New London restaurant Magpie serves up its British take on dim sum from a trolley.

There are few people who better represent how “casual” has replaced “fine” when it comes to London restaurants than Mr James Ramsden and his partner-in-food Mr Sam Herlihy. When they opened their restaurant Pidgin in Hackney, east London, in July 2015, they had no previous experience, besides running a supper club in Mr Ramsden’s Holloway flat. (Mr Ramsden was a food writer, Mr Herlihy a musician and ex-frontman of Hope Of The States.) Yet it was a triumph, offering a set menu of experimental flavour combinations that changed every day (they have, to this day, never repeated a dish) in an informal, compact setting. “We were doing a supper club and thought, let’s have a go at a restaurant,” says Mr Ramsden. “We wanted it to be the best it could be, but we didn’t envisage it being that good.” Just a year and a half later, it was awarded a Michelin star.

The hallowed star can sometimes be detrimental for restaurants with a relaxed approach. Some diners have lofty expectations when they hear the M word – and laidback service and simple cooking techniques don’t always meet them. Thankfully, however, attitudes are changing. “We were readying ourselves for more demanding people who didn’t want to be sat close to other diners or who wouldn’t like the fact we play very loud music,” says Mr Ramsden. “We haven’t had any of that. Our customers have been as lovely as ever.” This may explain why Mr Ramsden and Mr Herlihy intend to ramp up the informality at their new venture, Magpie, which opens in Soho tomorrow night. How do they plan to do that? By serving part of your dinner on a trolley, of course.

“Everyone loves a trolley,” says Mr Ramsden.  “Even on a plane, where food is as disappointing as it gets, there is still a sense of anticipation as the trolley comes towards you.” And when that trolley is piled with Hoi An-style terrine, pre-mixed cocktails, oysters and mackerel crudo, rather than Pringles and bad wine, that excitement should be rewarded with big, bold flavours.

Apart from the obvious reference to dim sum restaurants, Mr Ramsden says he and Mr Herlihy were inspired by the idea of trolley service on a research trip to the San Francisco restaurant State Bird Provisions and, seeing an opportunity to re-imagine the now prevalent trend of sharing plates, they seized upon it. “I love the informality to the sharing plates trend, but there are too many restrictions, such as the plates all coming at once so they don’t fit at the table,” says Mr Ramsden. “And not knowing what to drink with your food. A trolley puts more control in the hands of the diner.” After you have finished with the small plates at Magpie, trays will arrive with bigger dishes such as Spanish beef and lobster, paitan broth and fried chicken coq au vin – something Mr Ramsden is particularly excited about. “It’s pretty banging,” he says. “We marinate chicken and then deep fry it and it has other elements such as mushroom powder, bacon mayonnaise and pickled onion. So that’s pretty serious.”

Describing a culinary creation in this ironic manner sums up Messrs Ramsden and Herlihy’s operation rather well. They clearly don’t take themselves too seriously (tune in to their weekly podcast The Kitchen Is On Fire to learn more on that), but underneath their relaxed exterior is an obsession with the business of food. “Our general ethos is always to think, how can we do things better?” says Mr Ramsden. “Every detail. More restaurants should do that. We are still a million miles from being perfect, but I find that part of the fun, knowing we can always be better.”