From Newcastle to London: A conversation with Chef-Patron Kenny Atkinson, Solaya
- James Massoud
- Dec 19, 2025
- 9 min read
Michelin starred chef Kenny Atkinson has built a formidable reputation in Newcastle with House of Tides and Solstice – restaurants defined by precision, restraint and an unwavering commitment to ingredient-led cooking. With the launch of Solaya at art’otel London Hoxton, his first London restaurant, Atkinson has stepped into a faster, broader and more expressive culinary landscape, drawing inspiration from the Mediterranean while retaining the exacting standards that define his cooking. In this exclusive interview with The Knife, Atkinson reflects on translating his philosophy from the North East to the capital, balancing fine dining with hospitality-led experiences, and how his role as chef-patron continues to evolve.
You made your name in the North East with House of Tides and Solstice in Newcastle – both rooted in place, ingredient-led and fine dining focused. Now you’ve launched Solaya in London with Mediterranean influences and quite a different setting and scale. What has the move to London taught you about how you think of your role as Chef-Patron, and how you define your personal culinary identity?
Opening Solaya in London has expanded my understanding of my role as Chef-Patron and, in many ways, has challenged my culinary identity more than ever.
In Newcastle, with House of Tides and Solstice, my cooking was deeply rooted in the Northeast. My restaurants are intimate, ingredient-led and built around precision and restraint. They reflect me as a chef and the style I wanted to create for the city of Newcastle.
London is very different to Newcastle. The pace is faster, the expectations are broader, and the audience is incredibly diverse. London encourages a certain openness; it welcomes culinary expression that is bolder, sunnier, and more expansive. I’ve found that liberating as a chef.
In past interviews, you’ve talked about how Solstice was designed to push your technical cooking and intimate dining on 14 covers. At Solaya, you’ve introduced a menu inspired by the Côte d’Azur and Mediterranean flavours, aimed at a different kind of guest experience. How do you ensure the core values of your cooking carry through across all these venues, even as the menu style, restaurant format, and audience shift?
While each restaurant has its own identity, menu style, and audience, the core values that define my cooking – sourcing, precision and creativity – remain non-negotiable.
At Solstice, those values are visible through technical rigour, meticulous plating, and a hyper-focused flavour-led tasting menu.
At Solaya, the scale and inspiration is different, however the principles are the same: we source ingredients with the same rigour, build each dish with precision, and allow creativity to guide how flavours, textures, and presentations come together.
The key is to adapt, rather than dilute, those values. For example, while a dish at Solaya might feel more relaxed or approachable than a Solstice course, behind the scenes, there’s the same attention to ingredient quality, seasoning, and execution. It’s about translating the philosophy of excellence into forms that suit the space, the menu, and the guest experience, without compromising what makes the food authentically ours.
At House of Tides / Solstice, you have a strong commitment to premium produce, and have previously questioned trawled fish and shifted to high-quality farmed alternatives. At Solaya, with a Mediterranean slant and London supply chains, how do you approach sourcing both locally and internationally, and how do you reconcile that with sustainability and provenance?
At Solaya, our approach to sourcing is rooted in the same philosophy as that of House of Tides and Solstice: quality, integrity, consistency and seasonality.
While Solaya has a strong Mediterranean influence, we have to balance local and international sourcing with care. Locally, we focus on producers who share our commitment to sustainability, small-scale farmers, artisan growers, and fisheries that prioritise ethical practices.
London’s markets and surrounding regions give us access to incredible seasonal produce, and supporting them ensures freshness while reducing environmental impact.
Internationally, when we source Mediterranean staples that simply cannot be grown locally, such as olive oils, certain citrus, rare seafood or speciality grains, we look for partners who are transparent about their practices. We aim to use high-quality producers who prioritise responsible cultivation and environmental commitment.
Reviewers of Solstice mention its 18-course, three-hour tasting menu and theatrical elements. At Solaya, the menu appears more share-plate and casual, albeit still refined. How do you approach guest pacing and menu sequencing in these different formats, and what guiding principle underpins how you build these experiences?
With a 15-18-course tasting menu that we do at Solstice, pacing is extremely deliberate. Each course is an opportunity to create narrative tension, showcase technique, and engage the senses. I think of it almost like a symphony: the menu has movements, a lighter, more delicate courses give way to richer, more intense flavours, and moments of theatricality punctuate the rhythm.
Timing is crucial; courses must flow without rush, allowing guests to savour the progression while maintaining momentum.
At Solaya, the approach is different but complementary, because we have created a sharing style concept. Here, the pacing is guided by conversation and communal enjoyment.
Guests choose the rhythm; they may linger over wine and multiple small plates or move more quickly through the menu.
My focus shifts to balance across the table, ensuring that textures, flavours, and temperatures create variety while still allowing each dish to shine on its own.
Across both formats, the common thread is attentiveness to the guest experience: understanding how they perceive time, taste, and progression, and shaping the menu to highlight both technical skill and emotional resonance. Whether orchestrating a three-hour tasting or curating a casual offering, I’m always thinking about the journey, how each bite connects to the next, and how the overall experience leaves a lasting impression.
Having built Michelin starred fine dining venues in Newcastle, now opening in London with a larger format and perhaps a more accessible price point, how do you view the balance between "destination fine dining" and "high-level hospitality/experience dining"? Is it a conscious strategy to diversify your portfolio, or is it fun for you creatively?
I see it as a bit of both. London is a very different market to Newcastle, and opening a larger-format venue with a more accessible price point allows us to reach a broader audience while still delivering the level of quality and attention to detail that people expect from me.
