Russian group buys Soho site for cafe brand
A Russian-based hospitality group that already owns 15 sites in Moscow and St Petersburg is set to open its first in London after securing a property in Soho.
Table Talk, which runs the cafes under the Jean-Jacques brand in Russia, is to take on the 3,554 sq ft former Spanish and Moroccan restaurant El Cantara at 45 Frith Street.
It will be opened under the Jean Jacques format, serving traditional French cuisine for lunch and dinner, along with a range of fine wines.
The business is understood to have paid a premium in the region of £600,000 for the three-level site. The business is taking an assignment of the lease which expires in 2026 at a rent of £108,000 a year.
Table Talk Group was founded by Dimitry Yampolskiy a founding partner of Moscow-based law firm Sedov & Yampolskiy and Mitya Borisov a leisure sector entrepreneur behind Russian venues such as Club Mayak, Apshu, Gogol and Flat 44. The first Café Jean-Jacques opened in Moscow in 2004.
Its other formats include five traditional British-style pubs under the John Donne brand. Café Mart in the Moscow Museum of Modern Art and Café Mercato, Italian style restaurants in Moscow's public parks.
Restaurant Property and Spectrum Property Consultants advised El Cantara on the deal.