The fame of the name

Since 1954, Terence Conran has expanded his restaurant business with style and individuality. The Almeida in Islington, north London, is the latest addition. Janet Harmer went to find out whether the Conran name is still one to be reckoned with.

The immediate impression on entering Almeida in Islington, north London, the latest venture from Conran Restaurants, is how different it looks from most of the company's other eateries.

This will undoubtedly please Sir Terence Conran, as it has always been his intention to create a group of individually designed restaurants rather than a chain of outlets which follow a set formula.

As well as appearing to be smaller than most other Conran restaurants, Almeida - where the focus is on provincial French cooking - also strikes you as cosier, with a design that is less cutting-edge. The reality, though, is that with 98 seats, together with space for an additional 14 in the private dining room and 15 in the bar, Almeida can hardly be described as small.

Islington represents a departure for the Conran group, with Almeida intended to be the company's first local restaurant. "The idea is to make Almeida an ideal neighbourhood restaurant, an easy place for lunch or dinner at reasonable prices," says Conran.

Almeida is located in a Victorian building that was formerly the lecture and concert venue, Myddelton Hall, in a side street off the area's busy Upper Street, but away from the main centre. Underground stations are a lengthy walk away - the Angel and Highbury & Islington being the nearest.

So why has Islington been chosen as the location of the 28th restaurant to open since the formation 10 years ago of the privately operated company, Conran Restaurants?

Managing director David Loewi describes Islington as a thriving area. "It is busy with lots of chain and fast-food restaurants, but there are not many individual restaurants," he says. "We felt this was an opportunity to do something very different for the area that would appeal to the residents of Islington, as well as those from nearby St John's Wood and Hampstead."

While the locals will help to fill Almeida in the evenings, lunch trade is expected to be a more difficult nut to crack. It is hoped some business can be attracted from the City to the east as well as the nearby Business Design Centre. A significant boost to custom should occur with the reopening in spring 2003 of the rejuvenated Almeida Theatre, directly opposite the restaurant.

Conran Restaurants is quite used to attracting customers to venues which other operators may have shied away from. The 150ft stretch of the south bank beside Tower Bridge, home to the Butlers Wharf Gastrodrome, was one location that many declared was too out of the way to reach. Now, hundreds of people throng there every day to eat at one of several Conran restaurants, such as Le Pont de la Tour, Blue Print Café, Butlers Wharf Chop House or Cantina de Ponte.

On the other side of the city, the opening of Orrery on what was deemed to be the unfashionable end of Marylebone High Street has not only been successful, but together with the Conran Shop below it, has helped to revitalise a down-at-heel area.

Conran says in his book, Alcazar to Zinc, the Story of Conran Restaurants: "If a restaurant is good enough then it can afford to be off-pitch and this itself can be a great catalyst for further development."

Of course, the success of Conran spotting the potential of a particular site is not enough in itself to ensure a busy restaurant. That needs to be created and Conran, despite having just entered his eighth decade, continues to be involved in developing both the design and food offering in every new restaurant. "He was on-site nearly all the time," says Chris Galvin, head chef at Orrery who, together with Orrery's general manager, Patrick Fischnaller, helped to mastermind the launch of Almeida over a 16-week building programme. "He is great to work with, always full of ideas, and always very intense."

While Conran provides the inspiration behind the look of every new restaurant, he works alongside the architects and interior and graphic designers of his design company, Conran & Partners, to turn his ideas into reality.

As with all Conran restaurants, the design of Almeida is simple and uncluttered. Here the warmth - not so readily apparent in other eateries throughout the group - comes from the pale ochre walls, the oak floors and the huge white cotton Diabolo hanging shades which cast a gentle light over the tables. Seating is in the form of banquettes along one wall and mocha-stained bentwood chairs.

A major feature of the large square room is the open kitchen with hanging copper pans, while the bar runs along one wall of the restaurant. The bar's seating area - with its deep red wall and purple and red seating - is a cosy sunken retreat.

Loewi says the involvement of Galvin and Fischnaller was a great way to provide a new challenge for two very talented people, while retaining their positions at Orrery. "It is important to remember that this business is all about people, and if you've got good people you must look after them," he says.

The menu at Almeida, which is produced on a day-to-day basis by head chef Ian Wood and his brigade of 12 chefs, is very much a result of the combined inspiration from Conran and Galvin. "I have wanted to do this sort of relaxed restaurant for a long time," says Conran. "It was only when I talked to Chris and had him down to cook at Barton Court (Conran's home in Berkshire) that I realised he shared the same view and ambition."

