Café de Paris might have closed its extremely elegant doors almost two years ago, but the London landmark now has a reopening date.
It’s a serious case of Under New Management however, with the storied West End nightclub – which will spark back into life in February 2023 – now trading as a high-octane cabaret bar run by Balearic hospitality bigwigs the Pacha Group.
The Grade II venue, which opened in 1924, will now be known as Lío London – joining similar venues in Ibiza, Mykonos, and Las Vegas – and promising a “spectacular, sassy and sexy modern show featuring a troupe of singers, dancers, acrobats and international artists bringing pulsating performances and high-volume energy to our audience.” Gosh. The brand’s glitzy website features an image of a woman eating her own plaited tail. If the mere mention of anything ‘immersive’ brings you out in hives, you might want to skip this one out.
Though the elegant space should retain much of its historic charm – and that iconic double staircase – thanks to its listed status, Spanish architectural design studio Lázaro Rosa-Viola will be adding some contemporary disco-friendly touches, such as mirrored ceilings and a moveable DJ booth. Food will come from Adam Rawson – who’s put in time at The Standard, Laylow and Pachamama.
Through tragically bombed during the Blitz, when at least 34 people were killed, including bandleader ‘Snakehips’ Johnson, Café de Paris became a longstanding celebrity hotspot upon its 1948 reopening. Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner were fans, Noel Coward would often hop up onstage for a turn, and by the 1960s it was the go-spot for a jolly buffet of underworld crims, movie stars and musicians. Director Edgar Wright lovingly recreated the club’s vintage interior in 2021’s Last Night In Soho.
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