Atherton, who rose to prominence launching Gordon Ramsay’s Maze restaurant (also located on Grosvenor Square) in 2005, will manage four sites within The Biltmore: The Betterment restaurant, The Terrace, The Tea Lounge and The Pine Bar.
The announcement comes days after it was confirmed that Atherton had closed his Social Wine and Tapas restaurant in London’s Marylebone, and a month after he rebranded his Mayfair bistro Little Social as No.5 Social.
Paul Walsh, who launched and led Atherton’s City Social for five years and helped the restaurant win a Michelin star within seven months of its opening, will run The Biltmore’s Betterment kitchen.
Featuring a ‘seasonally-driven menu’ and a ‘dramatic and rustic’ open grill, the restaurant will serve a selection of wood-fired fish and meats, fresh seafood and plant-based dishes.
Speaking of his new appointment, Atherton says it was an opportunity he couldn’t let pass.
“To be returning to Mayfair’s Grosvenor Square after nine years is very special to me,” he says.
“We chose the name The Betterment to encapsulate [me and my wife’s] journey from opening Pollen Street Social in 2011 to today, highlighting the progression of our food, ethos and way of thinking.”
Atherton, who founded The Social Company in 2011 with his wife Irha, currently owns six London restaurants including Berners Tavern, Hai Cenato and the Michelin-starred City Social.
Later this month Ramsay will launch “authentic Asian eating house” Lucky Cat in the space previously occupied by Maze, which is directly opposite his former protégé’s new residence.