The new venture will be called Le Restaurant de PAUL and will launch on the site that used to hold the PAUL bakery and salon de thé on Covent Garden’s Bedford Street on 15 July.
The restaurant will have 65 covers and be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. The original bakery will still be available, situated in the entrance to the venue and closing at 9pm daily.
Le Restaurant de PAUL has been designed by Lille-based company Panétude, which has tried to retain many of the original features of the site, including wooden ceilings, wainscoting and parquet flooring. The restaurant design intends to create the atmosphere of an ‘intimate yet stylish’ French dining establishment, and features industrial style lamps and chandeliers and distressed chairs, bench and bar stool seating.
All day dining
The dinner menu for the new restaurant will include a number of classic French dishes such as Coq au Vin served with buttery mash, Entrecôte á la Bordelaise, a sirloin steak served with French fries and Béarnaise or Bordelaise sauce, and Confit de Canard aux Olives, which is slow cooked duck leg with crushed potatoes, black olive and red wine sauce.
There will also be a range of new breakfast and brunch options on offer such as Les Criques de Gramat: potato cakes with ham and Emmental cheese served with Provençale tomatoes and topped with a free-range fried egg, Brioche Perdue, which is French toast with crème anglaise, and Oeufs á la Coque, better known as boiled eggs and dipping soldiers.
The average spend has been predicted at £18 per head and the venue will also have the PAUL range of breads available alongside patisserie, salads and sandwiches. The wine list focuses on French wines from smaller winemakers.
Chairman of the PAUL Group Maxime Holder said: “This is a very exciting time for PAUL. PAUL has a strong brand identity based on fifth generation core family principles and the new restaurant will embody this spirit. Le Restaurant de Paul will offer a great value and genuine French dining experience.”