Toklas
Toklas is nestled on the side of the first floor of a seemingly ceaseless early 1970s Brutalist block on the Strand. The complex was designed by architect Frederick Gibberd, who wanted to create an elevated podium to reach the street level of the bankside, with courtyards and vistas overlooking the Thames.
Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover
The restaurant is the brainchild of Frieze magazine and art fair founders, Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover. It is named after Modernist writer Alice B Toklas, and the restaurant channels her culinary spirit from her 1954 cookbook (“In the menu, there should be a climax and a culmination. Come to it gently. One will suffice.”) Head Chef Martyn Lyons previously worked in establishments including Moro, Spring, and Dabbous and devises a menu to celebrate these Italian, French, and Spanish influences, abundant in fish and plant-based dishes.
Head Chef Martyn Lyons
Every design nuance within Toklas bears meticulous attention, credited to Stafford Schmool, who designed the Barbican Centre and the British Council. The interior is a dialogue between modernist and contemporary aesthetics: reclaimed parquet floors, iroko tables, and iconic Børge Mogensen chairs juxtaposed with bespoke LED pendants and plush green leather banquettes. A luscious Wolfgang Tillmans photograph takes centre stage in the dining area.
Original plan by Frederick Gibberd and Partners, London, 1976 from the Architects Journal Buildings Library (1976)
Images from 1976 from Architects Journal Buildings Library