Harrison’s restaurant closes for extensive refurb

Over £100,000 is being spent on the refurb as owner Sam Harrison hopes to encourage repeat custom and to celebrate five years of trading at the 90-cover venue in South West London.

“We’re not reinventing ourselves as such, but you’ve got to give people reason to come back,” Harrison told BigHospitality. “Of course, the quality of the product and the service must remain the same, but customers will definitely know that they’re walking into something new.

“The fundamentals of what we aimed to achieve five years ago - to be a great restaurant and bar - will never change but we think we can build on this and create something even better.”

The restaurant is also introducing a new menu, devised by Harrison and recently appointed head chef Ian Leckie, who joined from Harrison’s sister restaurant, Sam’s Brasserie in Chiswick.

New design​

The new cocktail bar, called Downstairs at Harrison’s, will be designed in a speakeasy style, with space for 30 seated, featuring intimate booths and a specially designed bar running all the way along one wall. Both the restaurant and bar were designed by Design LSM.

Meanwhile the upstairs private dining area has been introduced to cater for private events, cocktail parties and wine tasting evenings, with diners having their own barman and waiter.

Harrison’s is co-owned by Sam Harrison , Rebecca Mascarenhas and Rick Stein. It is now closed and will reopen on 4 February 2013.

Despite Christmas trade at Harrison’s up 10 per cent year-on-year,​​Harrison admitted that 2013 will be a tough 12 months for trade, adding “it’s harder than ever to encourage people to get out there and spend money.

“There’s also more competition than there’s ever been but hopefully, if the product’s good, you’ve got a chance to stand out from the crowd - we’ve just got to work harder than we ever have to do that.”

Sam's Brasserie saw a flattening of year-on-year sales over the Christmas period.