Premier Hospitality

HIDE Restaurant and Bar

HIDE
Written by Roma Publications

HIDE

HIDE is a restaurant and bar by Hedonism Wines and chef Ollie Dabbous. Flooded with natural daylight and enjoying views across Green Park, HIDE offers a relaxed and holistic setting in which to savour seasonal cooking at its best, complemented by the UK’s most comprehensive wine list. HIDE is the follow up restaurant to Dabbous’ eponymous Michelin-starred London restaurant, which closed in June 2017.

Opened on 17 April 2018 and located at 85 Piccadilly, London, HIDE’s striking interiors are a collaboration between Hedonisms Evgeny Chichvarkin, Interior Designers These White Walls and Lustedgreen Architects, under the guidance of Fraser Randall, managers responsible for the project delivery.

Speaking to Premier Hospitality magazine about the project, Lee Starling, one of the Project Directors at Fraser Randall said: “Managing bespoke interior projects of this scale is a specialist field and we undertook the management from the concept to completion. Interpreting the client’s aspirations at every step, costing the project, helping select the design team and consultants, liaising with landlords, dealing with the licensing and planning processes, and of course actually managing all the of the works on site.”

The project has been a long one and before the yearlong fit out could happen, Fraser Randall had to manage a number of structural alterations to the building itself.

Nick Fraser, Managing Director of Fraser Randall said: “The project started four years ago for us. Two whole floors were taken out of the building, the basement dug down another metre and a new substation eventually put in – although an incredible location it was very much take it down and start again with the shell. The building block, which is also residential, had separate commercial entities in its former usage with a nightclub in the basement, a ground floor restaurant with its own entrance, and a mezzanine/first floor restaurant with its own entrance! So before anything could be done we had to take all of those out, put in new floor slabs and take out the whole side of the building! It takes real client commitment and vision to do that – there were pretty much two years of complete structural changes to the occupied building, all of which was very delicate work.”

When approached about the project, Fraser Randall were asked to help create “the best restaurant in London.” To achieve this, the interior scheme is a reimagining of the familiar. The designers have made use of the classic emblems of domestic spaces – rustic kitchen chairs, cast iron stoves, traditional panelling, decorative botanicals – and toyed with their traditional forms. The result is a whole new expression of the everyday, revealed in surprising new ways.

Lee added: “There isn’t anything in the restaurant that has been picked off of the shelf. We worked to maximise the space and finish, as well as the bespoke unique look and feel of the space within the constraints of the existing building.”

The restaurant is set over three floors, each as thrilling as the other, with a striking spiral staircase connecting each floor. The stair, designed by Atmos Studio and handcrafted by GDS in Poland, was commissioned as the wild organic element within an otherwise formal space. The stairs begin in the basement, wrapped around the bar, and spiral upwards to the top floor, where it delivers guests elegantly to the restaurant ‘Above.’

Located on the ground floor, ‘Ground’ is described as a handsome yet homely space, and focuses around the feature cast-iron bakery with wood-fired stove. The main restaurant is furnished with elongated benches, oversized cabinetry and kitchen style furniture, each ‘a playful take on homespun nostalgia.’ Hidden details can be noticed by those who linger: two way mirrors open up walls, curious spirals form around sinkholes and a miniature dollshouse can be spotted on an interim floor.

HIDE

Ground Restaurant – Credit image: Joakim Blockstrom

‘Ground’ offers an a la carte menu for lunch and dinner, as well as afternoon tea and breakfast. Reflective of Ollie Dabbous’ signature style and lightness of touch, dishes are simple, seasonal and refined.

At restaurant ‘Above’ tables are set beside full height glazing with views reaching beyond the busy streets of Mayfair and out into Green Park. In-built wait stations and fixed cabinetry are designed as if merging in and out of the structural columns, with their panels seemingly disappearing into the decorative plaster. These White Walls commissioned the site-specific artwork by London artist Rachel Dein, consisting of a series of hand-cast plaster panels within the Hide & Seek dining room that captures the ephemeral beauty of London’s wild flowers.

