Hot off the heels of The Oxford Kitchen winning an actual flippin’ Michelin star this week, it’s been confirmed Portabello has been sold and will soon be under new management.

Michelin Star for The Oxford Kitchen

Under the helm of Head Chef Paul Welburn, The Oxford Kitchen was this week awarded its first Michelin star. Paul isn’t a newbie to Michelin star standards, or the spotlight, having appeared on Great British Menu and worked in several Michelin starred restaurants – including Le Manoir, Rhodes at The Square and Rhodes W1, where he took over and maintained their 1 Michelin star and three AA rosettes.

Hats off to Paul and his team, who have no doubt worked incredibly hard to receive the amazing accolade.

A #MichelinStar @Kitchenoxford for chef @paulwelburn who never fails to demonstrate his acute understanding of flavour #MICHELINSTAR19 #MICHELINguideGBI pic.twitter.com/WJycrmaGN1

— The MICHELIN Guide (@MichelinGuideUK) October 1, 2018

What a wonderful achievement too, bringing a Michelin star back to Summertown, which once housed Raymond Blanc’s 2 star Les Quat’ Saisons. It’s been a long time since Bitten visited Oxford Kitchen, after a very hit and miss group meal some time ago, so it’s clearly time for a re-visit!

Portabello Under New Management

It has now been confirmed that Portabello has been sold and will be under new management very soon, with staff learning yesterday of the plans. Owned by Jon Ellse, who also owns both Mamma Mia’s and The Perch in Binsey, Portabello has been a Summertown staple, so this was a sad one to hear of. But Mamma Mia and The Perch go on, and plans for Portabello sound rather exciting.

From what I’ve been told, the new owners are Chef Pascal Wiedemann and wife Laura, relocating from London after Pascale’s tenures at Terroirs, Soif and, more recently, 6 Portland Road.

Judging by Pascal’s Instagram feed, Portabello will be rebranded as Pompette, which – if Google translate is accurate – is French for tipsy. The pic from Pascal’s Instagram feed below may give us a few hints of what to expect from his food, but we look forward to finding out more.

 

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Last night was my last service @sixportlandroad Here are just a few of my favourite dishes from my time there. It’s been a thoroughly enjoyable two and a half years but it’s time to move on. The next step is a big one….@l_wiedemann and I are opening our own restaurant, more details to follow shortly. Huge thanks to all the fellow chefs, front of house colleagues, suppliers and guests.

A post shared by Pascal Wiedemann (@pascal_wiedemann) on Aug 19, 2018 at 4:59am PDT

So, all eyes on North Oxford. Well, at least until the next preview I’m working on 😉

Hint – it’s not gluten-free.