Kettner’s Townhouse

Kettner’s Townhouse, opening in January 2018, is a restaurant and Champagne Bar with 33 bedrooms, in a historic Georgian building in London’s Soho. Joining Dean Street Townhouse, the first stand-alone hotel and public restaurant from Soho House, opened in 2009.

Established in 1867 by August Kettner, rumoured to have been chef to Napolean III, Kettner’s was one of the first restaurants in London to serve French food. Popular with historical figures and creatives throughout it’s 149-year history, urban myth has it that King Edward VII courted his mistress, actress Lillie Langtry, via a tunnel from the restaurant to The Palace Theatre where she performed. Remaining open through both world wars, the restaurant and Champagne Bar saw visitors including Winston Churchill, Agatha Christie, Oscar Wilde, Bing Crosby and Margaret Thatcher.

The French restaurant at Kettner’s Townhouse has a menu inspired by the history of the building, using locally sourced ingredients from the UK. The design retains the original Grade-II listed details, floral plasterwork and heritage mirrors that line the walls. Inspired by old French bistros, the interiors feature rosewood and mahogany furniture and tone on tone colours.

The adjacent Champagne bar, with curtains that can be drawn to turn it into a late night lounge, has the original mosaic tiled floor and early-deco 1920s design. French glass lights, a walnut bar with a marble top, sofas, armchairs, and vintage photos decorate the cocktail bar and lounge. The original 18th century spiral staircase leads up to 33 bedrooms on the upper floors. Each room is individually designed inspired by the 1920s, in a French boudoir style.

They have original Georgian timber floorboards and fireplaces, with heritage windows and vintage pieces. 1920s chandeliers hang from the ceilings, with antique sinks and vanities in the rooms. Specially made furniture, green velvet scalloped headboards and deep button armchairs, sit alongside hand-painted Georgian-inspired wallpaper and William Morris prints. Bathrooms have rainforest showers, some with freestanding bathtubs, and tiling inspired by French lace, with a range of Cowshed products.

The Grade II-listed Jacobean Suite is 80sqm, with original Edwardian wood panelling and ceiling detail. The suite has its own private entrance from Greek Street, a large emperor bed and a spacious living and dining area. The bathroom pod has a freestanding copper bath and separate rainforest shower. The Kettner’s Townhouse art collection is inspired by the buildings’ rumoured reputation for liaisons and affairs, with site-specific installations by Danny Augustine and Sara J Beazley.

Works in the Champagne Bar are inspired by a series of lost murals, partly uncovered during the restoration. The pieces were preserved before being recovered behind the bar walls, and after photographing the decades old work, Beazley incorporated the imagery into silkscreen prints. In the bedrooms, the artwork juxtaposes modern Soho with vintage and Georgian references.

The collection includes work by Rachel Howard, Zoe Buckman, Annie Morris, Catherine Parsonage, France-Lise McGurn, Sarah Hardacre, Isobel Williams, Charlie Billingham, Ross Chisholm, Richard Culver, David Austen, Seb Patane, George Young and Adam Dant. Kettner’s Townhouse celebrates Soho and its local community from 1867 to today, marking a new chapter for this historic building. Kettner’s Townhouse is a restaurant, Champagne bar and 33 bedrooms, open to the public. Dean Street Townhouse was the first stand-alone hotel and public restaurant from Soho House, opened in 2009 with 39 bedrooms.

Soho House & Co in-house design team