Jason Atherton launches first London theatre bar
The restaurateur has teamed up with the Victoria Palace Theatre – currently home to the musical Hamilton – to launch 20-cover Pavlova's.
The bar is named after the Russian ballerina whose statue stands on top of the building and will open all day for both theatre-goers and non-ticket holders, serving coffee and croissants in the morning and a lunch and dinner menu of paninis, charcuterie, cheeses and other snacks.
Its opening comes amid a period of change for Atherton’s Social Company restaurant group, which closed its Social Wine and Tapas restaurant in Marylebone earlier this month and rebranded his Mayfair bistro Little Social as No.5 Social in May.
The chef will also oversee the restaurants at the Biltmore hotel on Grosvenor Square, opposite his old rival Gordon Ramsay’s upcoming Lucky Cat restaurant, from this summer.
Pavlova’s drinks list has been created by Jay Doy, group bar manager at Social Company, with cocktails including The Dying Swan made with gin, elderflower, citrus, cucumber and herbs.
Sir Cameron Mackintosh, owner of The Victoria Palace Theatre, says: “When I restored and extended the Victoria Palace Theatre, I planned to open part of the building as a bar available to the general public, not just theatregoers.
“I wanted to partner with one of London's most brilliant restauranteurs - and to my mind Jason Atherton is top of the bill, so I was thrilled when Jason enthusiastically agreed to create Pavlova's.”
