Brooklyn Bite pizza chain to launch in Chelsea

A New York style pizza restaurant and cocktail lounge is set to launch in London's Chelsea next January as the first of a planned chain.

Brooklyn Bite will be the first UK site for US restaurateur, Ilias Nathanail, who owned and operated seven restaurants in Washington DC. He has the backing of Angad Paul, co-founder of London nightclubs Chinawhite and Aura, and Aditya Khanna, founder of Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Tamarind.

Located on the site of the former café and delicatessen Napket on King's Road, Brooklyn Bite will be an all-day dining concept, spanning the ground floor and basement.

It will serve big 18-inch New York-style pizzas, which will be available by the slice as well as for up to four people to share for less than £5 per person. The restaurant will also offer takeaway and delivery.

Brooklyn Bite hopes to open several further sites in London and is already on the lookout for more locations. It will feature a family-friendly dining room on the ground floor, with a New York speakeasy lounge catering for evening trade in the basement.

Commenting on the launch, Nathanail said there was a real gap in the market for a bonafide New York pizzeria.

"Lots of places profess to offer affordable prices, many are focused on the Italian pizza experience, but I haven't been able to find anywhere that can offer both the quality and the authenticity, representing what real New York pizza stands for," he said.

"I think the fact that this concept has secured interest from such high-profile entrepreneurs in the sector shows that we are able to offer something genuinely different."

Davis Coffer Lyons advised Brooklyn Bite on the deal.

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By Kerstin Kühn

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