Ottolenghi takes flagship Soho site
The group behind Ottolenghi, the upmarket vegetarian deli shop-meets-café concept, has acquired the Club Bar & Dining venue in London’s Soho from Simon Jordan, the former owner of Crystal Palace Football Club.
The group, founded by Yotam Ottolenghi, is believed to have acquired the leasehold of the Warwick Street site for about £500k through property agents Davis Coffer Lyons.
Plans for the venue are unclear but it is thought that the group may launch its first flagship full-service restaurant.
It currently has four London locations – Belgravia, Islington, Kensington and Islington. The sites trade as food shops with some communal seating, the biggest of which is Islington, which can seat about 50 diners.
Ottolenghi, who was born in Israel, trained as a chef at several London restaurants, including Capital and Kensington Place. He is also an established food writer, having published several best-selling books. His deli-restaurant operations are a joint venture with business partner Sami Tamimi, who he met while working at Baker & Spice. They launched their first deli in 2002.
Jordan, who sold his retail business The Pocket Phone Shop for £32m, launched Club Bar & Dining in 2006 with Brenhan Magee.
Mark Stretton is editor of BigHospitality's sister publication, M&C Report.
