Noble Rot forced to close after neighbour's fire

A fire caused extensive smoke damage to London restaurant Noble Rot last week.

Rubbish from offices next door to the Mayfair restaurant, run by Soren Jessen, caught fire early on Wednesday morning. The heat caused a pane of glass to crack and let in smoke, burning out the building's electrics and badly damaging the 60-seat restaurant, although the kitchens were unaffected.

Jessen said that he hoped to reopen the 120-seat club downstairs, which was not affected, this weekend.

The restaurant itself will remain boarded up while it is completely refurbished.

"It is such a sad sight," said Jessen. "It is such a mess - the smoke just got everywhere. But at least no one was hurt, because of the time of day it happened."

While the restaurant is closed, Noble Rot's 40 staff will be transferred to Jessen's One Lombard Street, sent on courses or asked to take holiday.

It also means that Jessen's plans to open two new restaurants in London in the second half of this year have been temporarily put on hold. He had agreed a lease on a site in the City, but has now walked away after finding out that fire regulations would have limited trade downstairs.