London’s Savoy opens Kaspar’s Seafood Bar and Grill on Thursday 2 May – one of the most exciting restaurant launches in its 124 year old illustrious history.
Kaspar’s will offer an informal yet luxury dining experience, presented in an elegant Twenties-style setting, and the vibrant new design is designed to evoke The Savoy’s rich and glamorous past, whilst creating a sought after but relaxed dining environment, where Kaspar, The Savoy’s most famous four legged feline will reside.
Cuisine to satisfy all palates
Eager to adapt to the demands of the London food scene, Kaspar’s Seafood Bar and Grill will be an all-day dining, seven days a week restaurant serving a wide range of cuisine to satisfy all palates. A show stopping oyster bar will take centre stage, encouraging a dynamic and bustling atmosphere, seamlessly moving from a patisserie breakfast bar to lunch and dinner with a beautiful display of shellfish, cured and smoked fish to whet the appetite.
Kiaran MacDonald comments:
“Not only in its name does Kaspar’s keep alive the wonderful history that this four legged friend brought to the hotel almost 100 years ago, but as an informal, yet chic brasserie style restaurant it will also meet the demands of today’s regular diners.”
Head Chef: James Pare
Head chef, James Pare, has created a simple and approachable menu, divided into starters, selections from the cured and smoked fish bar, main courses, grill, salads and desserts.
Canadian born Pare has worked with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts for over 13 years. He began his career as chef de partie at Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Canada, and then progressed to chef at Fairmont Olympic in Seattle, before joining The Savoy where he has been for the last three years. Drawing on his passion for fishing stemmed from his childhood in Vancouver, Kaspar’s Seafood Bar and Grill will allow James to return to his first culinary love.
Art deco inspired
The restaurant is designed by Robert Angell Design Studio, using a Twenties and Thirties template in keeping with The Savoy’s history. The timeless, stylish and comfortable interior which will help to create a lively ambience and complement the new informal menu.
With stunning views across the River Thames, the fish bar will add an element of theatre to the room with its oyster shell bar, two Murano glass columns and bespoke pendant light feature. Brass railings, art deco mirrors and a silver leafed ceiling add elegance and light, and the marble bar flooring will be encircled by a teal swirl carpet, the latter representing the ebb and flow of the River Thames.
Kaspar and ‘unlucky thirteen’
As for Kaspar: the three foot high cat was sculpted in 1926 by Briton Basil Ionides to stave off bad luck, following the death of South African diamond magnate Woolf Joel in 1898. The story has it that Joel held a dinner at The Savoy for fourteen guests and one cancelled at the last minute. The dinner continued, but one superstitious guest announced that death would come to the first person to leave the unlucky table of thirteen. Joel took that gamble and a few weeks later he was shot dead in Johannesburg.
To avoid a repeat performance and damaging its reputation, The Savoy offered a member of staff to sit amongst tables of thirteen thereafter. Unable to discuss private matters or feel at ease, this proved to be unpopular with guests and thus, in a stroke of genius, Kaspar was born.
For almost 90 years The Savoy has been more than happy to oblige parties of thirteen with Kaspar’s company, whereby he joins in with napkin around the neck and a full place setting to ‘enjoy’ every course. Winston Churchill, who adored Kaspar, insisted that the cat join him with his The Other Club meetings, a political dining club Churchill founded in 1911, and to this date the hotel’s most famous four-legged resident has never missed a meeting.
Kaspar’s, The Savoy, Strand, London WC2R OEU