Chef Tom Aikens says he is exploring plans to open a new restaurant in London that will be separate from his Tom’s Kitchen brand.
Speaking to Hospitality & Catering News ahead of the re-launch of his flagship Tom’s Kitchen restaurant in Chelsea, Aikens said he hoped to ‘re-focus back on London with some new concepts’.
He said: “I’m going to be exploring something else, because my plan and intentions were to do some projects outside of the UK, which I’ve done in the Middle East and the Far East and then to re-focus back on London with some new concepts. That’s my intention.”
Aikens remained tight-lipped on further details, but hinted that it would be a new style of restaurant and would go some way to replace his previous eponymous restaurant.
Aikens closed his fine-dining restaurant in Chelsea – Restaurant Tom Aikens – in 2014 and has since been focusing on the Tom’s Kitchen brand, which he runs with the financial backing of Dogus Group.
There are currently four Tom’s Kitchen restaurants in the UK – three in London and one in Birmingham – and one in Istanbul. Aikens is also involved in Pawn in Hong Kong and sharing concept restaurant Pots, Pans & Boards, in Dubai.
Last week Tom’s Kitchen at Somerset House, which opened in 2011, closed after a successful seven year partnership between Levy UK and Tom Aikens Group. Welsh chef Bryn Williams has taken the space to open a veg-centric restaurant, his first in London for a decade.
Jonathan Davies, managing director Levy Leisure UK, said: “It’s been a privilege working with the Tom Aikens Group at such an iconic London venue and we wish Tom and his team every continued success as we embark on a new chapter in our food story. We are firm believers in chef and restaurant partnerships championing exciting opportunities and we’re looking forward to working with Bryn Williams on our new venture.”
Aikens said: “It has been a pleasure working with Levy UK, and we’ve enjoyed an incredibly successful seven years at Somerset House. As this partnership at Somerset House comes to an end, we are looking forward to many exciting new projects for Tom’s Kitchen in 2018, including the complete refurbishment and relaunch of our flagship site in Chelsea this March.”
