Private Dining Rooms

Overview

HIX opened its door to critical acclaim in October 2009 and was Voted 'Best new restaurant 2010' by Time Out.

The ground floor restaurant seats around 80 diners, serving Mark’s signature British food with a wide selection of meat and fish dishes. The basement bar, Mark's, which has a clubby-type feel, serves British bar snax and cocktails by Nick Strangeway.

Mark has collaborated with artists including Damien Hirst, Miranda Donovan and Sarah Lucas who have created exclusive mobiles for the restaurant and bar.

HIX also has a private dining room, which is an intimate space ideal for breakfast meetings, or private lunches and dinners, seating up to ten people.

Mark Hix has written a regular weekly column for The Independent on Saturday magazine for the last 8 years. In 2007 Mark took part in the BBC’s Great British Menu and as one of the three finalists, took both his famous Stargazy Pie and Perry Jelly to Paris to cook for the British Ambassador's banquet. He has also appeared on Saturday Kitchen, Market Kitchen, Great British Menu and River Cottage.

Insider View

Hidden behind a huge floor to ceiling wooden door is Hix. It’s only distinguishable as a restaurant by his three letters in black at the side of the door. You have to be supremely confident about your product to be this subtle about it. And of course, Mark Hix has no need to worry. The lunch service I saw was heaving with Soho-ites. And it is a very Soho kind of establishment.

In this part of London so many of the best locations are hidden behind unassuming doors, and this new venture carries on with that tradition; there aren’t even any proper windows, so the whole restaurant, including the private dining room, has minimal daylight.

But, and I rarely use this word, it is so cool. Not the kind of 80s cool that was actually naff, but the kind of self-assured, confident place that manages to look like it was an easy creation and an overnight success, despite being the result of decades of experience.

You have to walk through the restaurant to get to the pdr. The main room’s décor is black and white with a massive wall mirror the length of the room, in front of which is the bar, service area and crustacean display. Mobiles hanging from the ceiling are by artists including Damien Hirst, Miranda Donovan and Sarah Lucas - a real ‘wow-factor’. The clanking restaurant is buzzy and busy, with a clandestine, clubby feel to it – celeb spotting is unavoidable in a place like this.

The private dining room itself is for groups of between 8-10 (parties of less than eight can be served comfortably in the restaurant). The room is partitioned off from the main room by a sliding Japanese style door with opaque glass which diners can choose to leave open or closed, depending on whether they want to hear the buzz or have a quiet intimate dinner. With the door closed the restaurant noise becomes almost inaudible.

The room itself seems simple enough, just a plain wooden table and the signature Hix cloth napkins and place settings. But on further inspection like its big brother outside, the attention is in the detail. The large copper oblong could be a work of art, and perhaps it is, but it was actually the original table top of the wooden table, it’s staining the result of a meal Hix himself had with friends and then they hung it up on the wall.

The other art is equally quirky and Soho-related. There’s a photo of a lady smoking crack, one of a restaurateur lying face down in an alcoholic stupor in his own restaurant and even a picture, which at first glance looks like some kind of modern sketch, but on closer inspection is actually a line of dildos. Even where the lampshade should be is a surprise, with three distressed basketballs hanging instead, with roots growing out of holes in them.

Booking the private dining room requires a £200 deposit which is then refunded or deducted from the main bill on the night. Menus in the room are chosen from the feast selection unless the room is booked at the last minute, in which case guests can choose from the a la carte. Ideal for a quirky business lunch or meeting with close friends.

Simon Hicks

How long have you been at the restaurant?

Just over 2 years.

Which was the first restaurant you worked in?

Clare Country Club in South Australia.

What was the last London restaurant you went to, apart from your own?

Bocca di Lupo.

What or who has been the biggest influence on the way you cook and why?

Although there have been many influences over the years both Kevin Gratton and Mark Hix have influenced both my style of cooking and how to go that extra step to showcase unique ingredients.

What is your personal signature dish?

Whatever I come back with from my local butcher and greengrocer.

Which other chef's) do you most admire?

I admire Thomas Keller's attention to detail.

What’s the best part of your job?

Besides the people I get to work with and meet it would be creating food that I know people will enjoy.

And the worst?

Whenever we let a customer down.

What would your last meal be?

Vegemite on toast

Do you have a chef’s shortcut that you can share with us?

Ummm....never, always by the book, well most of the time!