Tony Conigliaro brings his mixology to Mayfair

Celebrated mixologist Tony Conigliaro is to open a drinking den and restaurant in Mayfair called Gazelle in collaboration with former El Bulli chef Rob Roy Cameron.

The pair have signed a lease on a 2,500 sq ft space on Albemarle Street where Gazelle, an all-day dining and cocktail destination, will open in May.

Set across two floors in a Georgian building, Gazelle will serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, bar snacks and cocktails created to pair with the dishes.

“I always wanted to open a place where the food stood equal with the drinks and would be a complete destination in its own right. With Rob, I’ve been lucky enough to discover someone who works and thinks like me and just gets it.

Conigliaro’s Prairie Oyster cocktail at 69 Colebrooke Row

“We spent months looking at various sites but knew as soon as we walked into this one that it would afford us the space and scope to make it into something special,” Conigliaro said.

Born in Botswana, Rob Roy Cameron began his culinary career as a pastry chef, working under Ferran and Albert Adrià at El Bulli near Barcelona.

He spent a number of years in Barcelona, opening 41 Degrees and working as head chef at Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant Hoja Santa.

Most recently he has headed up the food offering at Conigliaro’s Bar Termini in Soho and Untitled in Dalston.

Former art student Conigliaro is one of the most celebrated mixologists in London known for pushing the boundaries of drinks into unexplored realms.

He opened 69 Colebrooke Row in Islington in 2009, where his signature serve is the Prairie Oyster cocktail, a twist on a Bloody Mary made with tomato yolk, horseradish vodka, oloroso Sherry, shallots, pepper sauce, celery salt and an oyster leaf, which is served in a white ceramic oyster-shaped dish.

Conigliaro is also behind the drinks offer at the Zetter Townhouse in Clerkenwell and its sister site in Fitzrovia.