Another day, another restaurant opening. This time, I am back at my favourite London spot Chelsea to experience the newly refurbished and relaunched Tom’s Kitchen. Part of a collection of restaurants founded by celebrity chef Tom Aikens, this one is located on a quiet street, under the shadow of the magnificent St. Lukes Church, away from the maddening crowds of shoppers on nearby King’s Road.

The new space is gorgeous and exciting, designed by B3 Designers. As you enter, the bar immediately captures your attention with its slick design and vibrant bar stools for cocktails and counter-dining. Beyond is a more stylish sit down area with a semi-open kitchen to one side. The skylight in the middle means this space is awash with natural light. Walls are festooned with monochrome photographs and antique mirrors.

This is a ‘small plates and sharing-style menu’ kind of place. But we are also here on a busy Sunday late morning so they have a brunch option available too. Nursing a bad hangover from the previous night’s debauchery, brunch seems to be a good call for both of us on this day.

Kris is immediately drawn to the Shakshuka Eggs Benedict (£14), with Cacklebean Eggs, Tomato and Aubergine. It comes lavishly smothered in a luxurious, silky hollandaise sauce. The eggs are fresh with a gloriously orange, perfectly runny egg yolk in the middle. Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo so you will have to take my word for it.

For my dish, I needed something comforting, familiar and less challenging so opt for the classic Eggs and Avocado on Toast (£12).  It comes with Cacklebean Eggs (I swapped the poached eggs to scrambled eggs), Crushed Avocado, flecked with Chilli and Mixed Seeds. I also added some Crispy Feta (addictive) and Black Pudding to zhuzh it up!

Being a Tom Aikens offering, you can be assured of high quality cooking and lovingly sourced ingredients here. The food is solid. The only thing that let this place down slightly was the quality of service. Don’t get me wrong, it was pretty efficient, fast and on point. It was just lacking a bit of warmth; the feeling you get when you know they are genuinely happy to feed you. It was very hard to put a finger on it.

My fellow foodies who have visited this place have told me that the seasonal British small plates are divine. Perhaps I will revisit when the place is a bit more settled to try some of those out as well.

Location : 27 Cale St, Chelsea, London SW3 3QP

More information can be found here.