OPENING MARCH 2020
Occupying the old L’atelier de Joël Robuchon site on West Street (a couple of doors up from The Ivy), Louie sees the coming together of French restaurant group Paris Society and acclaimed New Orleans chef Slade Rushing.
This is the first London venture for Laurent de Gourcuff, whose Paris Society restaurant group is renowned for its culinary hotspots in the French capital including Girafe in the Place de Trocadero, Loulou in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Perruche, a rooftop brasserie overlooking the Eiffel Tower.
The 75-cover restaurant will house an impressive 80-seat bar, live music and a resident DJ – all overseen by Guillaume Glipa, the restaurant and clubs manager behind renowned celebrity hotspots Chiltern Firehouse and Annabel’s in Berkeley Square.
The restaurant’s name is allegedly inspired by jazz king Louis Armstrong and Sun King Louis XIV and Louie will serve a menu of French-Creole food from James-Beard accredited chef Rushing, who made a shock departure from New Orleans restaurant Brennan’s earlier this year after five years of running the kitchen there as executive chef.
Speaking to The New Orleans Advocate, Rushing said that Louie will “blend influences of New Orleans, London and Paris through its menu”, adding “this is an incredible opportunity I couldn’t pass up”.
The idea for Louie came about in December 2018 when de Gourcuff phoned Glipa to discuss his dream of opening his own place in London. Glipa is unfazed by having The Ivy next door, telling the Evening Standard that “there is always competition but it’s the best thing that can happen to you because it makes you step up your game and it brings more people to the neighbourhood”. De Gourcoff added, “We are very happy to open our first establishment in London, to export our vision of catering and our own expertise”.