For the first of LOTI’s new London From The Outside series, Joanna Taylor catches up with Merlin Labron-Johnson, the man behind Somerset’s farm-to-table destination, Osip
A west country man through and through, Devon born and bred chef Merlin Labron-Johnson cut his teeth working with Simon Hulstone in Torquay and Micheal Caines in Exeter before flying off to work at a ski resort in Switzerland, The Albert Premier Hotel in France, and In De Wulf in Belgium. Eventually, London – and the brains behind the modern-day Quality Chop House – came calling, and in 2015, Labron-Johnson opened Portland in Fitzrovia to mega Michelin-starred acclaim.
Clipstone and the eatery at The Conduit members’ club quickly followed, but it wasn’t long before the West Country tugged him home to open his Michelin-starred, farm-to-table sensation Osip in Bruton, Somerset, in 2019.
His story doesn’t stop there though because last month, Merlin unveiled Osip 2.0 in nearby Hardway. Set in a far larger, refurbished 16th century inn, the cosseting restaurant with rooms is somehow even more chic than its Bruton predecessor, offering the chef’s trademark hyper-seasonal fare whisked up with produce grown in the new kitchen garden and on Merlin’s nearby Dreamers Farm.
Before you plot your escape to the country, here’s a selection of this chef’s London food memories…
What is your first memory of London?
My introduction to London was Westbourne Park Road because my grandmother used to live there. We’d get the train up to Paddington and walk over and stay with her, and that’s what I thought all of London was like. It was a whole other world because I grew up in a small village in rural Devon, so going to London was completely mind blowing. It felt very grown up and fancy and sophisticated.
I also have another grandmother who lives in Pimlico, which is still kind of west London. I thought all of London was like that, and the movies I’d seen as well – Notting Hill, Paddington, Four Weddings and a Funeral, even Peter Pan – they’re all set west, so it was when I moved to London to open Portland that I discovered there was a lot more to it than that.
I’d been on a few trips to Shoreditch, but moving to London was totally overwhelming because I didn’t realise I didn’t know anything about it. Trying to decide where to live was overwhelming. I ended up moving into a house on Drummond Street just north of Tottenham Court Road, a street of southern Indian restaurants. It’s a really interesting street because it’s full of these old restaurants that have been there forever. They’re still really cheap and you can bring your own booze, so it’s got a bit of a cult following.
First London food memory?
When I would visit my grandmother, there were a few local restaurants we would go to. One of them was a really famous Indian called Khan’s. We’d also always go and try places in Chinatown, which for a kid from a village in Devon was totally mind blowing.
Most memorable meal that you’ve had in London?
One of my most memorable ones is just before I moved to London when I was setting up Portland with Will Lander and Dan Morgenthau, they took me to A Wong. This was like 12 years ago, so they didn’t even have a Michelin star. It was very ambitious, and I had never had Chinese food like that before – I’d only had Chinese food from takeaways and provincial towns – and it was really amazing. It was a la carte, there was no tasting menu, and It was very memorable because it just felt like something you couldn’t have anywhere else in the world but London. It made me excited to see what London had to offer. It was an exciting moment.
That same trip, I also remember having a very exciting meal by myself at Quality Chop House. I had grouse the traditional way for the first time and they do it really well there. That was very exciting.
Have any London chefs influenced you throughout your career?
I was obsessed for a long time with Fergus Henderson and St. John through his books. When I lived abroad in Switzerland and France, I made a few trips to St. John Bread and Wine, which at the time was like the one that everyone loved. I think it was Lee Tiernan and Tristan there at the time.
I think Fergus has been one of the biggest influences on me. Obviously my food doesn’t resemble it very much, but I’ve always been really into the nose-to-tail approach. It’s something that, as a young chef, really strikes a chord because you’re very curious and experimental, and it’s a really interesting way to learn about cooking. I had a very classical training in France, so it was really also interesting for me to kind of connect with my identity as a British cook, as well as the history of British food and what it means to be a British cook. Also, the way that he writes and talks about food, his language has always been really inspiring. If you read his writing, I think he makes you want to eat, he makes you approach food in a different way. It’s very comforting for me to eat his food and to read his writing.
I’ve always enjoyed his more classic things like the bone marrow and the blood cake. Plus, there’s a certain nostalgia to the puddings. I always liked the fact that the pudding menu at St. John Bread and Wine was almost as long as the savoury part. Having lived in Europe for seven years, the steamed puddings and things like that always made me feel nostalgic and comforted.
Is there anything you dislike about the London food scene?
I have always been surprised at how fickle it is. You get these places opening all the time and you have this crazy hype, and then everyone just moves onto the next place. It’s amazing how quickly restaurants that were so exciting can get forgotten. I think that sort of shows how difficult it is now to have a restaurant in London that people come back to over and over again, and still talk about, and become an institution. But, you know, I really admire restaurants that have lasted more than five or ten years in London. It’s sad how rare it is, and it’s sad to see how many good places close down.
When I lived in London, I spent about three years ending up at The Laughing Heart very late at night and leaving very early in the morning, and having a great time. Not that I want to do that again, now I’m sort of slightly more grown up – but that was a fun time to be a cook in east London, having that sense of community and being around like-minded people who enjoyed doing nice things. It was sad when that closed.
Where do you flock to when you’re in London?
One of the places that I go back to over, and over again is Brawn. I think that’s a fantastic restaurant that’s stood the test of time. It feels like a bit of an institution, it’s so reliable for me, I think it’s great. I like Planque as well in Haggerston. I actually had a really good meal at 64 Goodge Street the other day, and I’ve been recommending it to people a lot. I’ve had a few good meals there, but I think it’s getting better and better.
Sessions Arts Club is great fun if you want to have a really good experience with that sense of excitement and celebration. You know, if you’re feeling a bit jaded by restaurants, sometimes it’s nice to go somewhere a bit mysterious and exciting and cosy and different. When I eat in London, I quite often just go to Chinatown, because that’s the kind of food that I really miss living out in the countryside. I try all the new places, but I don’t really remember the names. The last one that was recommended to me was The Eight on Shaftesbury Avenue. It’s a sort of Hong Kong canteen. It’s really popular and always has a queue outside – that was really, really good.
I also went to Taste of Pakistan in Hounslow recently. I was staying near Heathrow Airport and I read one of those Eater maps by someone like Jonathan Nunn, where they find these really interesting restaurants off the beaten track. It was absolutely amazing, Taste of Pakistan.
Would you ever move back to London?
I really like the idea of spending more time in London and perhaps having some sort of way of being here more frequently. A little flat or something so I can come up for a few days a week. I’ve always been open to the idea of doing another project, but Somerset is my base now, and there I’ll always be.
Find out more about Merlin Labron-Johnson and Osip here
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