Just yards from the Shard, Borough Market and London Bridge station stands a building that sums up why so many prized restauranteurs are making the move to SE1. St Thomas’s is a stunning, grade one listed church conversion with planning permission to turn it into a 6,500 square foot restaurant. So it’s not just that fierce competition and sky high rents make gaining a foothold in Mayfair and the West End such a difficult process. It’s also the fact that SE1 has so much to offer.
Clearly the Shard has proved a magnet for international dining establishments: with Rainer Becker’s Oblix and Aqua Shard occupying the 31st and 32nd floors, together with the Shangri-La’s Ting, Lang and Gong all high end eateries.
But that is only part of a bigger story.
Dean Gambles & Co, London’s leading specialist agency for restaurant property, are currently seeking premises for Michelin Star chef Robin Gill who is considering locations in SE1. Prior to this Dean Gambles agreed terms for chef Jun Tanaka now of the Ninth on a new Bermondsey Street restaurant, and their long term client Jason Atherton was a whisker away from signing a deal on a property they had sourced opposite Borough Market.
Currently, Dean Gambles have a 3,000 sq ft restaurant under offer for ex Vignate chef Leandro Carriera, and recently acquired a dramatic railway arch in Union Street for Macellaio, a block away from Gordon Ramsay’s Union Street Café.
Other noteworthy establishments that have made the move to SE1 include Tom Seller’s Story, Wright Brothers, Lobos, Rabot 1745, Brindisa, Arabica and Elliots.
SE1 is an area rich in contrast – and potential. Elegant Georgian churches jostle with Victorian railway arches, huge warehouse spaces with old coaching inns, all indicators of the area’s varied history. Wharves, factories, warehouses, homes – you can find them squeezed in between warehouse conversions, towering skyscrapers and gleaming, mixed use newbuilds.
St Thomas’s church, situated at the foot of the Shard, is special. Unique and elegant, it was brought to Dean Gambles’ attention prior to it gaining restaurant use. So when they were retained by Yenn Wong (JIA Group) and Alan Lo (Classified Group) to find a central London premises for Duddell’s, their 2 Michelin Star Hong Kong restaurant, due to lack of Mayfair restaurant supply Dean Gambles thought of the converted church as a viable, but somewhat wild card alternative.
Yenn and Alan have been the driving force behind the transformation of Hong Kong’s dining scene with establishments including Classified, The Pawn, The Fat Pig, 208 Duocento Otto, 22 Ships, and the Aberdeen Street Social.
Duddell’s, whose aim is to connect art, people and Cantonese cuisine was the perfect match, reflecting the restaurant’s values and gaining a flagship London site.
The deal is another example of Dean Gamble & Co’s ability to match the best restauranteurs in the world with London’s very best restaurant property. Their unrivalled market intelligence gives their clients access to truly impressive and unique properties.