The Connaught Grill to reopen after 20 years

The Connaught Grill inside luxury Mayfair hotel The Connaught is to reopen early next year after a 20-year hiatus under the direction of Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Decanting by candlelight in The Connaught wine cellar

The restaurant, which closed in the year 2000 after 45 years in business, is being revived by Alsace-born, New York-based chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who will oversee the site in addition to his eponymous restaurant within the hotel.

The 46-cover Grill will be located in the ground floor spaces previously used as the Carlos and Regency private event rooms and will feature an open kitchen  with a wood-burning grill and rotisserie.

Focusing on British produce, the restaurant will serve the likes of langoustines, Dover sole, game and seasonal vegetable dishes alongside wines from the hotel’s well-stocked cellar.

Among the signature dishes will be a classic from the Grill’s glory days – ‘Oeuf en surprise au Connaught’, which Vongerichten was served on his first visit to the restaurant.

The interiors will be overseen by architect John Heah, and will include bespoke panels, tables and chairs by Pennsylvania-based George Nakashima Woodworkers.

“We are bringing the Grill back to be discovered by a new generation – a Connaught Grill of today not yesterday – using craftsmen and chefs of today, but with the spirit and old school charm of the legendary Connaught Grill,” said Paddy McKillen, co-owner of The Connaught.

In its heyday, the restaurant was among the most renowned in London. In a 1972 New York Times review, critic Raymond A. Sokolov said the venue served “the finest meal in the British Isles.”

In addition to The Grill and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, The Connaught is home to the two Michelin-starred Hélène Darroze at The Connaught.