Gordon Ramsay's Maze to close and relaunch as Lucky Cat [Updated]
It marks the end of 14 years in business for Maze, which opened at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square in 2005 with Jason Atherton overseeing the kitchen.
Atherton left in 2010 and the restaurant’s prestige has since waned, with the site losing its Michelin star in 2015 after nine years.
Now it is closing 2 February and will reopen later this year as Lucky Cat, which is described as an “authentic Asian Eating House and late-night lounge, inspired by the drinking dens of 1930’s Tokyo”.
Current Maze executive chef Ben Orpwood will lead the kitchen and create the menu, building on his experience overseeing Mayfair’s Sexy Fish and six years cooking at high-end Knightsbridge Japanese restaurant Zuma.
The menu is designed for sharing, with small plates cooked on a robata grill. Dishes will include seared otoro with house soy, wakame oil and baby kale; and Orkney scallop, yuzu and sweetcorn hot sauce, wasabi leaf and finger lime.
Lucky Cat will also offer a take on Chawanmushi, a savoury custard steamed and finished with flavours such as truffle, mushrooms and caviar.
“Lucky Cat has been a long-time vision for me and I can’t wait to bring it to life,” says Ramsay.
“I’ve toured and worked in much of Asia over the years and the culture, the flavours and the incredible cooking never fail to inspire me. We’ve got a great team on the project and we’re ready to bring something really special to London this summer.”
Lucky Cat will be Ramsay's first major London launch since the opening of Heddon Street Kitchen in 2014. More recently the chef's restaurant empire has focused abroad with openings in locations such as Hong Kong and Las Vegas.
Maze’s closure was announced in the accounts for its parent company Kavalake Ltd, now renamed Gordon Ramsay Restaurants Ltd, last year. The group, which operates sites including London’s Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and Petrus, revealed a pre-tax loss of £3.8m for the 12 months to 31 August 2017.
Ramsay has signed a 10-year lease for the Lucky Cat site, which is also home to sister restaurant Maze Grill.
The chef holds a total of seven Michelin stars across 38 restaurants worldwide.
