Premier Hospitality

M Restaurant

M Restaurant
Written by Roma Publications

M arrives on Victoria Street

M VICTORIA

Martin Williams – the founder of M Restaurants – has opened his second destination restaurant, M which is situated in the heart of London’s Victoria neighbourhood. The restaurant boasts a sumptuous selection of dishes, a fantastic collection of drinks and a truly beautiful interior design that is truly inviting.

M Victoria Street is the dining and drinking brand’s second venue after bursting onto the London foodie scene in 2014. The new restaurant is backed by an exceptional team, including decorated sommelier Zack Charilou, head chef James Titheradge and executive chef Michael Reid, formerly of Le Gavroche, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Vue de Monde and The Skinny Duck.

Martin Williams, CEO and Founder of M, said:
“Due to the huge success of M Threadneedle Street, I’m delighted to be in a position to open our new restaurant, six months ahead of schedule. I’m really proud of the new additions to the menu, where ingredients will be the hero – and excited to be one of the very first luxury restaurants to open in Victoria as it becomes the next London hotspot for work, food, drink and play.”

M VICTORIA

M is the first high-end restaurant to open in Victoria – an area of London that is currently undergoing a major regeneration – and is divided into two distinct areas: M Grill and M Raw. M Grill is a theatrical oval-shaped, triple-tiered dining room, specialising in the finest steaks in the world, whilst M Raw serves up lighter, more delicate dishes such as sashimi, grains and Bento Boxes.

Joining the incredible food offering at M Victoria Street is an exceptional cocktail bar, specialising in premium and innovative martinis. In addition, M Wine Store – located at ground level – provides guests with the opportunity to taste and buy more than 300 restaurant-quality wines, selected from six countries including the USA, Argentina, France, Italy, South Africa and Australia.

M Wine Store is a venue in its own right and boasts a tapas menu, alongside regular complimentary tasting events and weekly ‘wine hours’. M Wine Store has been designed with everyone in mind, from wine lovers to novices, making previously intimidating wines accessible to all.

M VICTORIA

Zack Charilou, Director of Wine at M Restaurants, said:
“Selecting the world’s best wines for M Wine Store has been an amazing project ten years in the making. I am very excited that we are the first wine store to offer restaurant wines for people to enjoy at home. My ambition was to make the very best quality wines accessible to everyone and champion fantastic wines from independent winemakers to the big wine making families.”
Martin, said:
“Zack heads up a new breed of talented sommeliers in London who have outstanding passion and knowledge, but zero pretention! Both he and the wine selection at M Wine Store are bringing the likes of Petrus to the people!”
To round out the offering at M Victoria Street, the restaurant includes M Den, a secret area, reserved for private guests. M Den includes a private member’s bar complete with six-seater cinema, along with a private cocktail bar, bottle lockers, fireplace and DJ booth.

Hannah Contracts was the main contractor on M Victoria Street, working alongside award-winning luxury interior designer René Dekker Design. The London-based practice had previously provided design services to M Threadneedle Street so were the perfect choice to take on this project.
One of the main reasons René Dekker Design was chosen for the project is because the practice is perhaps best known for its residential work. M owner Martin Williams was looking for a fresh approach for his restaurants, with a designer who could blur the lines between residential and commercial work and that is something that René Dekker Design has implemented throughout the restaurant and wine store.

René Dekker of René Dekker Design, said:
“The first restaurant was in the city, with a completely different clientele, so for this restaurant Martin was looking for something with a bit more of an international flavour – something a bit brighter.
“The M Wine Store has a contemporary feel, with clean lines and a design which can appeal to a broad demographic. Meanwhile, the restaurant has a slight Mediterranean flavour, with little nods here and there to the Med, without repeating anything too Florentine.
“We didn’t want the upstairs and the downstairs to be different, so we have incorporated some of the same elements in both areas, such as copper which has been used in decorative pendants, floor tiles and niches on the wine wall.”

Lighting also plays a large part in the look of the restaurant and the results can be seen throughout M Victoria Street. During the design stages, René Dekker Design made the most of every opportunity to incorporate lighting, so niches, plinths and seating are all illuminated in their own way, to maximum effect.

M VICTORIA

Working on M Restaurant and continuing the close working relationship with Martin Williams and the M brand is extremely important to René and something he truly values. He said:
“Working with Martin Williams is fantastic. Before we met Martin we had not worked on a restaurant project, we were instead known for our work on high-end residential projects, but Martin saw something in us that he knew could work well for his vision.
“Martin presented us with a fantastic springboard to showcase our potential and this is what we have demonstrated with M Victoria Street.”
Specialising in commercial Kitchens – including design, manufacturing and installation – Salix were contacted by Martin Williams following their successful installation of the bar at M Threadneedle Street. Salix worked with Martin’s team to create a kitchen and two bars at M Victoria Street.

Speaking to Premier Hospitality, Paul Williams of Salix Stainless Steel Fabrication Ltd, said:
“Leading manufacturers were selected for use in M Victoria Street, including Josper, Rational, Foster & Blue Seal.”
Paul added:
“We wish Martin and the Team all the success in this new restaurant.”
M Victoria Street is open 7am until midnight Monday to Friday and from 10am until midnight on Saturday and Sunday.
For more information about M Restaurants, please visit: www.mrestaurants.co.uk and to start browsing M Wine Store’s collection of wines, please visit: www.mwinestore.com.

Lighttouch AV

Established in 2008, Lighttouch AV provide audio visual and smart control solutions for a range of sectors such as bars/restaurants, boutique hotels, boardrooms and high end residential projects.

Recent Lighttouch AV projects include a Park Lane Casino, a large Farringdon conferencing centre, a prestigious marketing suite in Islington and various high-end residences around London and the South east.

Premier Hospitality caught up with Dean Rogers, Director at Lighttouch AV, to discover some key information on the brief for M Victoria. Dean commented:
“We were asked to design and install a restaurant wide audio system, capable of providing good sound quality for all types of music, plus the ability to control volume levels in eight individual areas. We’ve also installed three DJ plates to support mixing desks for those wanting more than just background music on special occasions.
“In the members bar is a TV screen with the added benefit of six wireless headphones, this allows users to watch and listen to the screen whilst the rest of the bar users can enjoy the background music.
“M Victoria is a new quality venue; we can only strengthen our reputation by being associated with such an exciting new brand and destination.”

When asked what the company prides itself on, Dean replied:
“Our total commitment to any project, we are amiable in our approach but always professional, providing users with easy to operate robust installations.”

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Roma Publications