Clare Smyth reveals more details on Notting Hill venue, on site of former Leith’s
Smyth, whose hunt for a property in the west London borough was first reported in May, has now confirmed that a 3,921 sq ft location has been secured at 92 Kensington Park Road, with the lease signed for 15 years.
The plans had been hit by planning delays in the latter part of 2016, but are now definitively confirmed, with the venture expected to open late spring/summer 2017 after a full remodelling of the space.
Smyth has set up a new company, CS Hospitality, to manage the project.
Owned by the Amazon Property group, the currently-mixed use Victorian site was first built in 1861. It was previously the location for prestigious restaurant Leith’s, which was opened by chef Prue Leith in 1969 and went on to win a Michelin star before closing in 1995, and becoming a local brasserie.
The agents Restaurant Property and CBRE worked on the deal.
Of the new site negotiations, Smyth said: “It was pretty fraught at times in 2016, but I’m thrilled to have exchanged on this particular site. It was my first choice and I just love the history of the building.”
Smyth, who left Restaurant Gordon Ramsay to pursue her own venture in April 2016 (still remaining as consultant), first joined the Gordon Ramsay Group in 2002. Before she left, she had worked her way up to chef patron at the flagship site on Hospital Road, retaining the restaurant’s three Michelin stars throughout – the first female chef in England to do so.
Her experience also includes time at Alain Ducasse’s Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo.
