Many of London's well-known historic buildings have been turned into hotels (work is also apace on Admiralty Arch and the old American Embassy). This time it's the turn of the Old War Office in Whitehall which has just opened as The OWO and it's quite a massive endeavour.
The OWO is a super-luxe affair with two elements. The first is the hotel side of things, Raffles at The OWO which has 120 bedrooms. Then there's The OWO itself with 85 luxury residences. And amidst all of that are a lot of new places to eat and drink, with seven new restaurants, three bars and two cafes. Here's our guide to all of them.
Raffles London at The OWO
The hotel opens first and here's where you'll find their star chef.
Three Mauro Colagreco restaurants
The big-name chef running the restaurant at Raffles is Maura Colagreco whose South of France restaurant Mirazur topped the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2019. He haa three restaurants at the hotel. The main event is (deep breath) Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at The OWO, which will be focusing on British produce with a particular lean towards British vegetables.
There's also Mauro's Table which is more of a chef's table affair with an open kitchen for 23 people. Apparently, that has "a creative menu that traces the paths of English gardens."
Finally, there's Saison (pictured) which is the chef's more relaxed offering and billed as "a contemporary spin on the traditional hotel restaurant". It doesn't hurt that it looks amazing with that vaulted ceiling.
All three restaurants open on 29 September
Two bars
Raffles will also be home to two places to drink. First up is The Guard’s Bar and Lounge, (pictured) which is going big on Singapore Slings and extremely expensive cognac. There's also going to be a subterranean speakeasy-style cocktail bar The Spy Bar, which sounds like it'll reference the building's history.
The Guards bar opens on 29 September, The Spy Bar at a later date
Two cafes
Also opening at Raffles is The Drawing Room, which is described as a lounge with a British influence. The main use of this space will be for their afternoon tea. There's also Pillar Kitchen which is billed as more of a healthy eating place.
Opens 29 September
The OWO
Outside of the main hotel, there's a lot more to try.
This is the London outpost of a Parisian restaurant that traces its origins back to 1766. It'll be in the central courtyard of the OWO in a pavilion created by a designer who's worked with Maison Dior. So that should look pretty special.
Opens 3 October
This high-end Italian restaurant hails from Milan, with the original opening in 1977. They say that the space in London has been designed around the look of an Italian house - that translates as featuring olive trees and greenery, terracotta colours, Travertine marble and more. Here, there will be an "eclectic selection of Italian favourites, daily aperitivi, and traditional cocktails".
Opens 2 October
Endo Kazutoshi's restaurant and sake bar
This will be coming later in the year and takes up a prime space on the hotel's rooftop with views across Whitehall. It will apparently be "an ode to the traditions of Japanese cooking" and come with its own 28-seater sake bar.
Opens Winter 2023
Milan restaurant Langosteria is described as a "fashion-world haunt" in its original location and it's described as a "fine dining restaurant with Italian roots".
Opens in 2024
More about Raffles London at The OWO
Where is it? Whitehall, London SW1A 2EU
When does it open? Most of it opens on 29 September 2023 - individual restaurant opening dates shown above.
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @theowo.london.
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