Ibai: former Chiltern Firehouse head chef to open Basque-focused steak restaurant

The former executive head chef at Chiltern Firehouse is to team up with Basque beef experts Txuleta to open a new steak restaurant this summer. 

Called Ibai, the restaurant will specialise in produce from a region known as the French Basque Country, with a menu of Galician blond beef, “guisante lagrima” — or teardrop peas — king crab rice, boudin blanc black pudding, tuna T-bones, and Aldabia corn fed chicken. 

Chef Richard Foster, who led the kitchen team at celebrity hotspot Chiltern Firehouse for the best part of 10 years, will oversee the food, while Nemanja Borjanović and William Sheard, the duo behind the lauded meat supplier Txuleta, are to look after the front of house. 

An announcement sent to the Standard said Ibai will have direct access to farms in the region, and from sourcing to butchery, ageing to grilling, Ibai will “have full control of the supply chain, giving farm to table a new meaning”. 

Notable too is Borjanović’s project to bring a Galician Blond herd to the UK, which is running in parallel to the restaurant. The meat merchant now has cattle on a smallholding on the Gorhambury Estate in St Albans and the aim is to successfully breed the cows on British soil.

“Bringing the Galician Blonde beef to the UK has been a personal project of mine and I’m thrilled to launch it as we open Ibai, which I’m extremely excited to open in the heart of the city and showcase our amazing produce,” said Borjanović, who also co-owns Lurra and Donostia restaurants in Marylebone.  

Press material said Ibai will seat 80 and, in the City, will be a short walk from Bank, not far from St Paul’s. On the dessert menu, gateau Basque, made with almonds and black cherries, and cheeses from the region such as Ossau Iraty and Bleu des Basques.

Wines will mirror the cooking, with the likes of Vega Sicilia and Lopez de Heredia on the list, while the dining room is to be a “contemporary iteration of the classic steak restaurant” — banquettes, big windows, a colour palette “reflective of the stormy sea”. 

Foster said: “The French Basque country is so rich in produce and incredible dishes that shape its heritage and culinary culture. 

“I’ve extensively travelled the French Basque region, from the small towns of Espelette to Biarritz which has shaped my passion for this undiscovered region, and it’s from my travels that the menu at Ibai has been created”.  

Ibai will open in the summer at 90 Bartholomew Close, EC1 7BN. More information to follow.