Gordon Ramsay Restaurants has announced that Lucky Cat, a new Asian-inspired restaurant set to replace Maze in Mayfair, is scheduled to open this summer.
The restaurant group announced the closure of Maze last year, stating that it would open a new “concept restaurant in its place”.
Following a couple of cryptic feline-themed posts on social media, the chef and restaurateur announced that ‘Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay’, inspired by the drinking dens of 1930s Tokyo, would open later this year.
Maze, which held a Michelin star between 2006 and 2015, closed on Saturday (2 February) after 14 years in business. Opened in 2005, the Grosvenor Square restaurant made its name under the stewardship of Jason Atherton, who was executive chef at the site until 2010 before leaving to open Pollen Street Social in 2011.
Described as “an authentic Asian eating house and vibrant late-night lounge,” Lucky Cat takes its name from the popular Asian talisman said to bring good luck and fortune.
It will be headed up by Ben Orpwood who joined Gordon Ramsay Restaurants in January 2018. Formerly executive chef at nearby glitzy Asian restaurant and bar, Sexy Fish, Orpwood previously spent six years at Zuma in Knightsbridge.
The restaurant group stated that it has enlisted the services of design studio AfroditiKrassa, which counts Dishoom, Heston Blumenthal’s Heathrow Terminal 2 restaurant and Southwark’s Bala Baya among its clients.
Commenting on the opening, Gordon Ramsay, said: “I can’t wait to open the doors at Lucky Cat and bring a new flavour of Asian food and culture to Mayfair. I can honestly say there will not be a bad seat in the house – every table will have a unique view and each guest will come away having experienced something sensational – whether it be the phenomenal menu, the amazing service or the stunning look and feel.
“Maze leaves large shoes for us to fill, but I have no doubt Lucky Cat will more than step up to the plate.”
The cat’s out the bag… @LuckyCatGR – opening in Mayfair, Summer 2019 ! #LuckyCat pic.twitter.com/7Lc0zlMdYs
— Gordon Ramsay (@GordonRamsay) February 1, 2019
Last year it was reported that the holding company for Ramsay’s restaurants, which changed its name from Kavalake to Gordon Ramsay Restaurants at the end of last year, had a pre-tax loss of £3.8m in the year to the end of August 2017.
The group was also lumped with a £1.75m legal bill for costs relating to a long-running legal dispute with Rowan Seibel, Ramsay’s former business partner in the Los Angeles-based Fat Cow, which closed in 2014.
In October last year, Ramsay announced the opening of his third restaurant in Hong Kong – Maze Grill – after he announced that he was relocating his first site in the territory, Bread Street Kitchen, in August.
