Paradise 2.0 opens in Soho

Having closed on 12 May, Dom Fernando's Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant in Soho has reopened with a new design and dining experience.

Paradise 2.0 offers and eight-course evening menu with a choice of vegetarian, fish and meat options, as well as a selection of suggested drink pairings. An a la carte menu is also available at lunchtimes. 

Kitchen development is led by head chef Alfir Bahnan and continues to draw on cues from the Portuguese, Malay, South Indian and Dutch cuisines that have helped shape Sri Lanka's culinary identity. 

The next chapter for Paradise will expand the kitchen's focus on the introduction of native culinary techniques, from heritage clay pot cooking to marinating with in-house spice pastes, steaming, braising in coconut milk, working with the ancient technique of bamboo grilling and a heightened focus on British produce. 

The drinks offering includes a list of natural, biodynamic wines and Sri Lankan-inspired cocktails that spotlight ancient fermentation and clarification techniques. 

The design of Paradise 2.0

Acclaimed designer and maker Dan Preston and Paradise founder/creative director Fernando have once again collaborated on the restaurant's evolution. The new space adopts a more intimate personality with understated refinement, using warm, wooden elements of timer, oak and ash to embody a more cosy design.

The venue's focal point is a stone countertop that looks out into the restaurant, seating up to seven guests and serving as a central workstation.

Elsewhere, the restaurant seats up to 26 guests. Soft leather plum-coloured banquettes run along the walls with adjacent hand-crafted wooden chairs. A semi-private space in the back corner seats up to six guests. Every diner has their own bespoke brushed metal cutlery drawer set within the table, to use throughout their meal. 

“We want the next phase of Paradise to be a true reflection of modern Sri Lanka, all rolled into a unique dining experience, says Fernando. "We will remain true to the spirit of Paradise, but the new direction will reflect our more progressive cooking style. It's an opportunity to showcase what we have been working towards over the  last four and a half years and will be a reflection of how our culinary philosophy has progressed in the kitchen and the dining room.”

You may also be interested in…