Great British Menu star Lawrence Barrow brings taste of Northern Ireland to Hackney’s Rocola for three-week residency

Lawrence Barrow will take over the kitchen at Rocola, the restaurant and bar in Hackney, for a three-week residency starting next week, serving a menu built around Northern Irish ingredients and flavours.

Rocola, from the team behind the East London venues Crudo and Tiny Wine, operates a rotating kitchen model, hosting visiting chefs alongside its restaurant and bar offering. The format allows teams to test new concepts and gives chefs a temporary venue without the overheads of a permanent site. The model has become increasingly common in London, particularly in Hackney and the surrounding areas of East London, where a number of establishments run guest chef programmes.

Barrow’s menu will be available for three-weeks, after which the kitchen is expected to move on to its next guest. The residency is one of his first extended solo projects in the capital following his appearance on this year’s Great British Menu, where he represented Northern Ireland during the competition’s finals week. Barrow was born and raised in Ballymena, County Antrim. His career has taken him through kitchens in Australia, New Zealand and Italy before he returned to London, where he has worked with industry figures including Lee Westcott and Jason Atherton. 

The selection the chef has created for Rocola draws on his upbringing and applies contemporary techniques to traditional Northern Irish produce, combined with influences gathered across his career overseas. Dishes will include Smoked Eel Boxty (a traditional Irish potato pancake) served with Irish black butter, Coolea cheese made in County Cork and black truffle. A second dish, Wild Venison Tartare is served with a seaweed hashbrown and venison heart bottarga, a cured and dried preparation more commonly associated with fish roe. The fish course is Wild Seabass with Atlantic Mussels, Ratatouille and a Kilkeel Crab Bouillabaisse, referencing the County Down fishing port. Finally, for dessert there’s a Peat-Smoked Chocolate and Stout Cake, using two ingredients that are closely linked to Irish food and drink production to round off an experience that celebrates the country’s food culture with bold flavours.

Food Desk

The Lawrence Barrow x Rocola Studio residency takes place from 15^th September until 3^rd October 2026. For further information or to book a table, visit the restaurant’s website here.

For further information about Lawrence Barrow, visit the chef’s Instagram here.