LONDON’S hospitality scene is set for another vote of confidence with the opening of a second site by iconic Parisian restaurant group Moma, this time at the Langham Hotel.
Mimosa, opening in April, will follow the arrival of Café Lapérouse in the capital, with MOMA founder Benjamin Patou keen to push into the London restaurant scene.
“It is a dream to succeed in London. We are very humble,” Patou told City A.M.. “You have so many good restaurants, it is like the Champion’s League.”
MOMA now operates a portfolio of 30 venues across the globe, largely located in Paris but with developments across France and beyond including Athens, Doha and Saint-Barth.
That includes the well-reviewed Mimosa in Paris; the London outpost will embody the same “vibrant spirit of the Mediterranean with its fusion of French heritage and contemporary flair.”
Moma, which is majority owned by Patou with investment from Antoine Arnault – son of Bernard – and business partners including French pop singer Patrick Bruel. Last year the owner of Pierre Herme, a high-end French macaron maker, bought 35 per cent of the group whose revenues are reported to be north of £120m.
London’s restaurant scene is increasingly regarded as one of the best in the world, a far cry from the once-famous French view of British food best summed up by Jacques Chirac: “You can’t trust people who cook as badly as that: after Finland, it’s the country with the worst food.”
Restaurant groups are increasingly involved in the launch of new hotels, with Moma’s first outpost in London – Café Lapérouse – in the new Raffles Hotel at the Old War Office.
For Patou, there was never a question as to whether he would try to make it in London – and that it would remain a hospitality hotspot – despite the challenges of Brexit and the pandemic.
“London is the Queen of the game. All the best restaurants around the world are in London. My motivation is 100 per cent intact,” he says.
Other restarauteurs opening up in the capital agree.
“Post pandemic people have realised that where we eat and drink is an extension of our own personal brand, so everyone is looking for original concepts and ideas vs big casual dining concepts, right now London is possibly culinary capital of the world,” reckons Markus Thesleff, the man behind the Thesleff Group, which operates Sale e Pepe, Viajante87 and Los Mochis Notting Hill.
“There has been a change in consumer behaviour in terms of how and at what times people go out but they’re spending a lot more and are more discerning. People also realise that their time is precious, which is why they want to work from home, so as a result we’re no longer just in hospitality but also in entertainment as we’re competing for time,” he added.
Mimosa will open in April at the Langham Hotel