New London-style gastropub to open near Fountain Square. Here's the plan

Ask most restaurant experts, myself included, and they’ll tell you the elevated gastropub trend started around the turn of the century with places like the Father's Office in Santa Monica in 2000, The Spotted Pig in New York in 2004 and The Publican in Chicago in 2008.

It's a trend that waned a bit through the pandemic but now seems to be back in full swing. Celebrity chef Richard Blais got in on the action last year when he opened California English, a SoCal take on the British gastropub, in San Diego. And one of the hottest tables in New York right now is at Lord’s, an English-style gastropub helmed by chef Ed Szymanski, who was named a Best New Chef by Food & Wine magazine last year.

Lord’s is just one of the influences Cincinnati chef and restaurateur Anthony Sitek will draw from when he and his wife, Haley Nutter-Sitek – who co-own Crown Restaurant Group – open a new London-style gastropub in downtown Cincinnati in late 2024.

The yet-to-be-named restaurant will be located around the corner from Fountain Square, inside Cincinnati Center City Development Corp.'s Foundry development – which is also home to the new Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse and the recently opened Davidson.

The menu will include items such as oysters topped with HP Sauce (or even marmite), steak and ale pie, and fish and chips with malt vinegar aioli. Like most traditional gastropubs in London, there will also be a substantial Indian component, including lamb pie with graham masala, butter chicken and house-made naan. A drinks menu will focus on classic British cocktails such as the Pimm's Cup and English-style bitters.

The Siteks’ original plan for the space was to relocate Crown Cantina from its current spot in the city’s Design District. Those plans changed when they discovered local Mexican chain Mi Cozumel was planning to open a new location on Fountain Square this year. That, and the fact that David Falk’s Nada is just steps from the square, got them thinking there might be an oversaturation of Mexican options.

Hence, the gastropub. According to a press release from 3CDC, the new spot will resemble traditional British gastropubs and public houses, with hunter-green walls and a Victorian-era design scheme. There will also be upholstered pews from a church that recently closed on Ninth Street. Interior design work is being managed by Haley's mother, Vikki Nutter, of the Nutter Group.

Crown Restaurant Group currently has five restaurants in Cincinnati, including Five on Vine, Crown Republic Gastropub, Losanti, Rosie’s Italian and Crown Cantina. The group is also partnering with chef Brian Young's Young Buck Deli to open a new sandwich shop this Friday on Vine Street that will additionally serve as CRG’s butchery and pasta commissary. All but one of those restaurants is located in a 3CDC property.

"It’s been amazing to watch the Siteks grow since we first partnered with them six years ago," said Lindzie Gunnels, director of commercial leasing with 3CDC, in a press release. "And we’re thrilled to be working with them once more to bring an entirely new and unique concept to downtown,”

The restaurant will offer dinner service seven days a week, but Sitek told The Enquirer he hopes to offer lunch and even breakfast service in the near future.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: New London-style gastropub to open near Cincinnati's Fountain Square