After a painful exit from the hospitality group that for decades defined stylish eating out in London, Britain’s most fêted restaurateur returns to the fray with three new openings in 2024
He remembers a time in France in the 1980s, turning up on a Monday lunchtime at a restaurant a well-connected Parisian friend had recommended, south of Avignon. The place was closed. “We told them our friend’s name and they said, ‘Oh! You must come back tomorrow.’ And we said, ‘We can’t, we have to leave.’ And they said, ‘Well, join us then.’ This was their day off. This was their family meal. And we sat with them. And they produced pâtés and stuffed mussels.
By no means was it all Stephen Fry and Joan Collins and AA Gill. You didn’t have to be famous or powerful or especially rich to eat there. At lunch I often just had the chopped chicken salad, fries and a Diet Coke, and no one blinked an eye. In and out in 45 minutes. “The motto for me has always been: give people the opportunity to spend, don’t make it mandatory. The most interesting people in a restaurant at any given time are often the least affluent rather than the most.