Ramsay to ban smoking in London restaurants

Gordon Ramsay is to introduce a smoking ban across his London restaurants from 1 September.

All seven restaurants will be affected by the ban, although Claridge's, the Connaught, the Savoy Grill and the Boxwood Caf‚ will allow diners to smoke in limited areas, such as private dining rooms or large bar spaces. The ban is total in the group's flagship Chelsea restaurant, Gordon Ramsay, in Marcus Wareing's Pétrus, located in London's Berkeley hotel, and in the Savoy restaurant, Banquette.

Ramsay confirmed that the ban had been under consideration for a long time. He said: "I've received many letters over the years from non-smokers, and even a few from smokers, complaining that eating in the restaurants had been marred by smoke, and urging us to ban smoking."

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 24 June 2004