TREND: London's Fiery Obsession - Cooking with Flames
The open kitchen on the Ground Floor at Kiln, Soho
Greenway Associates has worked on some of London’s most exciting hospitality projects - all of Firmdale’s Restaurants, Aqua, Annabel’s and Sexy Fish - to name just a few. So we’re always on the look-out for the hottest hospitality trends in the capital. The latest? Open-Fire Kitchens.
Across the capital, chefs are trading in gas and electric for wood and charcoal. The trend is about embracing simplicity and stripping away unnecessary frills to let great ingredients shine through. But don’t be fooled by the rustic charm—preparing food this way requires very experienced chefs, great MEP (we’re talking heavy duty extraction systems) and of course, top-notch ingredients, including wood & charcoal!
Ironically, while the method may seem simpler, including live-fire stations in your hospitality offering often comes with a heftier price tag.
Although there is many to choose from, we investigated just 3 of the capital’s live-fire offerings - Lita, Kiln, Carmel & our newest restaurant in NYC - Manuela.
KILN
In Soho, Kiln takes a different approach, drawing inspiration from the simplicity of the Thai borderlands. With influences from Burmese and Yunnanese cooking, Kiln’s dishes are built around the heat of the fire, using wood-burning grills, an open fired hearth and a line up of traditional Tao Charcoal cooking pots. Diners can sit at the bespoke stainless steel counter for a front-row view of the chefs in action - turning raw ingredients into bold, flavourful dishes, where the fire itself becomes part of the story. Their famous “Clay Pot Baked Glass Noodles with Tamworth Pork Belly & Brown Crab Meat” continues to be what punters come for, and at just £7.85, it’s certainly a loss leader that works in Kiln’s favour.
A salt crusted bass, stuffed with lemongrass, makrut lime leaves and galangal, grilled over the coal at Kiln.
Kiln is a bit of a master at the live-fire restaurant concept, which in no small part is due to the fit-out from Advance Catering. The fit-out at Kiln is deceivingly simple, but it does require a lot of skill to manage, especially when there is a queue of hungry diners. In their modest, open galley style kitchen, they have a line up of clay pots set over a trough of red hot coals and an assortment of grills and kilns full of different logs and fuels that their skilled chefs manage constantly. Regardless of the rustic, almost ‘back-to-basics’ set up - Kiln Soho continues to be packed and it is still difficult to get a seat, even 8 years after their opening in 2016! Thankfully their walk-in system is really well managed by their FoH staff. If you haven’t gone yet, what are you waiting for?
LITA
Greenway Associates recently moved and our lovely new offices are based around the corner from Lita - a modern Mediterranean bistro in Marylebone which opened earlier this year in March 2024. Offering open-fire cooking and the seasonal flavours of southern Europe, every dish feels like a warm embrace, crafted with care over flames and making the most of the finest produce.
The open fire grill, reminiscent of a grand chateau kitchen, is the heartbeat of the restaurant where Chef Luke Ahearne and his talented team prepare each dish for service. We also love their interior design and fit-out - designed by B3 Designers - which brings Italian, Spanish and French Mediterranean influences to diners. We are looking forward to many more lunches here!
CARMEL
Berber & Q Grill House is the development team behind Carmel. The trio originally started a fire and smoke shop in Haggerston, followed by a shwarma bar in Exmouth Market. They went on to open the original Carmel, situated in the charming cobblestoned Lonsdale Rd of trendy neighbourhood Queen’s Park. It’s been serving diners since late 2021, but its new sister location in Fitzrovia also opened earlier this year, in April 2024.
The open-fire oven at Carmel Fitzrovia draws diners in. Photography by FRENCH+TYE
Carmel takes a different approach, bringing an elevated approach to the flavours of the Eastern Mediterranean over live-fire. Carmel has a special focus on the ingredients and flavours of the Middle East, North Africa, and the Ottoman Empire. They give as much attention to vegetables as they do to meat and fish.
Designed by Mata Architects, the interior skilfully combines rustic and refined, perfectly fitting the Carmel offering. Combined with delicious food (you really must try their famous smoky sourdough flatbreads!) and the drama of the flames, Carmel is an intimate and unique vibe that continues to draws diners in.
MANUELA, NYC
Manuela, NYC is the newest kid on the block from Hospitality firm ARTFARM - the people behind sister restaurant Manuela, LA, as well as a host of UK establishments such as Fife Arms Hotel, the Audley Street Pub, the Mount Street restaurant and many others.
The menu at Manuela both responds to and celebrates American seasons with freshly prepared dishes cooked in an open kitchen over the wood-fired grill or in the charcoal oven.
Half of the menu at Manuela is plant focused, with plenty of other dishes that feature sustainably sourced, provenance-based fish and meat. The emphasis is on honest, unpretentious food, served in a art-filled neighbourhood joint. We can’t wait to try the “Coal roasted oysters with Jimmy Nardello butter” - yes please!
The interior design at Manuela was led by Russel Sage Studios - who were also responsible for the interior design at The Fife Arms and Fish Shop Ballater, two critically acclaimed Artfarm projects in Scotland.
London’s food scene has always pushed boundaries, and this new wave of fire-focused cooking feels like both a return to tradition and a step forward. It’s simple, bold, and just a little bit primal—perfectly capturing what diners are craving right now.
Greenway Associates are experts at hospitality and can provide Quantity Surveying, Project Management and many other services for your thriving hospitality space. Interested in igniting your culinary vision? Let’s talk!