Princess Di’s top eatery defies rival by reopening
WHEN ‘ King of Clubs’ Richard Caring did not reopen the London dining room Le Caprice after Covid lockdowns, rival restaurateur Jeremy King thought he had pulled off a clever trick by snapping up the lease on the building, which is around the corner from The Ritz.
Now, however, Caring is planning to cock a snook at King by reopening Le Caprice in a new spot. And his restaurant will be the one called Le Caprice because Caring still owns the name.
I can confirm that Caring is in talks about reopening Le Caprice at The Chancery Rosewood, the £ 1 billion hotel and leisure redevelopment of the former U.S. Embassy building in Grosvenor Square, Mayfair. The hotel, owned by Qatari Diar, is due to open next year.
‘It’s going to be fascinating to see who will go to Le Caprice and who will go to the old “Caprice”,’ a source tells me.
Princess Diana was among the regular diners at Le Caprice when it was at 20 Arlington Street.
King, who ran Le Caprice himself from 1981 to 2005 before selling it to Caring, is to call his restaurant Arlington. He will be joined by Le Caprice’s popular maitre d’ Jesus Adorno when it opens later this year. Its classic dishes, such as bang bang chicken, salmon fish cakes and steak tartare, will be back on the menu.
King, who was ousted from his Corbin & King restaurant group last year, insists: ‘One thing I want to avoid is napkin wars. There’s plenty of room for [both of] us. Caring has done a particularly good job with the demographic he appeals to, and I embrace a different demographic.’
Caring, who also owns The Ivy, J Sheekey, Scott’s and Annabel’s, refuses to be drawn into a slanging match over ‘demographics’ with King. ‘I wish him all the luck in the world with it,’ Caring tells me magnanimously.