What comes to mind when you think of British food? At The Crown, Fairmont Jakarta’s new culinary addition by two-Michelin-starred chef Kirk Westaway, the question becomes an invitation to explore the cuisine a little deeper and see it in a new light.
“A lot of people will think about British food as fish and chips, pie and mash—which are great, they are traditional British food. But there is the other side of it, which is about ingredients, and we have amazing produce in the UK,” remarked The Crown’s chef de cuisine, Asa Sibcy, who previously trained under the renowned English chef Heston Blumenthal. “Modern British cuisine is about letting the ingredients showcase how good they are and what they can be.”
This philosophy takes shape in The Crown’s creative use of ingredients—whether locally grown or premium imports—preparing them with modern techniques through a distinctly British lens. Sometimes this means reimagining classic British recipes and dishes the chefs grew up with. Other times, it’s about spotlighting produce that is ubiquitous in the UK while weaving in influences from other parts of the world. And most often, it’s a bit of both.
“Part of the challenge that we like and thrive on is figuring out how to take something very common, very familiar, and make it different, unique, and special,” affirmed Chef Asa.
For the restaurant’s first tasting menu, the Goose Mousse amuse-bouche transforms the pâté—a staple starter across restaurants in the UK—into a bite-sized tart nestled in a crispy spring roll pastry case, where the mousse of goose livers and foie gras comes layered with red onion marmalade for added acidity and sweetness, then topped with a thin slice of umami chestnut mushroom covered in dashi jelly.
Another starter, the Cheese Pancake, links back to Chef Kirk’s hometown of Devon in South West England—a lush county of green pastures and long-standing dairy farms that have been making artisanal cheese for generations (one going all the way back to the 1500s). Here, the county’s common delicacy of pancake and cheese gets the takoyaki treatment, shaped into soft spherical bites with a creamy camembert filling, and crowned with a cluster of caviar that adds an extra buttery finish.
As for the main course, the Wagyu Striploin comes dressed in The Crown’s take on reform sauce—a nearly 200-year-old condiment, commonly served with lamb chops, that originated in Central London. It gives the pink and lightly caramelised sous vide Australian beef an extra depth of richness, balanced by the brightness of the celeriac remoulade and the airy, silky mashed potatoes on the side.
The Crown’s penchant for subverting expectations and straddling the line between the familiar and the refined extends to the atmosphere of the restaurant itself. It forgoes fine dining conventions like white tablecloths, opting instead for a casual booth set-up decorated with maps of London, cheeky paintings and a sheep statue (named Winston, after Winston Churchill) that peculiarly stands over the bar on an illuminated pedestal. Yet there’s an undeniable elegance in the gold glow of its woven light installations and the black marble tops that anchor each table.
It’s the kind of place one might choose for a first date or birthday dinner—impressive and novel enough to feel special, but also casual enough to keep the pressure off. And if the evening stretches on, there’s always the outdoor terrace, where cocktails and unfussy snacks come with a view of the city and all its glimmer.
