As city-dwellers desire ever-more curated living, Linnaean fills a gap in the market for a biophilic medi-spa and restaurant that combines healthy eating with microneedle facials. Anthony Pearce reports
A future-forward wellness hub that’s over-flowing with florals, Linnaean is based in south London’s Nine Elms, a revitalised industrial neighbourhood that is also home to the new US Embassy, which opened January 2019.
Designed by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, the team behind Annabel’s and The Ivy Collection, the salon, medi-spa and restaurant is part of a central riverside development overlooking Chelsea and Pimlico. It is named after Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish naturalist known for his work in botany and zoology.
Linnaean is sold as a “complete and curated retreat for busy urbanites” that offers “a unique environment for curious bodies and open minds to consciously nourish, adapt and grow”.
As well as a salon for hair cuts, brow work, waxing, manicures and make-up, there is a medi-spa listing things like medical-grade micro-needle facials, cellulite reduction and non-surgical contouring.
Elena Tayleur, founder of Linnaean, said in a statement: “We set up Linnaean to help navigate modern living and promote health and happiness.
“Contemporary life is filled with negative and positive disruption. We go through constant changes that can herald both opportunity and overload. We help our guests to keep up while keeping balanced.”
She added: “Linnaean is a space, and philosophy, for health, hair, beauty and lifestyle, providing a nourishing and stimulating blend of the latest and greates with the primordial.”
The restaurant’s head chef, Fran Winberg, has devised a seasonal, plant-rich menu to suit vegan, flexitarian, gluten-free and dairy-free dining preferences. Dishes range from fermented salad with shiso and umeboshi dressing, to cornflower arepa filled with pulled jackfruit in pibil sauce, pineapple, red pickle, onion and chipotle soy mayonnaise.
Speciality ingredients include maitake mushrooms, lucuma (a South American fruit, which is an ancient remedy), ginseng, chia, matcha and maca root (a cruciferous vegetable for Peru).
Tayleur said: “Located in Nine Elms, which is developing at a rapid and exciting rate, Linnaean aims to support and nurture the local community, and encourage a feeling of urban connectedness and sustainability.”
When the Northern Line Extension opens in 2021, it will take less than 15 minutes to travel to the City and the West End.
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