location of the restaurant within greater london restaurant information established 16 september 2013 2013 09 16 current owner s gordon ramsay head chef davide degiovanni chef gordon ramsay food type mediterranean cuisine street address 47 51 great suffolk street southwark london se1 0bs country united kingdom coordinates 51 30 13 n 0 06 05 w 51.503591 n 0.101272 w 51.503591 ; 0.101272 seating capacity 99 covers website www.gordonramsay.com union street cafe union street caf is a restaurant owned by chef gordon ramsay in southwark london . it was the first of ramsay s restaurants to be opened without the involvement of chris hutchinson and at one point was backed by footballer david beckham . the caf serves mediterranean cuisine with mostly italian dishes . the head chef davide degiovanni designs the menu which is changed daily . before the caf was opened it received more than 10 000 booking requests with seating filled to the end of the year . food critics reviews have been mixed with differing opinions of the veal saltimbocca but agreement in dislike of a dish of octopus borlotti bean and nduja sausage . contents 1 history 2 menu 3 reception 4 references 5 external links history edit at one point footballer david beckham had invested in the restaurant . the union street caf was the first restaurant opened by gordon ramsay holdings without the involvement of gordon ramsay s father in law chris hutchinson 1 who was previously the chief executive of the company . 2 initially english footballer david beckham was an investor in the restaurant but he withdrew his support prior to launch . 3 the interior of the restaurant is decorated in an industrial style designed by russell sage 4 who had previously created the interior of ramsay s bread street kitchen . 5 it has revealed concrete columns ventilation shafts and without tablecloths on the tables . 6 the location was formerly a loading bay and the interior design incorporated several original elements into the dining space . the restaurant is located on the ground floor of harling house and contains space for 99 covers . 7 following the launch of the restaurant s website it received more than 2 500 booking requests in the first four hours 8 and over 10 000 requests before opening . at launch it was said to be fully booked until the end of the year . 9 the launch party was held on 16 october 2013 . 10 menu edit due to the restaurant s location prior to opening it was said that they would use fresh produce from suppliers in nearby borough market . 8 these include items such as mussels from wales and clams from cornwall . the menu is described by the restaurant as mediterranean but was said to be predominantly italian by reviewers . 3 6 the menu itself is changed on a daily basis and designed by head chef davide degiovanni . 9 he and ramsay developed the initial range of dishes together . 7 reception edit food critic matthew norman attended the restaurant on the day after opening . he said in his review for the daily telegraph that the veal saltimbocca was too salty and found other courses blisteringly average or forgettably adequate . 3 norman also did not see the point of the parmesan skin appetisers saying that they were bemusing . 3 he gave the restaurant two out of five stars . 3 john walsh for the independent found the linguine vongole to have most buttery pasta he had ever eaten 6 and said that the saltimbocca was astonishing and that the chef deserves a medal for keeping this dish simple dramatic and irresistible . 6 he gave union street caf four out of five for both food and service and three out of five for ambience . 6 in the review in time out the portion sizes were said to be considered meagre in the boot of italy but certain dishes such as the parmesan skin appetisers and the chocolate and peanut butter cake were singled out for praise . 9 marina o loughlin wrote in the guardian said that the mushroom risotto was excellent as was the homemade gelato . her only criticism was towards a dish of octopus borlotti bean and nduja . however she found that her enjoyment of the restaurant was troubled by the sheer expectation of a new gordon ramsay restaurant and the media campaign that preceded the opening . she gave it seven out of ten for food atmosphere and value for money . 11 david sexton in london s the evening standard described the crudo of stone bass as excellent and found that the tagliolini with rabbit was the best thing on the menu . 4 he also disliked the octopus dish saying that the nduja overpowered the rest of the ingredients . sexton felt that the cafe was a fully fledged restaurant and gave it three out of five stars . 4 references edit o loughlin marina 19 october 2013 . restaurant union street cafe london se1 . the guardian . retrieved 16 march 2014 . not a care in the world gordon ramsay s father in law shows no signs of stress after gagging order is lifted . daily mail . 25 may 2011 . retrieved 16 march 2014 . a b c d e norman matthew 24 september 2013 . union street caf london restaurant review . the daily telegraph . retrieved 6 august 2014 . a b c sexton david 17 october 2013 . union street caf restaurant review . evening standard . retrieved 6 august 2014 . mccormack kirsty 14 august 2013 . take a sneak peek at david beckham and gordon ramsay s new restaurant union street cafe . daily express . retrieved 6 august 2014 . a b c d e walsh john 5 october 2013 . restaurant review gordon ramsay s union street caf is a terrific italian but what s the beckham connection . the independent . retrieved 6 august 2014 . a b nicholls luke 5 september 2013 . head chef and opening date confirmed for ramsay s union street caf . big hospitality . retrieved 6 august 2014 . a b first look gordon ramsay and david beckham s new restaurant union street cafe is unveiled as it is almost ready to open to diners . daily mail . 8 september 2013 . retrieved 16 march 2014 . a b c union street caf . time out london . 9 september 2013 . retrieved 6 august 2014 . gordon ramsay celebrates the launch of his union street cafe with wife tana jonathan ross and mo farah photos . entertainmentwise . 17 october 2013 . retrieved 6 august 2014 . o loughlin marina 19 october 2013 . restaurant union street cafe london se1 . the guardian . retrieved 6 august 2014 . external links edit food portal official website v t e gordon ramsay reality tv series united kingdom hell s kitchen ramsay s kitchen nightmares the f word ramsay s best restaurant gordon behind bars united states hell s kitchen kitchen nightmares masterchef hotel hell masterchef junior other television shows boiling point the f word gordon ramsay cookalong live gordon s great escape gordon ramsay s home cooking gordon ramsay s ultimate cookery course love s kitchen movie restaurants amaryllis angela hartnett at the connaught aubergine bread street kitchen claridge s la noisette murano p trus plane food restaurant gordon ramsay savoy grill the fat cow union street caf verre people jason atherton angela hartnett matilda ramsay daughter tana ramsay wife mark sargeant marcus wareing marco pierre white retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title union street caf & oldid 664795870 categories 2013 establishments in england2013 in londonrestaurants established in 2013restaurants in londonhidden categories engvarb from september 2013use dmy dates from september 2013 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 31 may 2015 at 02 01 . 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