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Labombe by Trivet Como Metropolitan LONDON Jonny Lake and Isa Bal transform a former celebrity hangout into a wine-savvy stage for flame-grilled fare and Canadian classics. Words: Hannah Currie Photography: © Jodie Hinds (unless otherwise stated)
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tep off London’s Old Park Lane into Labombe by Trivet, a quietly confident newcomer in Mayfair’s dining scene, and you are greeted by the soft glow of a glass-
enclosed wine cellar and a flurry of chefs hard at work in an open kitchen. Even before a plate or pour arrives at the table, the restaurant makes a simple declaration: this is a place to celebrate the union of food and wine. The project marks the evolution of a Monday night experiment that began at Trivet, the two Michelin-starred Bermondsey restaurant founded by chef Jonny Lake and Master Sommelier Isa Bal. What started as a weekly residency - a way to test ideas and pour wines in a different mood soon demanded a permanent home. That home is the former Met Bar at Como Metropolitan London, once a 1990s haven for musicians, misfits and megastars. Labombe doesn’t try to imitate this spirit, but it does carry the sense that, behind its polished surface, lies a certain creative freedom. An ode to Lake’s aspirational fictional restaurant, invented as part of a French project at school, the venue answers his teacher’s question: “Où sont les boissons?” It is playful at heart, pairing special wines with a more relaxed style of cooking. For Turkish architect and long-time Trivet collaborator Umay Çeviker, the brief had to start with wine.
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