Among the dishes prepared by Conran and Galvin at Barton Court were roast pigeon with peas, lardons and girolles; duck leg with onion confit; saucisson with cornichons; and a grand a‹oli with smoked haddock and a cornucopia of vegetables. All will, at some point, appear on Almeida menus.

Besides the opening of a nightclub under Alcazar in Paris in the early spring of 2002, future launches by Conran Restaurants are focused on the development of the Zinc Bar & Grill brand. The launch of Zinc in Birmingham last month, and the announcement that another will open in Glasgow next year will bring the total to five. For Conran, the development of Zinc is an opportunity to recreate "the wonderful French caf‚s that were once a feature of every French market town". In Alcazar to Zinc, he writes: "I thought I'd try to find a way of reviving them in Britain and, in the process, find a way of stemming the American fast-food invasion and speed up the demise of those dreary themed pubs."

The expansion of Conran Restaurants

Blue Print Café
28 Shad Thames, London SE1
Opened: September 1989
Seats: 120
Style: Eclectic menu reflecting the Mediterranean to the Middle East

Le Pont de la Tour 36d Shad Thames, London SE1
Opened: September 1991
Seats: 120 + 80 in bar and grill
Style: Modern European

Cantina del Ponte
36c Shad Thames, London SE1
Opened: November 1992
Seats: 95
Style: Simple Italian

Quaglino's
16 Bury Street, London SW1
Opened: February 1993
Seats: 300 + 113 in bar
Style: French brasserie

Butler's Wharf Chop House 36e Shad Thames, London SE1
Opened: October 1993
Seats: 115 + 35 in bar
Style: Traditional British

Mezzo 100 Wardour Street, London W1
Opened: September 1995
Seats: 350 + 34 in bar
Style: Modern European

Mezzonine
100 Wardour Street, London W1
Opened: September 1995
Seats: 130 + 48 in bar
Style: Contemporary Thai

Mezzo Café
100 Wardour Street, London W1
Opened: September 1995
Seats: 40
Style: Middle Eastern

Bluebird
350 Kings Road, London SW3
Opened: May 1997
Seats: 190 + 50 in bar
Style: Modern European and Asian

Zinc Bar & Grill 21 Heddon Street, London W1
Opened: August 1997
Seats: 110 + 30 in bar
Style: Eclectic

Orrery
55 Marylebone High Street, London W1
Opened: October 1997
Seats: 86 + 26 in bar
Style: Modern French and British (Michelin-starred)

Sartoria
20 Saville Row, London W1
Opened: June 1998
Seats: 120 + 16 in bar
Style: Modern Italian

Coq d'Argent No 1 Poultry, London EC2
Opened: August 1998
Seats: 148 + 75 in bar
Style: French

Alcazar 62 rue Mazarine, Paris
Opened: November 1998
Seats: 214 + 90 in bar
Style: French with hint of British dishes

Berns
Berzelli Park, Stockholm
Opened: November 1999
Seats: 248 + 24 in bar + 166 in grill
Style: International

Aurora
Liverpool Street, London EC2
Opened: November 1999
Seats: 100 + 50 in bar
Style: Modern European

Terminus
Liverpool Street, London EC2
Opened: November 1999
Seats: 120 + 20 in bar
Style: Eclectic brasserie

GE Club
Liverpool Street, London EC2
Opened: November 1999
Seats: 84
Style: Private members club

George
Liverpool Street, London EC2
Opened: February 2000
Seats: 70
Style: British pub

Fishmarket
Liverpool Street, London EC2
Opened: February 2000
Seats: 90
Style: Fish and seafood

Gustavino's
409 East 59th Street, New York
Opened: February 2000
Seats: 360
Style: Modern French and Italian with American eclecticism

Miyabi Liverpool Street, London EC2
Opened: March 2000
Seats: 28
Style: Japanese

Zinc Bar & Grill
The Triangle, Hanging Ditch, Manchester
Opened: August 2000
Seats: 110 + 30 in bar
Style: Eclectic

Zinc Bar & Grill Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh
Opened: September 2001
Seats: 130 + 26 in bar
Style: Eclectic

Ocean Kitchen
Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh
Opened: October 2001
Seats: 140
Style: Self-service buffet

Zinc Bar & Grill
Regency Wharf II, Broad Street, Birmingham
Opened: November 2001
Seats: 91 + 90 in bar
Style: Eclectic

Almeida
30 Almeida Street, London N1
Opened: December 2001
Seats: 98 + 15 in bar
Style: Regional French

Almeida

31 Almeida Street, Islington, London N1 1TD
Tel: 020 7354 4777
Seats: 98 plus 14 in private dining room and 15 in bar
Average spend: £30 per head, including wine
Number of staff: 40
Head chef: Ian Wood
Restaurant manager: Olivier Eynard