Champagne launch at Searcys
A new champagne school has just launched at the impressively refurbished Searcys St Pancras site in London.
St Pancras Brasserie and Champagne Bar by Searcys, which features the longest champagne bar in Europe, unveiled a new look in April, coinciding with the 150-year anniversary of St Pancras station.
The redesign has been carried out by London-based studio Softroom, with PBL Group as fit out contractors for the scheme, who were commended for the quality of their work.
Harriet Helps Softroom, project designer for the scheme said: “The venue’s champagne bar and restaurant are located on either side of the station concourse and the client wanted to refurbish the restaurant and bar to unify the two offers, as well as to introduce more private dining spaces.
“The key driver behind the scheme was that the client wanted to introduce their champagne school, which was created within an existing room previously used for private hire.”
The Champagne School hosts masterclasses led by Searcys drinks ambassador Joel Claustre and features a clay wall finish giving a chalky appearance similar to caves used for champagne storage.
The walls are highlighted by an up-lit map of various champagne regions etched into the clay. Reclaimed up-lit ‘riddling racks’ used to store champagne bottles are situated below the map to add to the overall ambience. The space also incorporates a large table with a blue inset reminiscent of a river running down the centre, and the existing limestone flooring was refurbished.
In the adjacent wine bar, the layout of the furniture was changed and now incorporates three large sharing tables for large parties, meetings or laptop working on one side, and new sofas on the other.
The main entrance was also repositioned so that customers arrive into the cocktail lounge, rather than the centre of the restaurant, as previously.
New private dining areas were created in what was previously the entrance lobby, with design features including full height velvet curtains, and cork-topped tables echoing the champagne theme. The colour palette includes golds and light blues, in keeping with the art deco style of the venue. The walls were re-painted in light grey and the parquet timber and limestone flooring was refurbished.
In addition, new signage to the Champagne Bar was erected outside, on the concourse, as part of a brand re-launch for the venue.
Harriet Helps said: “The main challenges of the project were working within a live venue, plus the fact that the station is a listed building, so all of the works required listed building consent. These challenges were successfully overcome and PBL did a very good job. The client was also very happy with the project, and we are working on two other schemes for them.”
Searcys managing director Matt Thomas said: “The Champagne School allows us to share our wealth of knowledge on Champagne and British sparkling wine in more depth. This is the first of many changes we hope will mark a new era for Searcys.”
PBL Group Ltd
Formed in 2016, PBL Group Ltd is a multi-disciplined principal contractor delivering construction, fit out and refurbishment works ranging in value between £10K and £1m. PBL Group Ltd works with a wide variety of clients across sectors including education, commercial, retail and Local Authority schemes to deliver new builds, extensions, fit outs and refurbishments.
Past projects have included the internal refurbishment of kennels, offices and kitchens for Battersea Dog and Cats Home; the internal and external refurbishments on various commercial property for Haringey Council; and a number of schemes for Royal Borough of Greenwich, including school refurbishments as well as works to public buildings and parks. Most recently, PBL Group Ltd has been involved with the internal fit out and refurbishment of Searcy’s St Pancras.
Working on Searcy’s St Pancras, PBL Group Ltd was appointed as the principal contractor to carry out a number of in-house trades including plumbing, carpentry, tiling and decorations. In addition, the company co-ordinated and managed all specialist suppliers that were a part of the project, including joinery and furniture.
Works on Searcy’s St Pancras were carried out in a phased approach, with the majority completed out of normal operating hours, in order to reduce the impact the project had on the restaurant.
PBL Group Ltd Managing Director, Gary Raife, said:
“This was a highly prestigious project for PBL Group Ltd, not only because of the iconic status of St Pancras Station – which is celebrating its 150th year – but to also work with the renowned restaurant and champagne bar Searcy’s is something we are very proud to be part of.”
Gary added:
“We are a family-run business that takes great pride in providing the highest level of service to all of our clients – no matter what the size or complexity of the project. We pride ourselves in the fact that our clients provide us with excellent feedback and praise us for our friendly, flexible and professional approach which is proven by our ability to forge long term relationships where we work with our clients time and time again.”
