In London RAFFLES OWO, the 120-room hotel that has painstakingly been converted from the UK’s Old War Office – hence the OWO name – will, as has been widely reported, have three Mauro Colagreco restaurants. Now it has been revealed there will also be a Café Lapérouse, a branch of the one that Benjamin Patou’s Moma Group opened at HOTEL DE LA MARINE on Place de la Concorde in 2021 (the name, however, can be traced back to 1766). The London restaurant will be in a glass pavilion in the central courtyard at OWO. It’ll have space for 80 diners. Mark Hastings, with a pedigree of Jason Atherton and Mandarin Oriental London Hyde Park, is hotel F&B.
Also in London, CLARIDGE’S – new Culinary Director Dmitri Magi, from Estonia -adds an ArtSpace Café, ground level, street entrance, interior minimalism with ash, Carrara marble and designer John Pawson’s own black and white photos. Art pads and Claridge’s chevron pencils inspire creativity while elegantly nibbling, say, croque madame, homemade sourdough, oozing mozzarella, Dorrington ham, and cheddar-mascarpone-mozzarella béchamel, topped with a royal-warrant Clarence Court egg. ArtSpace’s current changing exhibition, incidentally, includes Ron Arad, presented by Ben Brown Fine Arts.
Finally, let’s listen to the newest podcast:
