Terroirs is one of 121 restaurants to have opened in London in the past 12 months

Brothers Richard and Peter Harden have just issued the 19th edition of their London Restaurants guide (www.hardens.com). This longevity is due to a combination of factors: their opportunism in spotting the viability of a pocket Zagat-like guide to London at a time when the Zagats were still only in the US; two good appetites whetted by frequent trips to the gym; and an excellent sense of timing when launching each guide.

They publish at the end of every August, a fortnight before Tim and Nina Zagat come to London to launch their own guide, and a time when the media are invariably short of a good news story. In the past, the Hardens have generated headlines relating to the rise and fall of particular chefs, but this year they have excelled themselves. “London restaurants defy recession,” they proudly announced last week with almost enough convincing facts and figures.

This claim is based on a comparison of the number of restaurant openings and closures over the past year. Far from being the bloodbath that many had predicted, the number of openings during 2009 was 8 per cent higher than the previous year, at 121 against 111, while the number of closures, at 64, was the lowest number since 2000.

Several factors are adduced to explain this unexpected turn of events. The year-long reduction in value-added tax from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent, a gift from the Chancellor that many restaurateurs have not passed on; that many Londoners are still in employment and their disposable income has been increased by lower mortgage payments; and restaurants learning to market themselves effectively via their own increasingly sophisticated websites.

But perhaps it should be London itself rather than the restaurants that gets the credit for withstanding, if not defying, the worst effects of the past year. Although many of the capital’s restaurateurs are feeling commercially battered, they are also slightly buoyed by the fact that business has not been worse.

While New York and Paris have suffered, London has benefited from the weakness of sterling, which brought unexpected business during the first six months of the year. This crucial bonus took effect after numerous restaurateurs had cautiously reduced costs and staff. Those in the West End particularly were able to benefit from increased numbers as theatre ticket sales rose .

Yet even resilient London and its cosmopolitan clientele would not allow the more misguided restaurateurs to survive. Aaya, a chic Japanese outfit, opened and closed in Soho in less than a year because although the food was good, the sushi counter – the focal point of any such restaurant – was in the basement hidden from the customers on the ground floor. And L’Ambassade de L’Ile in South Kensington lasted no longer – proof that if expensive French restaurants are to have a future in London, it almost certainly has to be in Mayfair.

Kings Cross/St Pancras was the unexpected location for two of the year’s grander openings, Rotunda and St Pancras Grand, but both are part of a much larger development. The former is in King’s Place, an office complex/arts centre, while the latter is in the refurbished St Pancras station.

Spitalfields, close to the City, will shortly witness two further openings: the Galvin brothers’ third restaurant La Chapelle and The Luxe from John Torode of Smiths of Smithfield. That both have been delayed is due to sensible management as both live with the reduced cash-flow every company is facing and with the hope that, by the autumn, we will all be feeling a little more confident.

But these delays, and expensive openings in less well-represented parts of London, also reflect how crowded the West End has become and how difficult it is to find a good site . But that is not a barrier to entry for those with a good idea and a new approach. Terroirs, one of the notable openings of the year for the Hardens and a personal favourite, is now thriving in what was a Davy’s Wine Bar right by Charing Cross Station. With passion; limited resources (there is no gas in the kitchen); and limited funds (their charcuterie slicer was bought on eBay) the partners have created a popular wine bar and restaurant.

Although French in many aspects, Terroirs follows in the tradition of the British gastro-pub, which first emerged from the recession of the early 1990s. Many more will, I hope, follow this inexpensive route.

nicholas.lander@ft.com
More columns at www.ft.com/lander

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Details

Rotunda, Kings Place, 90 York Way, N1 9AG, tel: +44 (0)207014 2840
St Pancras Grand, Upper Concourse www.stpancras.com/eat/stpancras-grand
Galvin La Chapelle, 36 Spital Square, London, E1 6DX, due to open in October
The Luxe, Old Spitalfields Market, 109 Commercial Street, Spitalfields, E1 6BG, due to open on September 1
Terroirs, 5 William IV St, WC2 tel: +44 (0)207036 0660 www.terroirswinebar.com