Soho House & Co launches Cafe Monico

Soho House & Co has launched Cafe Monico, a grand European style café on London's Shaftesbury Avenue.

Located between the Queen's and Guielgud theatres, the restaurant will open at 8am for breakfast and take last orders at 11.30pm.

The Mediterranean-inspired menu has been created in collaboration with chef Rowley Leigh, who has been working with Soho House on a consultancy basis. He has recently been involved in the opening of the group's private members' club, 76 Dean Street. Leigh sold his restaurant, Le Café Anglais in Bayswater, London, in September 2014 due to redevelopment plans.

Dishes include Leigh's signature dish of Parmesan custard with anchovy toast alongside a selection of seafood, Italian cold cuts, salads and pasta dishes. The grill will offer the likes of Cornish sardines, Dover sole, chicken paillard and steak frites, while the plats du jour, available after 7pm, will include pave de boeuf, bouillabaisse and duck confit.

The day-to-day operation of Cafe Monico is headed by general manager Mariano Camerlingo and head chef Jason Loy, both who previously worked at Soho House's Dean Street Townhouse.

The name of the restaurant was inspired by the original Cafe Monico which was launched as a coffee house on Tichborne Street in 1877 by Italian brothers Giacomo and Battista Monico.

In 1885 the restaurant moved to its current location on the newly developed Shaftesbury Avenue. After the brothers' deaths Giacomo's two sons ran the restaurant before the business was acquired by Charles (later Lord) Forte in the 1950s. The building has since had a variety of tenants.

The 140-seat restaurant features an open plan kitchen and mezzanine level overlooking a central bar on the ground floor.

A classic French brasserie feel has been created by Soho House's in-house design team through French green leather banquettes and studded chairs, aged oak panelling, a floor composed of three different types of marble on the ground floor and a reclaimed timber floor on the mezzanine.

A three-metre vintage glass and brass chandelier, sourced from a antique store in Amsterdam, dominates the central space.

Founded by Nick Jones 21 years ago, Soho House & Co today operates 16 clubs and 17 restaurant brands.

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Chef Rowley Leigh sells Le Café Anglais >>Are you looking for a new role? See all the current restaurant vacancies available with The Caterer Jobs >>

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