Peyton's place in the park

Restaurateur Oliver Peyton is to go into partnership with the Royal Parks agency to open a £3m purpose-built restaurant and café in the grounds of St James's Park. Peyton, whose Gruppo restaurants include the Atlantic Bar & Grill, Mash and Isola in London, won the tender put out by the agency to run the architecturally unique and eco-friendly 200-seat eatery, due to open next spring.

The deal means Peyton will run the restaurant and café on a 10-year, fixed-term lease as a concession, paying a percentage of turnover to Royal Parks.

The restaurant has been designed by Glyndebourne Opera House architect Sir Michael Hopkins, with interiors by Tom Dixon, creative director of Habitat. It will be built on the site of the Cake House restaurant, which closed four years ago, in sustainable materials with a turf roof and natural ventilation system.

Laurent Trenga, catering concessions manager of Royal Parks, said Peyton had been awarded the tender because of his imagination and technical ability.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 10 - 16 July 2003