David Thompson pulls out of Chinatown restaurant
Last year, it was revealed that the globally-renowned Thai food expert had taken a unit within the central London enclave’s Horse & Dolphin Yard development.
Slated to open this year, the London Long Chim would have joined sites in Sydney, Perth and Dubai and would have been a homecoming of sorts for Thompson, who closed his Michelin-starred Nahm restaurant at The Halkin, London hotel in 2012 to concentrate on its sister restaurant in Bangkok (also now closed).
Owned by Chinatown’s principle landlord Shaftesbury Capital, the site features a circa 2,800 sq ft basement level with a small ground floor mezzanine.
It also has a pagoda with extensive outdoor courtyard seating leading to Horse & Dolphin Yard’s entrance on Macclesfield Street.
A Shaftesbury Capital spokesperson confirmed that there had been ‘discussions’ between Shaftesbury Capital, Thompson and TGP International but that Long Chim’s plans to launch the site ‘have been paused’.
“The Horse & Dolphin Yard unit remains a key location in Chinatown London, and we are in discussions with several interested parties, as we look to bring this space to life in the near future,” the spokesperson continued.
