Head to Fortnum & Mason for your St. John's fix while the Smithfield branch gets a facelift

In February, the original location of the iconic British restaurant St. John will undergo renovation, but worry not – the restaurant will be popping up at another London icon while works are underway.

The original Smithfield branch of St. John, one of the most celebrated dining establishments in London and further afield, will be closing down temporarily in February in order to do some work on the kitchen. The restaurant team will be keeping busy in the meantime, however, as they'll be decamping to famed department store Fortnum & Mason for several weeks, taking over the ground-floor restaurant there.

This won't be just any ordinary kitchen residency or guest pop-up, however. St. John have been given free rein to transform the interior of the Fortnum & Mason restaurant into their home away from home, including a paint job and the original tables and chairs brought over. Even the classic white slipcovers will be making the move – as well as the classic British cuisine that put St. John on the map of gourmands all over the world, of course.

St. John x Fortnum & Mason will be open from 6 to 22 February, serving breakfast and lunch from Tuesday to Sunday, along with dinner on Thursdays and Fridays. This one's likely to be a big hit, so best get booking here.