Kitchen W8

Kitchen W8 is a neighborhood restaurant on Abingdon Road in Kensington, west London, run by the head chef Mark Kempson. It opened in October 2009 and has held a Michelin star since 2011.

The owners are Phil Howard and Rebecca Mascarenhas. Howard made his name at The Square in Mayfair and is also a partner in The Ledbury, while Mascarenhas runs a small group of London restaurants. They were looking for a new site on Abingdon Road when Howard offered the kitchen to Kempson, who had cooked under him at The Square. The two worked closely on the menus during the first year or so, and after that Howard left the kitchen to Kempson and came mostly as a guest.

Kempson’s cooking is British and French in its roots, built on the season and on a few well-chosen ingredients on each plate. A mackerel starter has been a signature for years, and fish such as cod poached in hazelnut butter show the light touch of the kitchen. Game appears in autumn and winter, and the menus change often as produce comes and goes. Kempson learned that habit at The Square, where a box of ceps arriving in the morning could become a new dish by the evening.

The dining room is calm and modest, with tables for local families and regulars as much as for visitors who come for the star. Abingdon Road is a quiet street just south of Kensington High Street, between the shops of the high street and the houses of Earls Court. Kitchen W8 was set up as a less formal sister to its owners’ grander restaurants, and it has kept that local character.