I opened my first restaurant in 1994, meaning we signed the lease in 1993. In the early 1990s, it was challenging — a time filled with depression, anxiety, low energy; the country just coming out of a recession, unemployment at 10 per cent. You had to be brave, silly or both to open a restaurant.
And then something happened: the mood changed. Optimism was in, visionary people took control of government. The second half of the 90s was characterized by New Labour, Young British Artists, and Britpop. It was cool to be British, and the country wanted to celebrate. Why not? It turned out to be the best time to open a big, beautiful ocean liner of a restaurant in Soho. The brainchild of my business partner, Oliver Peyton, it was called the Atlantic Bar & Grill. It became the most glamorous and iconic restaurant and bar of the 90s and early 2000s (the ‘noughties’ — but also the naughties). It helped that we had a 3am licence, too, now rarely seen. With business good, I decided to open elsewhere, in Mayfair and Chelsea. There were a lot of big launches, a lot of parties, a lot of fun.
