The Lanesborough hotel on Hyde Park corner has reopened today following a full refurbishment, which means there’s also a new restaurant, Céleste, on the horizon. The hotel is now taking reservations for 15 July onwards, which is also the day on which the Regency-style dining room will serve its first customers.
Before closing for refurbishment in late 2013, the hotel’s restaurant was German chef Heinz Beck’s domain: Apsley’s gained a Michelin star for its Italian menu in 2010 (Beck also famously earned Rome’s La Pergola restaurant three Michelin stars in 2005), with Square Meal readers dubbing it both ‘wonderful in every respect’ and ‘mediocre’ in the year leading up to its closure. Now called Céleste, the restaurant’s executive chef is Florian Favario, a protégé of Eric Frechon (pictured above left with Favario). Another Michelin veteran, Frechon led Parisian restaurant Epicure at Le Bristol hotel to three Michelin stars: Céleste has some tasty pedigree. Details on Favario’s menu are currently scarce, but expect international influences with a focus on British ingredients.
The restaurant’s styling (above) has been returned to its Regency roots by design studio Alberto Pinto, which has been responsible for overhauling the entire hotel. The domed glass roof remains, while the room will be decorated with bas-relief friezes and chandeliers. Céleste will also have a private dining room seating up to 14 and two wine-tasting rooms.
If wine-tasting rooms sound up your street, you’ll be pleased to hear that The Library Bar (above) has been refurbished too. Lined with bookcases and leather-bound volumes, the bar still majors in luxurious, sink-in sumptuousness. Expect Champagne from Reims and Épernay, Martinis, crustas, cups and blazers, plus a range of Cognacs (dating back to the 1770s), orts, eaux de vie and malt whiskies. Those gasping for a hand-rolled Cuban can go alfresco in the Garden Room – think Cohiba cigars at extravagant prices.
Initially a hospital, the building first opened as The Lanesborough in 1991. During its closure, the hotel was bought by European hotel group Oetker Collection, who also own Le Bistro in Paris. The Lanesborough’s refurbishment extends to all areas of the hotel; the 93 guest rooms, including 43 suites, and all public areas.
London’s hotel restaurants are on the up, with the likes of Fitzrovia’s Sanderson hotel and Chiltern Firehouse bringing in big-name chefs to shake up a previously overlooked scene. Don’t believe us? Allow us to change your mind with our pick of London’s best hotel bars and restaurants right now.
This article was published 1 July 2015