Pollen St, located on the site of the Balck Lion and French Horn, will be the first restaurant operated by Livio Bisterzo’s Alvaro Group, which also develops high-end residential and commercial properties, and manufactures a men’s skincare grooming range.
The 60-cover restaurant, designed by BGW Design studio, will feature art deco inspired touches across its dining room, bar and eight-person private dining room.
Eugenio Rolfo, former manager of Harry’s Bar, will oversee the dining operation at Pollen St, while head chef Stefano Stecca from Brunello at the Baglioni Hotel will run the kitchen, serving ‘light and healthy’ dishes including classic risottos, veal Milanese and pastas, including homemade tagliatelle with black truffle and porcini mushrooms.
Jonathan Moradoff of Davis Coffer Lyons, who acted for the landlord in the letting of the site, said: “Leisure space in Mayfair is extremely hard to come by and we had many operators showing interest in this site. Livio is a well-known and influential figure on the London night life circuit and I’m confident he will transform what used to be a classic pub tucked away in a little pocket behind Hanover Square into a sophisticated and classy dining destination.”
Pollen St's April opening
Alvaro’s first restaurant is expected to open in late April, serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner to ‘a mixture of well-known Londoners combined with the international A-list’.
Maddox, run by Fred Moss and general manager George Calisto, also currently features an upstairs fine dining restaurant and bar in addition to the members-only club.