London is awash with incredible restaurants and stand-out fine dining eateries – but few do it better than The Frog.
Based in the heart of Covent Garden, Scottish born chef Adam Handling’s (MBE) flagship Michelin-star restaurant serves up highly creative and intriguing tasting menus, and unlike many comparable restaurants, it keeps up with the times: it’s playful, fun and a little eccentric. It’s also well-staffed and offers a friendly, uplifting atmosphere – with none of the stuffy formality that is often associated with Michelin-starred eateries in the capital.
The Frog showcases Handling’s signature take on modern British cuisine, with impressive and sustainable dishes created from the very best local and seasonal produce, and with a zero waste ethos at their heart. It’s seriously impressive stuff, with big flavours meeting intricate, playful dishes to make this one of London’s very best and most interesting Michelin-star eateries.
“The Frog is all about sustainable, British luxury,” says Handling. “It’s a place to really immerse yourself in a theatrical show. You’re facing the kitchen, the chefs come to your table and you are able to really interact with myself and every member of the team. The Frog is Michelin-starred luxury in an environment where you feel completely comfortable being who you are, and where all elements in the restaurant are connected to offer a truly memorable journey around the UK.”
The Frog was named in honour of the big ‘leap’ taken by Handling in opening his first restaurant, Frog E1, back in 2016. Although it has since permanently closed, the name was carried over to this latest venture and continues to live on in its new iteration.
He explains: “The Frog E1 was my first independent restaurant, so it was a massive leap of faith for everyone involved. I think it was Kermit that said ‘it all starts with a leap’. The same can be said about the new restaurant – it was a completely new project, a new style of restaurant so that was another leap for us.”
The Frog is not for the faint hearted, so if you’re going, then make sure to go hungry. Opt for the lunch menu if you’re keen to just test the water, but you’ll almost certainly want to come back for more. Here, after visiting earlier this spring, are my top ten reasons why it’s the most interesting Michelin-starred eatery in London for 2024 – and why you should book your table sooner, rather than later.
The chef is one of the best in the capital
Handling is a chef who needs little introduction, and over recent years, his technical flair and talent for creating inspired flavour combinations have seen him make quite the name for himself on the global culinary stage.
Having started his career at the iconic Gleneagles Hotel near Auchterarder in his home country, Scotland, as an apprentice chef, he went on to become luxury hotel group Fairmont’s youngest ever head chef, based in London. He’s amassed a number of impressive awards, including Scottish Chef of the Year, British Culinary Federation’s Chef of the Year, Chef of the Year in the Food and Travel Awards. In 2020, Adam received Restaurateur of the Year in the British GQ Food and Drink Awards, having been voted both by the public and a selection of esteemed industry judges; in 2022, he was appointed Ambassador to the UK Government’s GREAT campaign, promoting Britain’s hospitality talents on an international scale; and in 2023, he was crowned BBC TV’s Great British Menu ‘Champion of Champions’.
Now, alongside The Frog, Handling has a number of other standout restaurants to show for himself, including the beautiful Ugly Butterfly, located on the spectacular Carbis Bay Estate in St. Ives and gastropub The Loch and Tyne, in the Old Windsor countryside. This summer, he’s also set to open brand new pub-restaurant The Tartan Fox, in Newquay.
The finest of British ingredients are used
If you’re eating at The Frog then you certainly won’t go hungry, with generous portions of everything. The restaurant’s philosophy is British food, inspired by London, so it does, of course, have a rather sophisticated twist.
Every dish is based around high quality, British ingredients sourced directly from suppliers and farmers around the UK, which is demonstrated to diners via a beautifully illustrated map on the menu and allows them to see exactly where each element of a dish has come from.
The snacks are next level
The snacks alone are worth visiting for, and are almost a meal in themselves – something that all of Handling’s restaurants are known for. The signature bread is served with chicken skin butter and liver pâté and is inspired by Adam’s sister, who would only eat roast chicken for Sunday lunch. It’s that good that it’s worth visiting for alone – but don’t worry, because the rest of your meal will be equally impressive, with the snacks simply paving the way for the thrilling culinary experience to come.
The menus are sublime
The Frog is for the serious fine diner, and a meal here should be approached as a marathon – not a sprint. The ten-course tasting menu is a truly show-stopping affair that you should expect to enjoy at a leisurely pace – three to four hours is about right.
This is a restaurant that takes fine dining to another level, with every dish given 100 per cent and no stone left unturned in the pursuit of culinary excellence. Using only the finest ingredients, each bite will take your taste buds to a whole new pace, with attention to detail on point and a story told with every dish. Colourful, inventive and playful, the presentation is as spectacular as the flavours themselves, with dishes so beautifully constructed that they’re like art on a plate (or in a bowl).
