Nuno Mendes to open ‘secret’ Shoreditch restaurant

Chiltern Firehouse’s executive chef, Nuno Mendes, is to open a ‘secret’ kitchen table and wine room in Shoreditch next month that serves modern European cuisine.

Mãos is Mendes’ latest project

According to Eater London, the Portuguese chef will open the 14-seater site, called ‘Mãos’, meaning “hands” in Portuguese, on Redchurch Street in early April.

Mãos is a joint venture between Mendes and James Brown of cult fashion store Hostem. Dinner at Mãos, which needs to be pre-booked, will cost £125 per head and wine will be extra.

Mendes was once christened the Heston of Hoxton due to his fondness for molecular techniques, which were previously deployed at Bacchus in Shoreditch.

Post Bacchus, the El Bulli-trained chef launched The Loft Project supper club at his home in Dalston, which acted as a platform the likes of young talents James Lowe and Issac McHale, who went on to open the hugely successful Lyle’s and The Clove Club respectively.

Mendes hit the big time with Viajante, meaning ‘traveller’ in Portuguese, which opened at the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green in 2010 and soon earned a Michelin star.

Mendes’ intricate dishes paid special attention to colour, texture and temperature, taking diners on a culinary journey inspired by Portuguese, Thai, Japanese and South American cuisine.

Viajante closed in 2014 and a year later Mendes opened Taberna do Mercado in Spitalfields, a 40-cover restaurant that shines a light on Portuguese food and wines.