Corbin and King to open all-day restaurant in Sloane Square

Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, the team behind the Wolseley, are to open an all-day grand café on the site formerly occupied by the Oriel restaurant on Sloane Square, London.

A lease has been agreed between Corbin and King's company, Rex Restaurant Associates, and the owners of the property, the Cadogan Estate - the largest landowner in Chelsea - to develop a 6,000sq ft restaurant which will open prior to the London 2012 Olympics.

Rex Restaurants is currently in the middle of a major expansion programme, with the opening in the next few weeks of its second restaurant, the Delaunay, on the corner of Drury Lane and the Aldwych. The Delaunay will be a 150-seat all-day café-restaurant similar to the Wolseley, with the addition of a take-away service.

As well as launching the restaurant on the Oriel site, the group will also be opening Brasserie Zedel next summer. Located on the site formerly occupied by the Regent Palace hotel on Sherwood Street, the brasserie will feature the restored art deco interiors originally created by stage designer Oliver Bernard in the 1930s. Interior design of Brasserie Zedel (and the Delaunay) is to be by David Collins. There will be a brasserie/café, cocktail bar and jazz bar with the all-day service offering everything from coffees and simply snacks to full meals.

And in 2014, Corbin and King will take their first steps into hotelkeeping with the opening of a luxury property overlooking Brown Hart Gardens in Mayfair. Originally built as a garage in 1926, the as yet-to-be-named hotel will feature 73 bedrooms, a restaurant, lobby bar and small spa. Artist Antony Gormley is to create a piece of public art in the form of an inhabitable sculpture to be used as a guest room.

Lord Cadogan said the new venture from Rex Restaurants on Sloane Square would be of benefit to the whole area, while Hugh Seaborn, chief executive of the Cadogan Estate said the response to the iconic site had been overwhelming.

"It proved to be a very difficult job in deciding on our preferred partner as the calibre of interested parties was outstanding," Seaborn said. "In keeping with our long-term stewardship of the estate, we have taken great care to select a partner who will complement Sloane Square and the surrounding area.

Davis Coffer Lyons acted on behalf of Cadogan.

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By Janet Harmer

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