Christopher's set to open at Emirates Palace

Christopher's American Bar and Grill is to follow Mark Fuller's Embassy nightclub and open in Abu Dhabi's "seven-star" Emirates Palace hotel in June.

Christopher Gillmore's American-themed steak and lobster restaurant, which opened in London's Covent Garden in 1991, will be run under a franchise deal with a local partner.

The restaurant will take up residence in a 5,000sq ft area and handle 200 to 300 covers a day at the exclusive complex.

Stefan Breg, director of Tribe Consultancy, which brokered the deal, said the Kempinski-managed Palace's owners had been looking for an upscale steak concept but had found traditional US brands no longer translated well. "Christopher's will be similar to the Covent Garden site but with a lot more bling," he said.

Emirates Palace is also rumoured to be close to signing deals with both an Oriental and Latin American restaurant brand.

By Chris Druce

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