28°-50° Wine Workshop and Kitchen in Marylebone, part of the wine-focused restaurant founded by chef Agnar Sverrisson and Xavier Rousset, has been sold to an undisclosed buyer.
While it hasn’t been confirmed who has bought the group, its 28°-50° Fetter Lane site was bought by Cliffords Restaurant Limited in June following “a great offer”, leaving the Maddox Street site in Mayfair, which is also up for sale and at an “advanced stage” in negotiations. The Michelin-starred Texture restaurant is not for sale.
Confirming the sale of the 28°-50° Wine Workshop and Kitchen on Marylebone Lane, part of the Texture Restaurant Group, the group said it had received a “fantastic offer that was too good to refuse”.
“From 1st December, 28-50 Marylebone Lane will operate under new management,” it said. “The name and concept will not change, but there will be no involvement from previous chef patron and owner Aggi Sverrisson. Separately, its sister site 28°-50° Maddox Street is under offer with negotiations at an advanced stage.
“Aggi Sverrisson will continue to focus on his Michelin-starred Icelandic restaurant Texture, which in November 2018 was named as the highest-scoring restaurant for food in Harden’s Restaurant Survey.”
The pair launched the 28°-50° “wine workshop and kitchen” concept off Fleet Street in 2010, with a Marylebone site following in 2012 and a Mayfair venue opened in 2013.
Launching with a special focus on wine and a concept that included modern European sharing plates, 28°-50° was among the first to make a hero of wine, helping to pave the way for venues such as Sager + Wilde, The Remedy, Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels and The Laughing Heart.
In 2015 Rousset left the restaurant group, with Master Sommelier Clément Robert taking over, who is today food and beverage director for the Texture Restaurant Group.
Sverrisson trained under Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons and mentored Ollie Dabbous, who was head chef of Texture for two years before launching Dabbous in Fitzrovia.