The dishes themselves are described simply with only the main elements on the plates listed, which maintains an element of mystery about what exactly each course will bring (although the front of house team are more than happy to provide more information if you can’t stand the suspense).
Highlights of the tasting menu include the ‘Scottish waters, smoked chilli, citrus.’ which may sound rather ambiguous, but that’s because this dish changes depending on what’s available on the day to allow the chefs to use the freshest possible ingredients. I enjoyed the scallop variation, with every single part of the scallop as well as the by-product of the lobster used to finish off the dish. Starting with a carrot puree topped with white beans and a crumb made of the scallop skirts, then lobster oil and lobster sauce, the succulent barbecued scallop sits at its heart. Served with bread made from the stock of the scallop and cooked in the scallop shell, it’s a real showcase of Scottish shellfish and a truly show-stopping dish.
The ‘All about the sturgeon’ is another stand-out dish that uses every last bit of the sought-after sturgeon fish. After extracting the caviar, the meat is cured and then hot smoked, before being beaten through fermented cream and served with a rather gorgeous, heart-shaped waffle. It’s utterly sublime, and a fantastic combination of flavours and techniques. Perhaps an acquired taste for some, but a signature dish that must be tried at least once.
And the Wagyu beef, morel and black truffle is another must, featuring a succulent, tender wagyu beef served with morel mushroom and black truffle from Wiltshire. The texture of the beef is butter-like and quite simply to die for. You probably won’t experience a better cut of meat all year.
Great for vegetarians and pescatarians
Often, eating out as a vegetarian or pescatarian means missing out on some of the most exciting dishes, but not at The Frog. Handling has helpfully designed an entire tasting menu for each, and there are no poor imitations of the real thing here. Each dish has been meticulously crafted to ensure that it’s just as show-stopping as any you’d find on the main tasting menu, using the freshest, locally-sourced ingredients and equally impressive flavour combinations to ensure that your dining experience is just as mouthwateringly memorable as the next person’s.
There’s a commitment to sustainability
As we’ve touched upon, sustainability is a key consideration across all of Handling’s restaurants, and The Frog is no different. After spending some time in Japan, he developed a passion for zero waste cooking, bringing it with him when he returned to London and integrating the ethos into each of his projects.
When cooking with meat, the whole animal is used – with offcuts and other elements not used in the main dish incorporated into the snacks, sauces and other courses. The goal is to become as close to zero waste as possible, without compromising on flavour, and at The Frog, this dedication remains unwavering.
The open kitchen is pure food theatre
A meal at The Frog is about more than just the food itself; this is pure theatre. The marble-topped open kitchen allows diners to watch the chefs at work and to marvel at the culinary technique on show before they eat, with the chefs playing the role of actors and performers. The kitchen is run like clockwork, with the immensely talented team putting on a rousing performance to ensure that every guest leaves having had an experience to remember. For a restaurant based in London’s West End – or theatreland, as it is also known – it makes perfect sense, and makes The Frog the perfect place to begin or end your evening, pre- or post-show.
The trendy Eve Bar is a must
In the basement underneath The Frog, you’ll find the Eve Bar, which serves a variety of innovative cocktails created with the same attention to detail as the food upstairs. There’s also a selection of bar snacks – many of which are smaller versions of dishes served upstairs – and a private dining room which seats up to twenty. Whether you’re in the mood for a pre-dinner aperitif or a nightcap before heading home, this is the place to be, and with stylish decor and a sophisticated vibe, it exudes a sense of trendiness and exclusivity all of its own.
What’s really intriguing about the menu here is the way in which it continues to uphold the restaurant’s zero waste ethos. The parts of ingredients that can’t be used anywhere within the main Frog menu are instead incorporated into the Eve Bar’s menu of snacks and smaller dishes – and even more interestingly, those that still remain form the basis of the cocktail list.
The stylish decor is unique
The Frog is not some boring fine dining hotel restaurant that lacks character and personality, and the décor is quirky, fun and playful. Think mid-century styling, with plush emerald-green velvet banquettes and blush pink chairs at the tables, with wood detailing and Britsh-inspired touches throughout and some interesting art on display that makes for a great conversation starter.
The restaurant is also home to The Frog Gallery, where you’ll find an array of artworks on display from some of the most sought-after british contemporary artists that are available for purchase, whether it’s for the pleasure of displaying on your wall at home, or as a sound investment for the future.
The service is impeccable
Service at The Frog is nothing short of fantastic, and staff couldn’t be friendlier or more attentive. But unlike some restaurants, there’s no sign of overkill; think laid-back and fairly informal service with not a hint of pretentiousness in sight, allowing for a relaxing experience and an environment where diners can talk and enjoy the wonderful food without feeling like they have to sit in silence.
Factbox
Address: 34-35 Southampton St, London WC2E 7HG
Phone: 020 7199 8370
Website: frogbyadamhandling.com