‘Below’ is designed to express the expansion of the wine shop’s ample cellars and spirits collection, into the restaurant’s Victorian vaults. A walk down the spiral stair takes guests behind the amber-glowing back bar and into the Distillery bar below. The designer describes the bar’s looped footprint as ‘a rewinding of the distillation process, from bottle back to source.’ At Below guests can choose from a selection of Hedonism’s finest and rarest spirits along with a cocktail menu from Oskar Kinberg. Guests will also be able to choose their wine from HIDE’s list or from the Hedonism store.

Beyond the whiskey stave walls, three private dining rooms can be found – each a play upon the idea of what might lie hidden behind closed doors. Serving either restaurant dishes or feasting menus based on the very best British produce, the private dining rooms offer a unique backdrop for parties of between four and twenty.

Rose Murray, Director at These White Walls said: “It has been hugely exciting to be involved with this project. I love designing for hospitality because the work is so much about creating new experiences for people, and this project has enabled us to create a beautiful and engaging restaurant space for people in London to savour.”

Ollie Dabbous commented: “Evgeny was one of our regulars at Dabbous and even did a day in the kitchen so it has been a fun collaboration. I am also excited to finally get a walk-in fridge! People were surprised that I closed Dabbous, but now that we have opened HIDE, I hope they understand why that decision was taken.”

Since its opening, feedback about the restaurant has been positive.

Nick said: “People say it is quite remarkable, which is really great to hear – when you’ve been so close to it you can lose a sense of just how impactful it is.  From design magazine feedback through to The Evening Standard review, everyone says everything about it is five star. That’s the reason why we love tackling the unique projects that we do – each is a very singular challenge and the clients who commission them really care about them – a lot!!”

Lee added: “It has been a hugely important project for us and it has been a huge part of my life for almost five years, particularly the last four because I have been living and breathing it. Having it open and receiving positive feedback after all of this time and seeing a happy client is majorly important.  It is rewarding just to stand back, look at it, and say that I was part of that project.”

For more information, visit: http://www.hide.co.uk/

HIDE

Above Restaurant – Credit image: Joakim Blockstrom

Fraser Randall

Fraser Randall specialise in the delivery of ‘remarkable’ bespoke experiences for clients and their visitors, providing leadership, focus and direction to the design, development and construction of their projects. The company has been in operation for more than 30 years and during this time has managed some of the most unique interior projects in the UK and overseas.

Clients include major public institutions from the British Museum to the V&A; international galleries and royal appointments as far afield as Bahrain, Thailand and Qatar; leading international institutions such as Wellcome Trust, Christie’s, Google and BP; and schemes for very unique, private individuals. Since delivering the world’s finest wine store, ‘Hedonism’ in Mayfair in 2012, Fraser Randall has been managing the HIDE project throughout the entire process of its creation, a four year journey.

Lee Starling, Project Director at Fraser Randall said:

“Every project is unique but a project like HIDE comes once in a lifetime, and that’s if you’re very lucky. To deliver HIDE for Ollie in order that he can create the masterful food he does is an absolute honour; to be able to achieve both Hide and Hedonism for Evgeny and Tatiana will always be a truly memorable experience for me.”

Louise Rush, Business Development Manager at Fraser Randall added:

“At Fraser Randall, we pride ourselves on our ability to extend the boundaries of energy, commitment and effort for those we work for.”

 

Penguin Media Solutions

Penguin Media Solutions is a commercial audio visual integrator delivering a varied range of installations, from bars, restaurants and live music venues, to sports centres, retail and the corporate sector, including boardrooms and university lecture halls. The company was officially incorporated in August 2010, but Company Directors Dylan Thompson and Charlie Langridge have more than ten years’ experience in delivering high-quality, ambitious installations.

Penguin Media Solutions has a number of bars and live music venues within its portfolio and has built up an ongoing relationship with many clients, including trampoline park Rush, who invest heavily in audio visual technology, as well as the University of Kent, who entrust Penguin with their campus bars. Additional projects have included the installation of a versatile audio system into Buckle & Vaughan, a restaurant and cocktail bar in Winchmore Hill; as well as a corporate boardroom and showroom installation for a sportswear manufacturer in North London.

