It was the end of one era and the beginning of another at the Savoy Grill last Saturday, when the restaurant closed its doors to undergo a major refurbishment - both back and front of house - before it opens again in April under the direction of Pétrus's Marcus Wareing as consultant chef.
While the restaurant's 100-seat interior will be modernised - American designer Barbara Barry has opted for black-and-white theming - links with the past will live on. The famous lamb trolley and maître d' Angelo Maresca, who has worked at the Grill Room for 20 years, will remain.
Wareing will also operate a chef's table, where guests can dine in the Grill's kitchen. The head chef has yet to be confirmed, although Wareing will initially split his time between the Savoy Grill and Pétrus.
The Savoy Grill was established in 1889 and was last refurbished in 1974. It was relocated within the hotel in 1904.
* Wareing is to move his one-Michelin-starred Pétrus restaurant from St James's to the Berkeley hotel this summer, where it will occupy the former site of Pierre Koffmann's La Tante Claire. The present site of Pétrus is to be converted into an upmarket brasserie.
By Joanna Wood