D&D London's Old Bengal Warehouse to open in September
Work has been taking place over the past year to convert the former Old Bengal Warehouse, built between 1768 and 1771 by the East India Company to house spices, tea and port, into a modern dining and drinking venue.
D&D London's Old Bengal Warehouse had initially been slated to open this spring, but will now open in the autumn along with its first hotel, to allow work to be completed.
The main restaurant - New Street Grill - will be a modern British grill. A showcase for British produce, it will serve steaks alongside meat and fish dishes, international wines and will feature art work from the nearby Hoxton Art Gallery on the walls.
Alongside the grill will be a fish restaurant, called Fish Market (pictured) - a relaxed venue serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu will feature classic English dishes such as cockles and whelks with a daily changing ‘fish of the day’ while the seafood bar will offer a selection of platters served alongside an English wine list.
The Grade II Listed Old Bengal Warehouse will also include the Old Bengal Bar, a cocktail bar overseen by mixologist Milos Popovic, and the New Street Wine Shop where customers can buy wines to enjoy at home.
D&D London managing director David Loewi said:“The Old Bengal Warehouse will be a beautiful venue, but mostly it will be about food and wine. Our hope is to create places that the founders of the East India Company themselves would have enjoyed frequenting.”
Custom House stake sale
As D&D pushes forward with its expansion plans in the capital, it has taken a step back from one of its international businesses.
Earlier this week, it announced it was selling a 50 per cent stake in Danish restaurant Custom House to local investors while remaining a 'supportive investor'.
Des Gunewardena chairman and CEO of D&D London said: “We are very proud to have opened and established our restaurants at Custom House. Bacino, Bar and Grill and our events spaces at Custom House have become firmly part of the Copenhagen scene.
"Going forward however we feel that the restaurants will benefit from the involvement of local partners in the business and that is why we have sold a stake in the company.”
