Cronut creator chef Dominique Ansel is set to open a new bistro and bakery in London’s Covent Garden this February.

Called Dominique Ansel Treehouse, the two-storey restaurant will comprise a takeaway bakery boutique, offering up desserts, pastries, Viennoiserie and tarts on the ground floor, while the seated bistro will be located in the ‘treetop canopy’ on the first floor.

Located at 24 Floral Street, Treehouse represents a new concept from Ansel that “celebrates and showcases the pastry foundations and artisanal techniques that pastry chefs do best”. This includes flaky puff pastry, handmade pasta, shortcrust pastry for pies and tarts, freshly-baked bread and sourdough made using a levain first started by Ansel in his New York bakery eight years ago.

“When we were conceptualising the idea for Dominique Ansel Treehouse, I thought about how, in a traditional restaurant setting, the pastry department typically works on all the different doughs on the menu, even from a savoury perspective,” said Ansel.

“I’m excited to create a new menu that celebrates these pastry foundations and French techniques, in a casual bistro café, with simple fresh ingredients that stay true to the classics.”

The à la carte menu features a selection of small and large plates designed to showcase pastry-driven techniques in their preparation and presentation. These include:

  • Puff pastry for a wild mushroom and confit chicken vol au vent
  • Roasted venison pithivier – a round, enclosed pie made with puff pastry disks
  • Tomato soup en croute
  • Handmade pastas, such as bonbon-shaped caramelle, filled with ricotta and cashews
  • Baked mussels topped with homemade garlic parsley butter breadcrumbs

Desserts will feature an assortment of larger-format specialities to be shared with the table, including apple tarte tatin and crème caramel.

Notably, Ansel’s signature croissant-doughnut hybrid – the cronut – will not be found at Treehouse, as Ansel is looking to “create something entirely new, to showcase those classic pastry techniques in a creative savoury interpretation, set within in a casual bistro setting”.

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