Robert Earl, the man behind Planet Hollywood, has teamed up with casino company London Clubs International to launch Fifty, a £5m, four-storey private members
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Artist's impression of the Salvatore bar
at Fifty casino
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club and casino in the capital's St James's.
US chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and legendary bar manager Salvatore Calabrese have both been poached - Vongerichten from his businesses in America and Calabrese from London's Lanesborough hotel - to run the food and drink operations.
Fifty, which opens in December, will feature two restaurants, a bar, a nightclub and a casino with 15 tables. Vongerichten will run two restaurants at Fifty, one on the ground floor featuring Asian dishes from his Spice Market, 66 and Vong restaurants, and another fine-dining restaurant on the top floor specialising in fish and meat dishes from around the world.
Calabrese will open the Salvatore bar on the ground floor, with the aim of turning it into a destination cocktail bar.
Earl and London Clubs International have also teamed up with Marc Merran, the man behind celebrity hangouts Chinawhite and Aura, to open Fifty Below, a lounge and nightclub in the basement.
Membership for the club will cost £750 a year, and is by application only.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 2 September 2004