Gordon Ramsay Restaurants is set to take over legendary Mayfair restaurant Le Gavroche as Union Street Cafe – one of the group’s associated companies – acquired the license to the site this week.
Westminster City Council shared the news about the license on its website, revealing that the restaurant has secured a 15-year lease on what was formerly the Roux family's legendary French restaurant on 43 Upper Brook Street.
It's since been confirmed that Restaurant Gordon Ramsay chef patron Matt Abe will lead the kitchen team, stepping away from his role running the three Michelin-starred restaurant to take on the new position.
Ramsay himself once worked at Le Gavroche under the late Albert Roux, so the acquisition feels like a full circle moment for the chef. He said: 'Le Gavroche holds some incredible memories from my early career. When I heard the property was going to be available, it felt like the right moment to support Matt and come full circle with a restaurant that I loved so much.
'It has been incredible watching Matt grow throughout the 18 years we have worked together. He is such a talent and now is absolutely the right time for him to take this next step in his career.'
The supervisor for the premises is said to be Le Gavroche alumnus Silvano Giraldin, who managed front of house at the restaurant for over 30 years.
It's already been a busy year for Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, who have just launched a flurry of new openings at 22 Bishopsgate in the City of London, including Lucky Cat at 22 Bishopsgate, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High on the 60th floor, and a soon-to-open Bread Street Kitchen site. If everything goes ahead, this will be the first time the group has opened a standalone restaurant since it re-launched Petrus in 2010, so we’re all ears as to what it has planned for the site.
Le Gavroche closed in January 2024 after 56 years of trading, with chef patron Michel Roux Jr explaining he wanted to step away from the pressures of running a Michelin-starred restaurant to ‘focus on [his] family and other business ventures.’ The famous spot originally opened in 1967 by Albert and Michel Roux Sr, before moving to this location on Upper Brook Street in 1981. Albert Roux’s son Michel Roux Jr took on the reins in 1991, upholding its legacy until it sadly closed last year.
Still, great things potentially await for the site, and we’ll update this page with details as soon as they’re released.
In other news, the UK's first ever vegan Michelin-starred restaurant was announced this week at the Michelin Guide Awards 2025.