring it to life at night," concludes the designer.

With the unveiling of its 'private dining with rooms' concept scheduled for later this month, when the Michelin Star will open the doors to a freshly renovated townhouse bookable for events and overnight stays adjacent to its main location, and a terrace launch in the works, too, Plates London will be on everyone's lips this year. One thing is for certain: if only I knew how to cook plant-based food like Kirk Haworth, I'd live happily ever after without meat. As for the cheese side of things, I am afraid they'll have to invite me back in the hope of a full conversion.

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