About SCOTT HALLSWORTH
Japanese and pan-Asian restaurant chef and consultant
Ex-Nobu London Head Chef Scott Hallsworth launched The Freak Scene as a pop-up in Farringdon in July 2017, after cutting ties with Kurobuta; the ‘rock and roll izayaka’ group he founded in London in 2014.
The Freak Scene's first permanent location opened in March 2018, taking on the former Barrafina site on Frith Street. The Freak Scene 3.0 launched in March 2023 at 28 Parsons Green Lane, Fulham, London, SW6 4HS
Tuna Sashimi Pizza, a Scott Hallsworth classic
Scott Hallsworth serves 'insanely delicious delicacies' (Jay Rayner, The Observer). Food that is both incredibly inventive yet comfortingly familiar – signature dishes include Barbequed Pork Belly, with a Spicy Peanut Soy Sauce, Tea Smoked Lamb, and Kombu, Roasted Chilean seabass – food full of flavour, achievable to create at home and guaranteed to wow friends, family and hungry gatecrashers.
Testimonials
What the Critics say
Reviews of Scott Hallsworth's food from a selection of well-known critics and publications.
"
So here he is.... cooking his arse off and doing bloody well with it, while his former restaurants go to crap in someone else's hands.
So a quick Google search and, hang on, that's Scott Hallsworth? The Aussie-born genius behind Kurobuta? What's he doing here? Google said he'd sold up and opened this. "I wondered why Kurobuta had gone to shit," said JD. "I ate there a few months back: absolute rubbish."
Giles Coren - The Times
19th May, 2018
"
Like the grunge sound this joint is named after, Freak Scene is rough and ready, but absolutely rocks.
Not only can Scott Hallsworth, former head chef at Nobu and founder of the Kurobuta izakaya chain, stand the heat, he also cannot stay out of the kitchen – even if that means cooking on a camping stove. The Aussie with a funky Asian attitude to food might have cooked for the likes of the Beckhams, Michael Jackson and Roman Abramovich, but he started his latest restaurant Freakscene (named after the Dinosaur Jr song) as a hot and humble pop-up in Farringdon using portable gas cookers. It now has a permanent site in Soho playing his greatest hits on a robata grill and the results are outstanding feel-good (or should that be feed-good?) grazing plates that will have you coming back for more.
GQ
8th August, 2018
"
Packed with delicious hits of imaginative pan-Asian fusion.
As my girlfriend and I walked through town in anxious silence, I kept picturing our arrival: the sexy music stopping with a scratch, the edgy punters looking at us with arch amusement, the murmuring maître d’ apologising that we were simply not — how should he put this? — freak-ay enough for such a joint, but that he could recommend Zizzi or, alternatively, ‘going home’. This is what will happen, I thought, clenching my girlfriend’s hand too tightly. This is definitely what will happen.
This is not what happened. We arrived and took our seats at the bar and ordered two beers. Freak Scene is, more or less, a bar. You sit on one side and drink, and on the other side some incredibly friendly and talented people prepare you delicious hits of imaginative pan-Asian fusion.
Ben Machell
3rd May, 2018
"
Looking for somewhere to kick off your night? Enter: Freak Scene, ex-Nobu head chef Scott Hallsworth's playful, pan-Asian restaurant
We're not saying every meal should start with a round (or two) of shots, but at Freak Scene you shouldn't be surprised if that's the way your night goes if chef-owner Scott Hallsworth.... gets involved. With a rocking soundtrack and Japanese game show Takeshi's Castle on loop above the open kitchen, this Frith Street spot is a riot of colour with an experimental, grazing-style menu that riffs off modern pan-Asian flavours.
Jordan Kelly-Linden
5th September, 2018
Restaurant Consultancy by Scott Hallsworth
ACCRA - GHANA
SANTOKU
Santoku - Japanese - Accra Ghana - menu creation, implementation of staff training, 6 months of follow-up training and menu revisions
LONDON, ENGLAND
BOX NOODLE
Box Noodle London - fast casual noodle takeaway - London - devised a grab and go Pan-Asian noodle offering and included beverage - backed by an award-winning large student housing accommodation provider called Scape
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA
PAN JAN
Pan Jan Restaurant in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - revision of existing menu and implementation of new dishes, training of chefs
Cape Town, South Africa
Umi Restaurant
Umi Restaurant Cape Town Japanese - creation of new menu concept, making use of local ingredients, training local chefs and floor staff included post-launch revision
Zurich, Switzerland
Boreal Coffee
Boreal Coffee Zurich - devised Aussie-style cafe menu to a high spec. dishes that were easily replicated without requiring skilled labour
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Brothers
Saudi brothers - Jeddah - various projects, one was Sushi Yoshi - revised menu and implemented new dishes over a long period of time, devised menu for inaugural and subsequent Formula 1 races in the Marina
Manama, Bahrain
Mirai Restaurant
Mirai Restaurant Bahrain - revised menu and implemented new dishes over a number of years
London, England
Harrods
Harrods - the sushi bar - over the course of a year, revised and implemented new dishes and tasting menu
London, England
Inca, London
Inca in London - South American - full revision of all menus, from main menu to pastry to events menus
London, England
Double Dragon
Double Dragon pop-up (Japanese) - consultant chef - London
Nairobi, Kenya
Me-So
Me-So - Nairobi, Kenya - new Japanese concept, devised entire menu and full training of brand-new kitchen team
Bodrum, Turkey
Kurochan
Kurochan via Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group - devised and ran the Kurochan Japanese restaurant for successive summers