Abandoned Pierre White restaurant occupied by more than 400 squatters
MARCO PIERRE WHITE’S former Leicester Square restaurant has been secured by police after hundreds of squatters moved in, The Telegraph understands.
As many as 400 squatters are said to have taken over the former site of Mr White’s, a restaurant in London’s West End, at some point last week.
The Metropolitan Police has secured the five floor building and there was no sign of squatters when The Telegraph visited the site yesterday.
It comes at the same time that fellow chef Gordon Ramsay’s £13 million pub near Regents Park has been taken over by squatters.
The occupation in Leicester Square comes after Mr White’s, a steak and pizza restaurant opened by Pierre White in 2021, closed at the start of the year.
Ellen Leyco, manager of Jollibee, a Filipino fast food restaurant next door, said that as many as 400 people had been living on all floors of the building.
She reported the issue to Westminster city council after rubbish and waste started appearing at the back entrance of the building.
She told the council it needed to look into Mr White’s. “The council came back today and told me I was correct when I asked them to look into it as they found 400 people were there. They said they were occupying all the floors and they were illegal.
“Many are homeless and they are leaving a mess out the back.”
A spokesman from the council said the issue had been flagged to the Met and officers had secured the premises.
Heavy metal locks have appeared on the front doors of the building and the windows have been covered with curtains and sheets of paper.
The force and Pierre White’s representatives were approached for comment. Before it closed in January 2024,
Mr White’s appeared to be a thriving restaurant in the heart of London. With a menu that featured £20 cuts of steak, £15 plates of pasta, and £8.50 bowls of Caesar salad, it could seat up to 300 people across two floors.
At the start of the year, customers were told by email that the restaurant would be shut for two weeks to undergo maintenance work. But the doors of Mr White’s never reopened.
Black & White Hospitality gave no reason for the closure. Customers with bookings are said to have arrived to find the restaurant closed.