Harden's says
A mega new hotel for London sees the Old War Office on Whitehall – in which Winston Churchill made many of the most important decisions of World War II – being taken over by Raffles, no less (their first venture in Europe) and the Hinduja Group, to open in late 2023 as a new 125 bedroom property. It will have nine new restaurants, of which we list the four most notable individually: Café Lapérouse, Endo Kazutoshi, Langosteria, Mauro Colagreco and Paper Moon (see also). Other options include Mauro’s Table and a fine high-ceilinged brasserie called ‘Saison’ – which fall under the Colagreco umbrella – as well as The Drawing Room (lounge and all-day dining) and Guards Bar.
Harden's survey result
Summary
Italian-Argentine megachef Mauro Colagreco, of Mirazur on the French Riviera, is the star gastronomic attraction of the late-2022 launch of the Raffles hotel and apartment complex, emerging from the Edwardian baroque shell of the Old War Office building opposite Whitehall Palace, owned since 2014 by the Hinduja Group. In all, there will be 11 restaurants and two bars on the sprawling site, with Colagreco responsible for ‘a brasserie with a twist, a fine-dining restaurant and an avant-garde private chef’s table’.
Summary
The Old War Office – the Grade II listed building in which Winston Churchill made many of the most important decisions of World War II – was sold in 2014 to the Hinduja Group and will open in 2022 as a luxury, 125-bedroom hotel (and apartments). The hotel will be run in partnership with Raffles (their first venture in Europe) and it is fair to assume a pretty ambitious level will be set for the nine restaurants and bars it will house.
For 32 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
