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One of London’s best British chefs, Ollie Dabbous, will make his return to the restaurant industry in the spring of next year. He closed his celebrated eponymous site in Fitzrovia in July this year, after six years of trading. His company also closed its sister restaurant Barnyard on Charlotte Street in January.
MCA, via its sister site Big Hospitality, report that Dabbous, with his mixologist business partner Oskar Kinberg, have partnered with Hedonism Wines and will open at 85 Piccadilly — a vast, three story 250-seater site — overlooking Green Park, in central London’s Mayfair, thought to be in the spring of next year.
The refurbishment of the site — which has been on the market for approximately two years — is being overseen by structural engineers, Heyne Tillett Steel. On the project page for 85 Piccadilly they confirm the client is Hedonism Wines and that the site will be a new fine dining restaurant. “The project involves the refurbishment of three stories of a 1960’s RC framed building to create a new fine dining restaurant,” it states.
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Eater London understands from sources in the industry that the site had been on the market with an astronomical lease premium of £9m, making it an impossible project for the overwhelming majority of operators. The landlord is Evgeny Chichvarkin, who is also a company director of Hedonism Wines.
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Dabbous would not deny the report by MCA when contacted by Eater London, despite saying that this story “did not come from me.” However, he said he would be ready to share more details about his project in the new year, following a sustained period of dish development.
Check back for more details when they’re announced.