Overall ranking: 87 (66)
Restaurant ranking: 25 (21)
Chris Corbin and Jeremy King - Snapshot
Chris Corbin and Jeremy King have been the driving force behind some of London’s best-loved restaurants for more than 20 years. They propelled the historic Le Caprice, The Ivy and J Sheekey restaurants back into the limelight and their most recent venture, the Wolseley in Piccadilly, was an instant hit.
Chris Corbin and Jeremy King - Career guide
Chris Corbin first came to prominence as manager of the French-influenced Langan’s Brasserie in London, while Jeremy King was maitre d’hôtel at the American-style Joe Allen restaurant.
They attained legendary status with Caprice Holdings, which bought Le Caprice in 1981, The Ivy in 1990 and seafood restaurant J Sheekey in 1997, before selling in 1998.
Corbin and King stayed on as directors of Caprice Holdings until 2002. The following year their new company, CLK Restaurants, opened the Wolseley in September with Chris Galvin as executive chef.
Chris Corbin and Jeremy King - What we think
Chris Corbin and Jeremy King are regarded as the Batman and Robin of dining and, despite their determinedly low profile, they practically created the celebrity-haunt diner. With Caprice Holdings, they took three restaurants that had fallen on hard times since being set up between 1896 and 1945 and made them the epitome of discreet, sophisticated elegance.
Le Caprice inspired scores of London restaurants with its combined French and American influences. At the time, King told Michael Gottlieb, president of the Restaurant Association: “We don’t want to expand. We want to create immortality with what we have.”
Yet it was their next buy, The Ivy, that was to prove the pinnacle of the Caprice empire. Readers of Harden’s London Restaurant Guide voted it their favourite restaurant for nine consecutive years from 1997, when it toppled Le Caprice from the top slot.
The dynamic duo were praised as “complete” and “hands-on” restaurateurs with an almost nit-picking attention to detail when they won the Catey for Independent Restaurateur of the Year award in 1993.
With the Wolseley the pair aimed to create an all-day café-brasserie in the grand European style that will serve snacks as well as three-course meals.
The Wolseley has won a number of accolades since it opened, including Restaurant of the Year from Harpers and Moet and London Restaurant of the Year from Time Out and the AA.
Harden’s readers voted it their eighth favourite restaurant in 2004 (the highest entry point for a newcomer) and it has since risen to third and then fourth position in the 2006 and 2007 editions.
The Wolseley first moved into profit in the year to 31 March 2005 when it turned a near £1m loss into a £208,000 profit on a turnover of £7.7m.
Corbin and King may also be readying themselves to make their mark in a new sector, making no secret of the fact they are keen to own a small London hotel.
In the meantime, they are planning to open a second restaurant just a stone’s throw away from the Wolseley in Rex House, a mixed-use building on the corner of Regent Street.
The 100-seat modern European restaurant is tentatively earmarked for a late autumn opening.
Chris Corbin and Jeremy King – Further information
The Wolseley official website
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