London has a new rooftop restaurant with a serious connection to the countryside (as incongruous as that might be). Nettle, the latest opening from chef and farmer Will Devlin, landed at The Conduit in Covent Garden on 16 September, following the launch of Birchwood on the ground floor earlier this summer. It marks Devlin’s first major London outpost and brings the ethos behind his Acre restaurants – including Michelin Green Starred The Small Holding in Kent – into the city.

What’s the vibe like?

There’s a rooftop, a garden, and an all-seasons pergola that’s almost ridiculously spacious for a London space, so that alone sells it. It hardly feels like your typical London restaurant either – five floors up and a world away from the city’s incessant buzz.

Nettle does get slightly moodier for winter, with dark timber, chunky wooden furniture in mossy green upholstery, shelves of preserves and ferments (a highlight), plenty of foliage and little brass table lamps.

Set on The Conduit’s fifth-floor rooftop, the restaurant is centred around a bespoke charcoal grill, with fire doing much of the heavy lifting across a menu that changes with the seasons.

What’s on the menu?

Devlin is joined in the kitchen by head chef Miguel Maragno Roma, formerly senior sous chef at Silo, as Nettle brings his farm-to-table approach to a rather more urban setting. Expect Acre charcuterie, wild rabbit skewers, wild venison with nasturtium and shiso, Kent lamb and whole day-boat fish, with dishes changing as the seasons do.

Starters

You’d never think a flatbread can be the breadwinner of the starters section, but this perky, fluffy, crispy-on-the-outside and beautifully-pillowy-on-the-inside bread is what gluten dreams are made of. Please do order it – it’s a plea. The dips are noteworthy, too – particularly the wild garlic one dressed in vivid green.

We also had the trout and the mushroom nuggets – two very different dishes, with the trout being elegantly fresh and paired back, and the mushroom nuggets being the greasy, naughty, beautiful food you’re craving on a Friday night. Much more flavourful than your average chicken nuggets, that’s for sure.

Mains

The menu is designed to be shared, but we rebelled against that and had a main each (plus a side of potatoes with elderflower as per the staff’s recommendation). You’ll find main dishes like Kent lamb chop next to baked hake with whey sauce and pork chop with Tewksbury mustard, along with (even) bigger plates like a whole dover sole with XO Butter.

We ordered the chargrilled Hispi cabbage with sunflower seed dukkah and squash miso (£16), which was not enough on its own for a main (the price tag is telling), but can be paired with some of the lovely sides. We were eyeing most of them, from the tomato and fermented pepper to the lettuce and goat’s curd.

The monkfish, laid over a pool of curry sauce with long, golden strips of peppers and onions, was spectacular. Tender but satisfyingly firm, with just enough chew, the fish had a gentle sweetness that played beautifully against the sauce’s smoky, deeply spiced richness. A dish that’s impossible not to love.

Desserts

We had barely any room left for dessert, so settled on the soft serve, assuming it would be the lightest option. It didn’t exactly sound like the sort of dessert that would stop you in your tracks, but it turned out to be a highlight: a generous bowl of creamy soft serve, sharp raspberry compote made in-house and a scattering of brown sugar crumble. Nothing complicated, but it totally hit the spot.

If you’ve got more room to play with, get the Kentish strawberry tart and meadowsweet custard (doesn’t it sound mouth-watering?) or the
Myatts peach with yogurt and honey. Both sound seriously tempting.

And what’s to drink?

There are seasonal cocktails, local beers, and an extensive selection of glorious wines from across the globe. We landed in France for a red as we were looking for a deeper, denser drink to carry us through the food odyssey ahead. We also got to drink a port with our soft serve (they do pair well, as we could attest). The team is very knowledgeable and can guide you on the best drinks to have alongside your meal.

Verdict

Birchwood was a winner for us, and much like at Nettle, you can read between the lines of the menu and see an honourable respect for the produce, with a real effort to let each ingredient shine on its own terms. This goes beyond farm-to-table: it’s whole-produce cooking, with every part of an ingredient put to work, whether that’s a broccoli stalk or an entire lamb. It should be the starting point for any good kitchen, but having the imagination and skill to turn every last scrap into something remarkable is no small feat.

At Nettle, that reverence for the raw material – and the care taken to enhance, preserve and make the most of it – comes through in every course. But even if you don’t particularly care about the philosophy behind the food, this rooftop and pergola are calling your name, and you should definitely answer.

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