Recently, Penguin Media Solutions have been involved with HIDE, where they were tasked with refining a basic audio specification at the restaurant. The company designed a complex, yet easy-to-use system that is incredibly discreet and more than meets the requirements of this prestigious venue.

Dylan Thompson, Director of Operations, commented: “With a restaurant as beautiful as HIDE the audio system should be heard and not seen, so great care was taken with this.”

The new control system that Penguin Media Solutions installed doesn’t just control the stunning audio playback throughout HIDE, the system also allows guests to listen to their own music over Bluetooth. Guests can also select lighting pre-sets or change the air conditioning and heating accordingly.

Dylan Thompson, Director of Operations for Penguin Media Solutions, said:

“It was a great honour to be chosen to provide the audio and environment integration for HIDE, the finish was extremely high-end and the other contractors involved were also at the top of their game, so there was no option other than to provide perfection.”

Dylan added:

“We are a small but capable firm, so we pride ourselves on the personal touch. We have a high client retention; our clients become friends, and stay that way! That’s an important thing to us; it’s very easy for relationships to drift when you have many people handling a project. We assign a Project Manager from the design process to commissioning, so the client has one main point of contact and one familiar face!

“It may sound obvious, but we’re very easy to work with. We endeavour to answer “yes!” and provide solutions rather than create problems, both for the client and the other contractors on a project.”

 

Scena Limited

Scena Limited specialise in the fabrication of specialist joinery and metalwork, producing bespoke and unusual interior fit-out items for high-end clients. Established in 1986, the company brings together a professional team of creative technicians and craftsmen capable of producing a high standard of specialist workmanship.

Over the past 32 years, Scena Limited have fabricated and managed many projects using their skills in building and construction design to produce high quality museums, retail, and residential schemes. Scena operate in an industry where a combination of meeting deadlines, quality of finish, operating to and staying within a budget are essential and the company has built up a reputation for its attention to detail and creativity.

Past projects for Scena Limited include the National Maritime Museum, Imperial War Museum, Natural History Museum and V&A, along with work for Harrods, Selfridges, John Lewis, Fortnum & Mason, Porsche, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Hedonism Wines.

More recently, Scena Limited was privileged to be appointed to the HIDE fit-out team, alongside Lusted Green and Fraser Randall, as specialist joinery and metal fabrication contractor. The joinery and metal fabrication was complex and very detailed and required a contractor of Scena Limited’s calibre to complete the job.

Paul Norman, Scena Limited, said:

“On HIDE we used different levels of sand blasting, patination and staining on finished joinery and metalwork, creating subtle differences in the finishing between each restaurant level. Having previously worked with the client on the Hedonism Wine boutique we were pleased to be asked to carry out the works on HIDE. Being asked back is a great compliment to our craftsmen and our collaborative approach.”

Paul added:

“At Scena Limited, we enjoy being a part of a team with the common goal of producing the best product possible for the client. We add that extra attention to detail; we bring along our creative thinking; and we take pride in our finished project.”

HIDE

Credit image: Joakim Blockstrom

Grand Design Staircases

Grand Design Staircases (GD-Staircases Ltd) specialise in bespoke staircases, predominantly working with timber but also metal, glass, stone and other materials. Established in Poland over 30 years ago, the British operation Grand Design Staircases has existed since 2006.

From the company’s production facility in Poland, Grand Design Staircases works on projects from start to finish including the supply, manufacture and installation of bespoke solutions. The company predominantly works with individual clients on high end residential projects but has also worked on prestigious commercial developments, such as HIDE.

For HIDE, Grand Design Staircases was responsible for a steel core staircase clad in wood. Previously, the company has created handmade products using traditional manufacturing techniques but HIDE required a combination of 3D modelling with handmade craftsmanship.

Janusz Kosciuch, Grand Design Staircases Managing Director, said:

“It was very unique and a one off project.

“The most important thing for us is that we work with different clients and provide bespoke solutions. We are open to any design and any requirement. We have 40 people working in our factory who are very specialised and are very good craftsmen. That’s why we are able to undertake any project.”

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