Restaurateurs Gabriel and Jose-Luis Gonzalez, who have two Lima restaurants in London, are to launch a new casual dining concept bringing the vibrant flavours and exciting spirit of their home country Venezuela to the UK.
Sabroso, South American for 'delicious', will open late October in Europe's largest shopping centre, Westfield London in White City.
The menu, designed by the brothers, will focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients showcasing the best of Venezuelan cuisine. A signature item on the menu will be the arepa - a flat, dish shaped cornbread stuffed with a variety of high-quality, flavourful fillings including Shredded chicken with avocado, Braised beef with cheese; Braised beef with black beans and plantain plus a variety of vegan and vegetarian options.
Inspired by the popular arepa bars across Venezuela (areperas), Sabroso aims to recreate the fun, comforting and casual spirit of these bustling social hubs in the UK. Revitalising London’s lunchtime scene, it will give diners the option to fully customise their gluten-free arepas, with a wide selection of hot and cold fillings, garnishes, and sauces packed full of flavour.
Another highlight on the menu will be build-your-own ceviche bowls including their signature bowl, ‘Vuelve a la Vida’ meaning ‘Come back to Life’ in Spanish. This tropical twist on the popular poké bowl will feature ingredients such as quinoa, salmon, avocado, plantain chips, crispy shallots, mango, coriander, cashews, sesame seeds, ponzu and lime mayonnaise. Guests will be able to choose between a rice or quinoa base, before selecting from a wide range of fillings and garnishes.
Side dishes will include Tequeños, crispy cheese pastries served with homemade mango chutney and Yuca chips with cheese sauce. For dessert, guests can choose from a selection of sweet treats including Tres Leches (a sponge cake soaked in three types of milk) and Alfajores (bite sized shortbreads filled with dulche de leche and rolled in coconut). Fresh juices and smoothies will also be on offer as well as a range of soft drinks, beers and spirits.
Gabriel commented, “Jose-Luis and I are so excited to be bringing a taste of Venezuela to the UK with the launch of Sabroso. We’re so proud to come from a country with such a rich food culture and can’t wait to introduce dishes from our childhood to visitors to Westfield London - both Londoners and tourists alike. Venezuelan cuisine is increasing in popularity and we hope to see it embraced by the city we love.”
Keith Mabbett, Director of Leasing for Westfield UK & Italy, said, “Already famous for their hugely popular Peruvian outposts in London, we are delighted that Gabriel and Jose-Luis Gonzalez have chosen Westfield London to launch their first Venezuelan concept this autumn.
'The centre, which is Europe’s largest, has transformed the food experience for shoppers with many UK firsts and newest concepts capitalising on the 31 million footfall and £1 billion sales the centre generates each year. We have no doubt that this newest addition to the new Balcony Court Café will be a great success.”
This will be the first Venezuelan venture for the brothers, who began their extraordinary culinary journey in 2012 with the launch of Peruvian restaurant Lima London in Fitzrovia. Lima introduced new South American ingredients and dishes to the London dining scene, becoming one of the capital’s leading Peruvian restaurants.
Following on from this success, the pair launched Covent Garden’s Floral by Lima in 2014, which brought a contemporary twist to traditional Peruvian cuisine.
