The Team Behind The Hand and Flowers Is Opening a Pub in Chelsea

One Tom Kerridge pub is being swapped for another

Tom Kerridge only announced that his Chelsea pub The Butcher’s Tap & Grill would be shutting up shop a few days ago but the space isn’t remaining empty for long. Chef Tom De Keyser, formerly Head Chef at Kerridge’s two Michelin-star pub The Hand and Flowers in Marlow, will be re-opening it as The Chalk Freehouse, nodding to the area’s history as a place where chalk and limestone were unloaded.

The Chalk Freehouse will serve a three-course menu of British gastropub fare, with dishes like:

  • cheese & onion scone with whipped mustard and herb butter
  • chicken & duck liver parfait with poultry jelly and apricot chutney
  • Cornish crab and crushed Jersey Royal salad with brown crab aioli
  • baked saffron rice with oxtail and grilled marrow
  • pork chop schnitzel with smoked bacon cabbage and fried duck egg
  • curry roasted baby chicken with braised butter beans and preserved lemon
  • roasted ray wing with crispy cockles and anchovy & garlic dressing
  • chocolate tart with smoked sea salt and creme friache
  • pork fat Chelsea bun with vanilla custard
  • brown sugar pavlova with English strawberries and Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar

A roast of 30-day dry-aged rib of beef with buttered heritage carrots, roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding added to the menu on Sundays, with a set menu of two courses for £18.50 or three for £25 running at lunchtimes. The wine list will feature a mix of both Old World and New World bottles, and beer drinkers will be well catered for with a wide variety, including The Hand and Flowers’ own IPA and a monthly special on cask.

Speaking about the opening, Tom De Keyser said: “I’m so excited to be taking on the next stage of my career within the Tom Kerridge Group and opening a new site. Tom has taught me so much about proper gastropub dining and what it is to create truly brilliant food within the context of a pub menu – I can’t wait to bring everything I’ve learned to Chelsea for The Chalk’s opening. I’m ever grateful for Tom’s continued guidance and know that together, with the support of a great team including colleagues like Lourdes and Gavin, we’ll open something great in West London.”

Key Information

Opening date | Mon 16th June 2025
Address | 25-27 Tryon Street, London, SW3 3LG
For more information | thechalkfreehouse.co.uk

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