But it’s incredibly fun creatively. Fine dining, especially Michelin starred, comes with certain expectations, but exploring how those principles translate to Solaya is exciting.
It’s about striking that balance between creating a 'destination', a place people will seek out for the quality of the food and the craft, and making hospitality the heart of the experience.
Whether it’s in Newcastle or London, we’re always looking for ways to surprise and delight guests, but the approach shifts depending on the context. So, I’d say it’s both a conscious strategy to diversify the portfolio and an opportunity to push ourselves creatively.
In starting Solstice, you commented on work-life balance, the team size (just four chefs) and fewer covers (14) to push technical skill. With Solaya, in a metropolitan environment, how have you built or adapted the team culture? What leadership principles do you apply (particularly across different venues and locations), and how do you maintain consistency across all your restaurants?
At Solstice, the small team allowed us to focus deeply on technical skill and craft. With Solaya in a London metropolitan environment, I’ve adapted by empowering my head chef, fostering collaboration, and maintaining a learning culture so growth and ownership remain central, even in larger teams. Across all venues, I apply clear principles: lead by example, communicate a consistent vision, and build trust with accountability. To maintain consistency, we standardise recipes, techniques, and service rituals, hold regular cross-venue meetings, and actively use feedback and tasting sessions to ensure every location reflects the same high standards. For me, leadership is about cultivating a culture where technical excellence, creativity, and teamwork thrive.
Your career spans TV appearances (Great British Menu), multiple Michelin stars, regional leadership, and now a London launch. How has your view of your "brand" as a chef-owner evolved, and how do you decide whether a new project like Solaya is aligned with your long-term vision rather than just opportunistic?
Over time, my "brand" as a chef-owner has shifted from proving technical skill and chasing accolades to creating a consistent dining experience that reflects my culinary philosophy.
Doing TV programmes such as James Martin and Great British Menu, as well as two successful restaurants achieving Michelin stars, has 100% strengthened my brand as a chef.
When considering a new project like Solaya, I focus on alignment with that vision: can I express my cooking fully? am I the right person for Solaya? as it is important that I can maintain the quality and creativity my name represents, and build something sustainable.
If it strengthens the identity I’ve developed rather than just chasing an opportunity, it’s worth pursuing.
You referenced how fine dining historically had "a poor track record in Newcastle", and you needed to adapt. Conversely, London diners have a very different expectation and palate. How did you adapt your offer to meet those differing markets? Did you find yourself changing what you wanted to cook because of market demands?
Absolutely, the two cities demanded very different approaches. In Newcastle, before I opened House of Tides, fine dining had historically struggled, so I knew I had to make the experience more approachable without compromising on quality. That meant focusing on dishes that were bold in flavour but comforting and familiar enough to resonate with the local clientele. I also paid close attention to price points and portion sizes. People in Newcastle were looking for value as much as they were looking for excellence.
London, on the other hand, is a completely different environment, and diners are more diverse. That said, I never felt that market demands completely changed what we wanted to cook; rather, they influenced how I presented it.
The core philosophy remains the same across all sites, focusing on seasonal ingredients, layering flavours, and elevating the dining experience always remained the same. It was more about adapting the context, the storytelling, and sometimes the level of refinement, rather than changing my culinary identity.
Solaya’s setting clearly plays a major part in the guest experience. How much does the architecture, view and interior design influence your menu decisions?
At Solaya, the setting isn’t just a backdrop; it’s an integral part of the dining experience. The architecture of the building, the 360-degree panoramic views of London, and the interior design all set a tone that influences the dining experience for our guests. That ambience directly informs our menu decisions; we consider not only the flavours and presentation of each dish, but also how it complements the surroundings. Essentially, the menu and the setting work together to create a cohesive dining experience for our guests.
With your track record, how do you view accolades, stars, and press versus the day-to-day running of a business? Are you chasing the "next level" or is your focus more on building sustainable, excellent restaurants that can thrive long-term?
I see accolades, stars and press as an important part of all our restaurants; they’re recognition that people notice the care and quality we put into our work and the standards that we set and deliver to our paying guests.
My real focus is on the day-to-day running of restaurants: making sure every guest has a consistently excellent experience, nurturing teams, and creating a product that allows the restaurants to thrive sustainably.
For me, it’s less about chasing the next level of fame; I’m more about building foundations that ensure longevity. If the quality and consistency are there, recognition often follows naturally. My measure of success is knowing that the restaurants can continue to operate at a high standard, regardless of trends or temporary attention.
For Solaya, launching in London, with a high-profile site, elevated view, media attention – what have been the biggest surprises or the biggest challenges you did not anticipate? And conversely, which decisions have already proved the smartest now you’re up and running in London?
The biggest surprise has been the level of attention, both from the media and the public.
Launching on such a high-profile site with an elevated view has been thrilling and very exciting, but it also means every detail has to be perfect, which brings extra pressure and expectation. On the positive side, the enthusiasm from Londoners has been amazing, and it’s pushed us to make the experience even better than we imagined.
At this stage in your career, you obviously still love cooking, but you also have to think about restaurants as brands, as businesses, as creative platforms. Looking ahead five to 10 years, how do you envision your role evolving?
At this stage, I’m really passionate about the craft of cooking, but I also recognise that restaurants are much more than just kitchens; they’re brands, businesses, and platforms for creative expression. Over the next five to 10 years, I see myself evolving to balance both aspects. I want to continue innovating in the kitchen, developing new techniques and dishes, while continuing to help shape the overall vision of the business as a whole. I see myself continuing to mentor teams, training the next generation of chefs and possibly one day having a restaurant within the best football club in Europe, Newcastle United lol.
