The Clink restaurant at HMP Brixton to reopen with guest chef lunch

The Clink Restaurant at HMP Brixton will reopen after a planned refurbishment with a special lunch on 15^th October. Adam Bateman, executive head chef at Pan Pacific London, will cook alongside prisoners training in the kitchen to present a three-course meal.

The Clink Charity gives people serving custodial sentences hospitality training and qualifications to help them find work after release. At the restaurant, inmates preparing for release study towards City & Guilds qualifications in professional cookery, food and beverage service, barista skills and food hygiene. Working across the kitchen, bakery and dining room gives them the skills, confidence and experience to seek jobs in hospitality once they leave prison, with the overall aim of preventing and reducing reoffending.

For the reopening lunch, Bateman will work with students to prepare a seasonal three-course menu, while trainees learning front-of-house skills will greet and serve diners. The chef has devised a menu that opens with Salmon Tartare with Horseradish Cream, Pickled Fennel and Dill, followed by Chicken Ballottine with Roasted Squash Risotto and Sage and Chicken Jus. Dessert is a Vanilla Crème Brûlée with Apple and Blackberry Compote and a shortbread biscuit. Soft drinks, coffees and a welcome mocktail will also be served.

Bateman has worked in hospitality for more than 25 years, notably as culinary director at The Grand Hotel Birmingham. He now oversees the food offering at Pan Pacific London, including its Straits Kitchen restaurant. He sees the lunch as a chance to mentor people entering the industry and to show them the rewards of a career in hospitality.

Because the restaurant is inside a working prison, strict entry rules apply. Diners must be 18 or over and bring accepted physical photo ID. Visitors will pass through security and leave their phones and personal belongings in lockers before being escorted to the dining room. The charity says that being one of the few places in London where diners cannot bring a phone makes for a more relaxed and sociable meal. Guests must arrive between 11.15 and 11.30am for a 12pm start, and the organisers warn that latecomers may be refused entry. Booking is essential, and tickets must be bought by 8^th October.

After the reopening event, the restaurant will return to its regular hours. It serves lunch from 12pm to 3pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, with an additional evening service from 6pm to 9pm on Thursdays.

Food Desk

Adam Bateman’s reopening lunch takes place on 15^th October 2026 at The Clink Restaurant, HMP Brixton, Jebb Avenue, London SW2 5XF. For further information or to book tickets (required by 8^th October) visit here.

For further information about The Clink, visit the charity’s website here.

For further information about Adam Bateman, visit the chef’s website here.