Damien Hirst’s new restaurant, in collaboration with Mark Hix, launched yesterday at Newport Street Gallery in Vauxhall, London. The restaurant, Pharmacy 2, will serve classic British and European food, catering for visitors to the exhibitions throughout the day, and evening diners when the gallery is closed.
The new restaurant follows on from Hirst’s original Pharmacy venture in Notting Hill. The project sparked controversy due to its likeness to a real pharmacy, and gained a cult following, attracting patrons such as David Bowie and Kate Moss. Newport Street Gallery is the realisation of Hirst’s long – term ambition to share his art collection with the public. Entry to the gallery, which is currently showing an exhibition of work by the British abstract painter John Hoyland (1934 – 2011), is free.
While the gallery itself will continue to host exhibitions of other artists’ work, Pharmacy 2 gives visitors the opportunity to view some of Hirst’s own art, which here reflects his interest in science, through medicine and pharmaceuticals. The restaurant exhibits site-specific work from a number of Hirst’s most iconic series, including the Medicine Cabinets and butterfly Kaleidoscope paintings. It also features etched glass windows depicting DNA strands, marble inlayed flooring and a bar that incorporates a stainless steel and glass vitrine. Individually crafted pill designs are embedded into the marble floor as well as embroidered onto the leather banquettes.
The menu reflects Hix and Hirst’s shared passion for quality food made from fresh ingredients. Highlights include: Brick a l’oeuf de carnard with harissa; Shaved winter squash with treviso and Graceburn cheese; Crispy squid with green chilli, garlic and almonds; Mark’s interpretation of the traditional German dish, ‘Heaven and Earth’; Reg Johnson’s duck curry with basmati rice; Soft white polenta with a Burford Brown egg yolk and shaved Wiltshire truffles; Pineapple upside-down cake; and poached Yorkshire rhubarb with saffron ice cream. The restaurant will serve light breakfasts during the week, brunch at weekends, and roasts on Sundays. Prices on the all day menu start from £7.95 for sandwiches, starters from £5.95, mains from £13.50, and pudding from £4.
The restaurant has a carefully selected wine list, with prices starting at £19.75 per bottle, with 15 wines available by the glass (from £4). Champagne is from £54 (£9 glass). A selection of cocktails are also available, including the Fizz-Ness (quince – infused Tanqueray London dry gin, chamomile syrup, honey water and lemon), Dorset Donkey (Black Cow vodka, cherry eau de vie, lime juice, cherries, sage leaves and ginger ale) and the famous Hix Fix £13.50 (Morello cherry in Somerset apple eau de view topped with sparkling wine), as well as non alcoholic cocktails such as the Shirley Temple (Luscombe ginger beer, Mark’s grenadine and lime) and Luscombe soft drinks (ginger beer, elderflower or Sicilian lemonade).
“Pharmacy 2 combines two of my greatest passions; art and food. I’ve always loved Mark as a chef and his approach to food, so it’s great we’re working together on this.” – Damien Hirst
“Damien and I have been friends for many years, sharing a love of food and art. Damien designed a formaldehyde ‘Cock and Bull’ for my restaurant Tramshed so it makes sense for me to exchange my skills by creating the menus at Pharmacy 2.” – Mark Hix
Pharmacy 2 will be open from 10am to 12 midnight, Tuesday to Saturday (with the gallery closing at 6pm) and 10am to 6pm on Sundays.
