'Could not say no' - Kenny Atkinson opens Solaya in London

With more than a decade of experience running fine-dining restaurants in his hometown of Newcastle, Kenny Atkinson has arrived in London.

Chef patron at House of Tides and Solstice, which both hold a Michelin star, Kenny is the new concept chef at Solaya, situated in Hoxton’s art’otel.

The restaurant opens this week and features stunning panoramic views from the 25th floor of the building.

A new chapter for Kenny Atkinson in the capital

Explaining a bit more about Solaya and his first venture in the capital, Kenny said: “The draw of London has always been enticing. It's one of the most exciting food cities in the world.

“I think now I'm at the right age and maturity to make that step.

“I’ve been running House of Tides for over 11 years and Solstice for up to three years. I think now is the time where I can try my luck and have that ambition to open up in the bright lights of London.”

He added: “The concept is going to be about fresh, southern French Riviera style food.

“Really simple, impeccable ingredients, cooked really simply, very vibrant, on a 25th floor hotel restaurant with views over the amazing city of London. You've got sunlight coming in from everywhere.

“This is going to be a place where it's going to be casual, but there's going to be an elegance.

“The idea of the food is going to be sharing, small plates, which is really popular at the moment, but it's a great way of eating. Try different dishes with your partner, with your friends or just trying things that you've never tried before.

“But the emphasis and the main thing we want to drive through is just that simplicity, that sunshine southern French style cuisine that we want to create for Solaya.

“The experience that I want to give to the diners at Solaya is an experience of quality, to be noticed. I think hospitality is about giving that table or those guests that attention, that professionalism.

“But what we want to do is create a beautiful warmth and that's what hospitality is all about, giving that guest a great time.

“Even if it's a business meeting, creating some amazing food, some brilliant cocktails and drink, but being able to sit, relax and just see the world go by. That's what we want to create for our guests at Solaya.”

Nicola LosquadRo joins as head chef

Kenny has almost 30 years of experience in the industry, featuring on television shows such as Saturday Kitchen and Great British Menu.

He has hired Italian chef Nicola Losquadro as head chef at Solaya, who previously worked at the likes of Sucre, Mere Restaurant by Monica Galetti and The Oystermen Kitchen & Seafood Bar.

“We're going to have a team of 14 to 15 chefs,” said Kenny.

“The first thing we had to do was to employ a head chef that had the same passion, the same drive and the same vision that we want to create for Solaya.

“We have a great guy in Nico, who has a great CV, great pedigree. He has Italian heritage and he's got a massive passion for food and simplicity, which is really important.

“Once we employed Nico, it's just been brilliant. We’ve bounced off each other with dishes, ideas, and he's going to be the driving force of driving the team, making sure that we're consistent, building that sort of camaraderie.

“We're an open kitchen as well. Working in an open kitchen at Solstice, it's important that we have this nice environment. We're clean, we work efficient, but we're happy.

“When we have happy faces and happy chefs, then the food comes across as being happy as well and we want the guests to really, really see that.”

He continued: “This space, we want it to be busy. We've got a beautiful 75 to 100 cover cocktail bar. That's just going to be somewhere you can come after work, pre-drink or even if you're a hotel guest, pop down and just sit and have a cocktail and just watch the world go by.

“We're going to be open Tuesday to Sunday, lunch and dinner, closed Sunday nights.

“We want to be busy, a 100-cover+ restaurant, which is important because we have an amazing space.

“But when this place is going to be full, it's going to be an amazing energy. You've got natural sunlight coming from all angles of the city.

“It's a unique set-up. I just could not say no to this opportunity.”

How Solaya differs from Kenny’s Michelin-starred Newcastle restaurants

Kenny has very much made a name for himself in the city of Newcastle.

Asked how different it feels to be opening up in London, he said: “This opening feels a lot more relaxed in a funny way.

“House of Tides and Solstice was done by myself and my wife Abbie, where we had no financial backing. Everything was on our own shoulders.

“With the art’otel, there's some serious backers there that can help with the financial side of it, the recruitment side, which takes a lot of pressure off me as a restaurateur.

“That allows me to simply just focus on the food, the training and the whole deliverance of hospitality that we want to deliver for Solaya.”

He added: “I think the rewarding part of it is being part of something new, exciting, meeting new people, work with new chefs that I would never come across before and doing a cuisine that I wouldn't normally do.

“The restaurants in Newcastle are very fine dining, very Michelin driven. This, we're not looking for accolades, we just want great food, great hospitality. So that bit's been really exciting.”

friends in high places

And for avid Newcastle United fan Kenny, the opportunity to watch the Magpies live in London is something he is very much eyeing up as an added bonus.

“Absolutely. I’ve got some good friends in London, who work at Arsenal and Tottenham, so I’ll be tapping them up for some free tickets,” he said.

“Even if I’ve got to go and commis for them in the kitchens behind the scenes, I’ll be going to some free games for sure!”