Rick Stein eyes up London restaurant

Celebrity chef and fish and chips tycoon Rick Stein has cast the net wide in his search for a central London location for his new restaurant.

 

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According to the latest trading update from his restaurant, Stein is seeking to expand beyond his Padstow base with an opening in the centre of the British capital, bringing the total number of his restaurants in the South of England to 10.

Charlie Stein, Stein’s son and the group director, said: “Our focus in the next few months is on maximising the opportunities to celebrate the 50th year anniversary of the business in 2025. It is also the perfect time to evolve our restaurant concepts to appeal to a wider audience and we are actively looking to open our first site in central London.”

The concept behind the new opening is unknown yet, though, given the chef’s reputation for his seafood restaurants, it might be assumed that he is fishing for a plaice that will be suitable for something similar to his other eateries.

Stein does already have a restaurant in London, located next to the Thames in Barnes, in the south west of the city. Among the summer specials across Stein’s restaurant portfolio (though not at The Seafood Restaurant) is the Cornish lobster and chips, costing £39.95.

The news of the plan to make it big in the city came alongside a trading update which showed positive results for 2023. Overall, profits were up 106% on 2022 – group managing director Ian Ftizgerald attributed the “improved results” to a “successful summer season”.

Last year, the drinks business interviewed Charlie Stein in his capacity as head of wine for the restaurant group.

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