Opened in November, Lino is a new all-day restaurant and takeaway located close to London’s famous Smithfield Market. With Finnish-inspired interior design by Wright & Bell and a low-waste, made-from-scratch approach to food, it’s a compelling example of contemporary dining done well. By Jenny Southan
Lino takes its name from the fact the restaurant is in an old linoleum warehouse. Here, the team have set out to create an innovative menu of drinks and dishes, with Richard Falk (formerly head chef at Clapham’s The Dairy) heading up the kitchen. Lino’s overarching philosophy is “re-use, re-love and re-imagine”.
From making their own charcuterie and sourdough bread, to crafting botanical infusions for cocktails and butter that is cultured in-house, the chefs make as much from scratch as possible, and avoid throwing food away if they can possibly help it.
Left-over pastries from breakfast are used to make croissant ice cream, for example, and meat and vegetables are pickled and cured on-site. Fresh produce is seasonal and sustainably sourced, and both plant-based and carnivorous diets are equally well catered for.
Taking cues from minimalist Finnish design, Lino is decorated in shades of peach, salmon pink, and rustic green with antique brass fixtures. It has also gone to efforts to install salvaged light fittings. At the centre is a clover-shaped, waxed tulipwood bar. Shelves are lined with craft spirits and jars of house ferments.
I’d also recommend the barrel-aged house negroni, £10, which is a very classy pour.
On the menu this summer are dishes including puffed pork skins with house-made kimchi, Lino charcuterie with fermented fennel, and crispy Porthilly oyster with wasabi mayonnaise. Price range from about £7-£13 for small plates and £15-322 for large plates.