River Cafe sister restaurant plans scotched over noise concerns

Long awaited plans to open a sister restaurant to the iconic River Café in Mayfair have been overturned following concerted opposition from local residents.

However Grosvenor Properties told The Caterer it will continue discussions to try to find another Mayfair site for the restaurant.

Ruth Rogers, co-founder of the River Café, was hoping to open the restaurant on Bourdon Street in Mayfair next year, thirty years after she launched the Michelin-starred Italian restaurant in Hammersmith with her late business partner Rose Gray.

However, following strong objections from local residents during the consultation period, Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster's property firm, decided not to file a planning application for the restaurant.

A Grosvenor spokesman told The Caterer: "We have listened to the residents who had concerns about noise and traffic. Grosvenor Estate has been around for over 300 years so we take a long term view on these things and listen to all users of the estate and so we have ruled out the restaurant at this point in time."

However he added Grosvenor will continue to look for a site for the restaurant. He said: "Obviously a River Café restaurant would be a great addition to Mayfair so we will keep talking until we can find another site."

The proposed restaurant was to have adjoined the site of the new Gagosian gallery, replacing an NCP carpark owned by Grosvenor, which has a 300 acre London property estate in Mayfair and Belgravia.