Est. 1998 · 18 Harrow Lane, Old Town

Fire, saffron and a long table.

Wood-fired cooking, seasonal produce, an open kitchen. Dinner is served from Tuesday to Sunday, and the last table goes out well after midnight on weekends.

Reserve a table See the menu

The story

One kitchen, one fire, and whatever the market gave us that morning.

We opened in 1998 with six tables and a single grill. The menu still changes every week, written after the market run, and everything that can be cooked over olive wood is cooked over olive wood.

Sit at the counter if you want to watch the pass. Bring six friends if you want the long table at the back — it is the best seat in the room.

27: Years on Harrow Lane
4: Wood-fired grills
62: Seats, one long table

The menu

Written each Tuesday, after the market.

Plates are made to share. Tell us about allergies when you book and the kitchen will work around them.

To begin

Served from 17:30

Charred aubergine12
Smoked yoghurt, pomegranate, mint oil.
Vegetarian
Saffron flatbread9
Cultured butter, sea salt, wild honey.
Hand-dived scallop18
Brown butter, capers, preserved lemon.

From the fire

Cooked over olive wood

Dry-aged sirloin38
45-day aged, bone marrow, watercress.
Signature
Whole sea bream32
Fennel, blood orange, chilli oil.
Slow lamb shoulder56
For two. Harissa, labneh, flatbread.
To share

Sides & greens

All plates are shared

Burnt leeks9
Hazelnut, aged sheep cheese.
Fire potatoes8
Rosemary salt, garlic aioli.
Bitter leaf salad10
Pear, walnut, sherry dressing.

To finish

Ask about tonight's pairing

Saffron custard tart11
Pistachio, orange blossom.
Signature
Dark chocolate & olive oil10
Sea salt, sourdough crumb.
Cheese from the trolley16
Three selections, quince, oat crackers.

Hungry yet?

Tables open sixty days ahead and weekends go quickly.

Reserve a table

Three plates we never take off.

Signature

Dry-aged sirloin
45 days, olive wood, bone marrow.

Charred aubergine
Smoked yoghurt, pomegranate, mint.

Saffron flatbread
Cultured butter, wild honey, sea salt.

The kitchen

“Fire is honest. It gives you one chance with every piece of fish, and the room can see whether you took it.”

Elena Marchetti

Head chef & co-owner

Elena trained in Bologna and Lisbon before taking over the pass here in 2009. She writes the menu on Tuesday mornings and still runs the grill on Saturdays.

Marcus Adeyemi
Sous chef
Priya Raman
Pastry
Tomas Weber
Sommelier
Hannah Cole
Front of house

The kitchen

An open pass, so nothing is hidden.

Ten cooks, one fire, and a counter where you can sit and watch every plate leave.

The cellar

Low intervention, high enthusiasm.

Tomas buys from sixteen growers he has met in person. Tell him what you are eating and how much you want to spend, and let him do the rest.

240: Bottles on the list
38: Available by the glass
16: Growers we buy direct from

Ribolla Gialla
Friuli, Italy
Skin contact, salty finish. Drinks beautifully with the scallop.
Bandol Rouge
Provence, France
Mourvedre with grip. The one for dry-aged sirloin.
Assyrtiko
Santorini, Greece
Volcanic and bone dry. Made for the whole sea bream.

Private dining

Take the room, or just the long table.

Birthdays, launches, wedding dinners and the occasional wake. We have hosted all of them, usually with the same lamb shoulder.

Three spaces, one kitchen, no set menu you did not choose.

Up to 14 guests

The long table

Our back room table, set for one party at a time.

Enquire

6 guests

The counter

Six stools facing the fire, with a chef-led tasting menu.

Enquire

Up to 62 guests

Full restaurant

Sunday evenings and Mondays, for weddings and launches.

Enquire

In their words

“The best fire cooking in the city, and the only dining room where I have watched a table of strangers end up sharing dessert.”

Amara Osei/The City Review

“Twenty-seven years in and the kitchen still cooks like it has something to prove. The lamb shoulder is worth the trip alone.”

Daniel Reyes/Table Notes

“We booked the long table for eight and left four hours later. Nobody rushed us, and nobody let a glass go empty.”

Priya & Sam/Guests since 2016

Press & recognition

Michelin GuideRecommended, 2019 — 2026
The City ReviewRestaurant of the year
Fire & SmokeTop 50 grill kitchens
Table NotesFour stars
Slow FoodMember kitchen

Good to know

Answers before you ask.

Anything else, call us between 15:00 and 17:00 — that is when the phone is quietest.

Always. The counter and the bar are kept for walk-ins every night, and we hold a few tables back until service starts.

Yes. Tell us when you book and the kitchen will write your table its own version of the menu. We handle coeliac, nut and shellfish allergies nightly.

No. Come as you are — we have had black tie and cycling shorts at the same table.

Roughly half the menu is vegetable-led, and the kitchen will build a full vegan tasting menu with a day of notice.

Sixty days. Weekend tables usually go within a few hours of opening, so join the list if your date is full.

Yes. Step-free entry from Harrow Lane, an accessible bathroom on the ground floor, and space for wheelchairs at the long table.

Reservations

Come hungry, stay late.

18 Harrow Lane, Old Town

Five minutes from the old market square.

+1 (415) 555 0182

For parties of eight or more, please call.

Tuesday — Thursday17:30 — 23:00
Friday — Saturday17:00 — 00:30
Sunday12:00 — 21:00
MondayClosed

Finding us

18 Harrow Lane, Old Town

Look for the black door and the smoke. If you reach the bridge you have gone one street too far.

By trainOld Town station, four minutes on foot.
ParkingHarrow Lane car park, open until 01:00.
By busRoutes 14, 22 and 30 stop at the market square.

Open in maps

Saffron Table

The Tuesday note

The new menu, sent the morning it is written.

One email a week. No offers, no upsells, just the menu.

Fire, saffron and a long table.

One kitchen, one fire, and whatever the market gave us that morning.

Written each Tuesday, after the market.

To begin

From the fire

Sides & greens

To finish

Three plates we never take off.

Dry-aged sirloin

Charred aubergine

Saffron flatbread

An open pass, so nothing is hidden.

Low intervention, high enthusiasm.

Take the room, or just the long table.

The long table

The counter

Full restaurant

Answers before you ask.

Come hungry, stay late.

18 Harrow Lane, Old Town

The new menu, sent the morning it is written.