Pip Lacey (pictured above with with business partner Gordy McIntyre) is to open a spinoff from her debut restaurant Hicce in an Islington pub. The Hicce Hart launches next month in premises formerly occupied by Day & Night on the Penton Street corner of Chapel Market.

Lacey, who trained under Angela Hartnett and became head chef at Murano, opened Hicce with Gordy at Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross four years ago. More recently she has led the kitchen at Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm restaurant in the Cotswolds, which was closed down earlier this month after a long-running battle with the local council.

The Hicce Hart will serve sustainably sourced British food, “true to the traditions of classic British pub grub”. Charlotte Harris will be head chef, returning to Hicce after a stint at Fallow, and there will be a changing list of wines from small-scale producers and beer from Haringey’s Goodness Brewery, including a special Hicce IPA.

Pip said of the new project: “I’m so excited for us to open our second place. And to do it with existing ambitious members of the Hicce family, is the dream come true. I can’t wait for them to flourish and see the Hicce Hart become the heart and soul of the local community.”

Gordy, who spent several years with the Metropolitan Pub Company, added: “I personally have a massive love for the pub world; its culture, history, its standing within the community. Having spent so much of my working life in and around pubs I owe them for a vast majority of the people I hold dear. The pub is one of the few real levellers in life: it showcases the beauty of multicultural London at its finest. To have the privilege to become custodians of such a historical site is a real honour.”