Trivet
“Two Michelin stars, a real à la carte, neighbourhood warmth. Book it for a deal dinner without tasting menu hours.”
About Trivet
Jonny Lake spent a decade as head chef of The Fat Duck; Isa Bal ran its cellar as head sommelier. In 2019 they opened Trivet on Snowsfields in Bermondsey and did the unfashionable thing: a proper à la carte, no imposed sequence, no three hour contract. Michelin gave them a star within months of opening and a second in the 2024 Guide, both held into 2026, making Trivet the rare two star room where you order three courses like an adult and leave inside two and a half hours.
Hokkaido Potato is the calling card: a dessert of baked potato, sake and white chocolate that reads like a dare until it lands, priced at £21. Around it, starters average about £18 and mains about £34, with homemade French fries and onion ketchup at £8.50 sitting happily on a two star menu and a cheese course at £28. The cooking is precise without theatre, global in reference and grounded in technique that a decade at Bray drilled deep.
Bal's wine list is the other half of the argument, roaming Anatolia, Georgia and the classics with the confidence of a sommelier who has tasted everything twice. Lunch runs Wednesday to Saturday at roughly half the dinner spend from the same kitchen, and tables release on OpenTable without ceremony. Snowsfields sits five minutes from London Bridge station, which makes Trivet the easiest great restaurant in London to actually get to.
The Room
A corner site with big windows, a marble counter facing the open kitchen, and a floor that runs with neighbourhood ease rather than two star hush. Tables are well spaced, the counter suits solo diners and pairs, and the noise level stays human all evening. No dress code beyond looking like you meant to come; Bermondsey does not do starch.
Why book it, occasion by occasion
No restaurant is right for every evening. Here is the occasion work Trivet actually does.
For the deal that needs dinner, not an ordeal
Tasting menus hold your evening hostage; Trivet gives it back. Three courses of two star cooking, ordered to your own pace, means the conversation sets the timeline and the food punctuates it. The wine list can flex from an honest bottle to a statement Riesling without theatre. Book a wall table for the quiet, and let Bal's team pick the wine once terms feel close.
For a marker year that prefers warmth to pomp
Trivet celebrates without performing. The room is handsome rather than hushed, the cooking has wit, and the Hokkaido Potato arriving with two spoons is a better closing moment than any candle ceremony. Tell the team the occasion when booking; the floor is small enough to actually remember. A late lunch into the afternoon is the room at its most generous.
For the solo diner who orders properly
The counter faces the pass, the à la carte means you build the meal you actually want, and a sommelier of Bal's calibre pouring by the glass is wasted on nobody faster than a solo diner. Two courses, the fries, and whatever he suggests from Turkey makes one of London's great meals for one. Weeknight counter seats hold latest.
What to order
The à la carte changes with the seasons, but the architecture and the signatures hold. These are the calls.
- Hokkaido Potato
The signature dessert: baked potato, sake and white chocolate at £21. Order it even if you think you do not want it; it is the reason half the room booked.
- The fries with onion ketchup
£8.50 of two star technique spent on a chip. They arrive for the table and disappear first; get them regardless of what else you order.
- Whatever Isa Bal pours
The list runs deep into Anatolia and Georgia alongside the classics. Name your budget and hand the decision over; it is the best value on the page.
- Lunch over dinner for a first visit
Wednesday to Saturday, the same kitchen at roughly half the spend. The proof of the à la carte argument at its most persuasive price.
Practical
- Address
- 36 Snowsfields, Bermondsey, London SE1 3SU
- Reservations
- OpenTable, or direct via trivetrestaurant.co.uk
- Prices
- Starters about £18 · mains about £34
- Signature
- Hokkaido Potato dessert, £21
- Wine
- Isa Bal's list · strong by the glass
- Hours
- Lunch Wednesday to Saturday · dinner Tuesday to Saturday
- Dress
- None enforced; smart casual fits
- Tube
- London Bridge, 5 minutes
Questions diners ask
Is Trivet worth it?
Yes, and it is the easiest two star yes in London. The Fat Duck's former head chef and head sommelier run a true à la carte with starters about £18 and mains about £34, so a full meal lands near half the cost of the city's tasting counters. Both stars were retained in the 2026 Guide.
How hard is it to book Trivet?
Not very, by two star standards. Tables release on OpenTable and weeknights hold for days; Friday and Saturday dinner goes first. Lunch, Wednesday to Saturday, is the quiet route and the same kitchen. The counter takes pairs and solo diners with the least notice.
What should I order at Trivet?
Build around the signatures: the fries with onion ketchup at £8.50 to open, a main from the grill section, and the Hokkaido Potato at £21 to close. Then give the wine decision to Isa Bal's team with a budget; the Anatolian and Georgian bottles are the list's soul.
What does dinner at Trivet cost?
Three courses run £70 to £85 a head before drinks, with the cheese course at £28 if you stretch. Wine by the glass starts around £9 and the list rewards trust at every price. Plan £110 to £150 a head all in, roughly half the two star norm.