Le Caprice
Princess Diana’s favorite restaurant returns
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It is a fixed star in the London gastronomic sky – and now it is finally returning: “Le Caprice” is reopening after a break of several years.
Foodies around the world are already clattering their cutlery with joy: as society columnist Richard Eden reports in the “Daily Mail”, a real institution in the London gastronomy scene is finally set to reopen.
For many years, “Le Caprice” was one of the absolute hotspots for the beautiful, rich and noble in England. But its owner, the ‘King of Clubs’ Richard Caring, permanently closed the Arlington Street restaurant during the 2020 coronavirus lockdowns. The doors of the popular in-location remained locked for many years, but speculation about a secret master plan for reopening never completely stopped.
“Le Caprice” returns
But the story was to take another turn. Jeremy King, a competitor of Richard Caring and also a very successful restaurant operator, tried a trick: He secured the lease for the building from the venerable “Le Caprice”. The final end of the cult restaurant, where Princess Diana, †36, also loved to eat at her usual spot in a corner of the room? Absolutely not!
Since Caring is still the one who owns the trademark and name rights to “Le Caprice”, he can now outwit his opponent. As society reporter Richard Eden reports, the “King of Clubs” is planning to reopen elsewhere in the near future.
New address, old success concept
The Chancery Rosewood, a luxury hotel costing more than 1 billion euros, is soon to open in Mayfair’s posh Grosvenor Square. The “new” Caprice will move in here. For decades, Le Caprice’s regular location was 20 Arlington Street in St. James’s, just around the corner from the Hotel Ritz. Stars like Liz Hurley, Omar Sharif and Madonna came and went here. According to insiders, King’s new gastro temple, which will open in these premises, will be called “Arlington”.
A special treat in the competition between the two celebrity hotspots: Jeremy King himself was once the owner of “Le Caprice”, which first opened in 1947, and ran the store from 1981 to 2005 – before he sold it to Richard Caring.
Sources used: dailymail.co.uk