Fancy Mayfair Fish Restaurant Scott’s Takes Its Sole to the Thames in Richmond

Mayfair seafood institution and celebrity magnet Scott’s will open a second restaurant by the River Thames in RIchmond, according to founder Richard Caring. Caring publicly confirmed the news of a move west in the Times, with the opening at the former Revolution on Whittaker Road first mooted by Propel in May this year.

Caring said that this edition of Scott’s — most famous for its highly photogenic terrace and whole Dover sole dish — would borrow some of its vibe from Sexy Fish, his other seafood restaurant on Berkeley Square, also in Mayfair. Sexy Fish is in the sushi-wagyu-truffle-gold-leaf nouveau-glitz school, a little removed from Scott’s’s stately terrace and ceremonial fish service on Mount Street, which makes it a haven for the likes of Victoria Beckham, Adwoah Aboah, Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hanks, and Kate Moss. Those inclined to chart the dining habits of London’s celebrities would be advised to make it a regular haunt.

The movement of London restaurants out of the city centre and in to more residential neighbourhoods occasioned by COVID-19 is seemingly beginning in earnest. Spanish group Brindisa is also heading for Richmond, while Soho udon bar Koya is off to Broadway Market in Hackney. But it is perhaps surprising that Caring — a veteran of the glitzy rollout with the Ivy and its multitude of cafe spin-offs — has chosen possibly the most singular restaurant in his portfolio to double down on. Then again, oysters, sole, champagne and wine by the river isn’t exactly the hardest sell.

More soon.