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Real fire
Every dish touches the flame. No gas grills, no shortcuts, just seasoned hardwood and patience.
Our story
It started with one oven and twelve seats
Fire, salt & good company. Wood-fired modern grill since 2016, now at home in Shoreditch, Borough Market, and Notting Hill.
Since 2016
How it began
2016
First service
3
Dining rooms
270
Seats to fill
In 2016, chef Elias Calloway lit a wood oven in a former print shop in Shoreditch. There were twelve seats, one menu written in chalk and a queue down the street by the end of the first month.
Nearly a decade later Saltwood has three London dining rooms, but the idea hasn't changed: buy brilliant ingredients from people we trust, cook them over real fire and look after every guest like they're sitting at our own table.
Meet the chef
Fire is the oldest way to cook, and still the most honest. It rewards patience and punishes shortcuts, which is how I like to run a kitchen.
Elias grew up on the Devon coast, cooked in Basque grill houses and Copenhagen kitchens, and opened Saltwood in 2016 with one oven and twelve seats.
Elias Calloway
Founder & Head Chef
What we believe
The things we never rush
4 promises that shape every shift, every plate and every welcome at Saltwood.
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Close to home
Most of what we cook is grown, raised or landed within 100 miles of London.
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Nothing wasted
Bones become stock, trim becomes staff meals and embers warm tomorrow's bread.
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Warm welcome
Great service is noticing the little things. Tell us it's a birthday and we'll take it from there.
Milestones
How we got here
The team
The people behind the pass
Cooks, hosts and hospitality lifers who care about the small things.
Elias Calloway
Founder & Head Chef
Leads the kitchens and still works the grill every Friday night.
Tomás Ferreira
Executive Sous Chef
Fifteen years of charcoal cooking, from Porto to Borough.
Grace Oduya
Head of Hospitality
Makes sure every guest leaves happier than they arrived.
Luca Bianchi
Wine Director
Builds a list of small, natural-leaning producers.
In the press
What the press says
“The most honest cooking in the city.”
Come and see us
Pull up a chair
Book a table in Shoreditch, Borough Market, or Notting Hill, or have our favourites brought to your door.