Middle Eastern operator Salmontini to open first UK site

Middle Eastern restaurant operator Salmontini is to open its first UK restaurant, on the site of former Knightsbridge steak concept The Palm.

Set to open in September, the site will have 100 dining seats, a capacity of 40 in the lounge/bar area, and a private dining room for up to 30 people.

Davis Coffer Lyons (DCL) secured a lease assignment for the 5,400 sq ft Pont Street property, for which Salmontini has paid an undisclosed sum.

Jonathan Moradoff, associate director at DCL, said that the restaurant's Knightsbridge location was reflected in the amount the group paid for the site, as well as being an obvious choice for the brand's first UK venture.

He said: "Salmontini is a highly successful operator in the Middle East [and] we have no doubt that Salmontini will be very popular with the area's wealthy demographic."

The Palm was the only UK outpost of the American steak restaurant brand. It still operates 26 sites across the US, as well as two restaurants in Mexico.