Breakfasts are back! Why The Wolseley chose the City for its £10m new restaurant

The owners of iconic restaurant The Wolseley gave the City a vote of confidence yesterday, saying it is the “perfect” location for its second site.

The £10m The Wolseley City is set to open this autumn on the historic King William Street with a venue even bigger and more glamorous than the original, with features including Byzantine chandeliers, baroque ironwork and spectacular vaulted ceilings.

“We’re backing the City,” a spokesperson for The Wolseley Hospitality Group told City A.M. “It is a thriving location and we only see it going from strength to strength over the coming years.

“More and more people are coming back to offices and they need somewhere to eat and drink. City readers have always been an important part of our business and we’re happy to set up shop right in the heart of their parish. There couldn’t be a better marriage of customers and restaurant than those working in the City and The Wolseley.”

The new site will “pay homage” to the original restaurant, although The Wolseley says it will “be presented as a younger sister to the original and not a replica.” He added that while it will have its own personality, “you’ll immediately know it’s The Wolseley”.

The original restaurant, located at 160 Piccadilly in Mayfair, has become a staple for both business breakfasts and lunches, and a hotspot for celebrities including Kate Moss and the Beckhams.

Last year The Wolseley co-founder Jeremy King left the company after hotel group Minor International bought Corbin & King – which it had acquired alongside The Beaumont Hotel in 2017 in a deal worth almost £60m – out of administration. 

King had attempted to buy back the company himself but was outbid; he is now rumoured to be eyeing the Grade II-listed former NatWest bank on Piccadilly, a site just metres from the original The Wolseley, as part of his return to the restaurant business.