The Chiltern Firehouse is a restaurant and hotel located at 1 Chiltern Street,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, London, England occupying the

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building of the former Marylebone Fire Station, also known as Manchester Square Fire Station. It is owned by

André Balazs André Tomes Balazs (born January 31, 1957) is an American businessman and hotelier. He is president and chief executive officer of André Balazs Properties, a portfolio of hotels across the United States and residences in New York state, especial ...

, a

hotel chain A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

owner, who also owns the

Chateau Marmont The Chateau Marmont is a hotel located at 8221 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The hotel was designed by architects Arnold A. Weitzman and William Douglas Lee and completed in 1929. It was modeled loosely after the Château d'Amboise ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The head chef is Nuno Mendes.

Manchester Square Fire Station

The Manchester Square Fire Station was built in 1889, by the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

Architect's Department, "in the Vulliamy manner". "Red brick with stone dressings; tiled roof. Free Tudor-Gothic style". It initially served as a

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

, and was one of the first fire stations in London. The original architect was Robert Pearsall. Originally known as Manchester Square Fire Station (

Manchester Square Manchester Square is an 18th-century garden square in Marylebone, London. Centred north of Oxford Street it measures internally north-to-south, and across. It is a small Georgian predominantly 1770s-designed instance in central London; cons ...

is nearby), it was decommissioned in June 2005 by the

London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) was a functional body of the Greater London Authority (GLA), established under the Greater London Authority Act 1999. Its principal purpose was to run the London Fire Brigade. The 17 members ...

. For some years subsequently, it had been in occasional use as an exhibition space for local artists, as there was a long and complex planning process to convert it to a luxury hotel and restaurant. David Archer of Archer Humphryes Architects acted as lead architect for the project.

Chiltern Firehouse hotel and restaurant

The Chiltern Firehouse opened as a 26-suite hotel and 200 capacity restaurant in 2013. It is the first British establishment by American hotelier

Interior

The Firehouse features an open kitchen. The restaurant interior is designed by Paris-based Studio KO. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

s restaurant critic

Tracey MacLeod Tracey MacLeod (born 30 October 1960 in Ipswich, Suffolk) is an English journalist and broadcaster. She has presented arts and music programming, including ''The Late Show (BBC TV series), The Late Show'' (1989–95) and its musical offshoots ...

described the interior by saying that "they've kept the huge firehouse doors, giving an almost rustic feel, while cleverly-placed mirrors create the illusion of infinite space." ''

Londonist Gothamist LLC is the operator, or in some cases franchisor, of eight city-centric websites that focused on news, events, food, culture, and other local coverage. It was founded in 2003 by Jake Dobkin and Jen Chung. In March 2017, Joe Ricketts, ...

'' reported:

The look of the space is unique. A ceiling clad with fabric that would feel at home on the seats of the
Bakerloo line The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that goes from in suburban north-west London to in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over . It runs partly ...
, carpeted corridors your gran would like, and a scattering of pot plants and nic-nacs lend a feel that's simultaneously homely and nothing at all like a home you could imagine.

Grace Dent Grace Dent (born 3 October 1973) is an English columnist, broadcaster and author. She is a restaurant critic for ''The Guardian'' and from 2011 to 2017 wrote a restaurant column for the ''Evening Standard''. She is a regular critic on the BBC' ...

of the ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' described a "glorious dining room that is part classic French brasserie, part industrial—supporting pillars, a fireman's pole and low-hanging lights—and part chintzy in-joke with pot plants, ornaments, thick hallway carpets and marble tables."

Chef and cuisine

The Chiltern Firehouse's head chef is the Portuguese Nuno Mendes. Mendes was trained at the

California Culinary Academy The California Culinary Academy (CCA) was a for-profit school, and an affiliate of Le Cordon Bleu located in San Francisco, California. Danielle Carlisle established the school in 1977 to train chefs using the European education model. The origina ...

in the 1990s, worked at

elBulli El Bulli () was a restaurant near the town of Roses, Catalonia, Spain, run by chef Ferran Adrià and driven by the culinary ideas of Albert Adrià. The restaurant overlooked Cala Montjoi, a bay on Catalonia's Costa Brava. It held three Michelin st ...

, and has worked with

Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian-American chef and restaurateur. Early life and career Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname o ...

Rocco di Spirito Rocco DiSpirito (born November 19, 1966) is an American chef and reality television personality based in New York City, known for starring in the program '' The Restaurant''. Early life and education DiSpirito was born in Queens, New York. He ...

, and

Jean-Georges Vongerichten Jean-Georges Vongerichten (; ; born in Alsace, France, on 16 March 1957) is a French chef.

. In 2006, Mendes opened Bacchus, a

gastropub A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves gourmet comfort food. The term was coined in the 1990s, though similar brewpubs existed during the 1980s. Etymology The term ''gastropub'' (derived from gastronomy) was coined in 1991, when David E ...

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. I ...

, and later opened The Loft Project, from his own apartment in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

, "where some of the best chefs cooked in front of guests, offering a pioneering and intimate experience". In 2010, Mendes opened Viajante (

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

for "traveller") in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

's Town Hall Hotel, inspired by world cuisines. Within its first year of opening it received a

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

and was included in the 2013

World's 50 Best Restaurants The World's Best 50 Restaurants is a list produced by UK media company William Reed, which originally appeared in the British magazine ''Restaurant'' in 2002. The list and awards however are no longer directly related to ''Restaurant'' magazine ...

Giles Coren Giles Robin Patrick Coren (born 29 July 1969) is a British columnist, food writer, and television and radio presenter. He has been a restaurant critic for ''The Times'' newspaper since 2002, and was named Food and Drink Writer of the Year at the ...

of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' referred to Mendes as "every restaurant critic's secret favourite cook". Also working in the kitchen is Dale Osborne previously at

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal Dinner by Heston Blumenthal is a restaurant in London, England, created by Heston Blumenthal. Opened in January 2011, it received a Michelin star within a year and earned its second in 2014. In April 2014, it was listed fifth on The World's 5 ...

Food hygiene failings

''The Times'' reported in August 2014 that officers from

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

's food safety team had awarded the restaurant only two stars out of a possible five when the restaurant was inspected. Inspectors had found dirty surfaces, food served below safe temperatures, dirty fly screens, poor access to hot water and soap, and broken glass in a freezer. A former chef who spoke to ''The Times'' said: "Upstairs the diners could see the chefs working away in the open-plan kitchen, but downstairs it was a different story ... We had people using an ironing board to chop herbs on and there was no extraction". The article was accompanied by a photograph of a chef using an ironing board to prepare food. The Chiltern Firehouse commented that the "vast majority" of the problems had been rectified.

Celebrity patronage and criticism

In June 2014, ''The Daily Telegraph'' called it "London's hottest celebrity hangout", saying: "Once upon a time, celebrities liked to nibble their lettuce leaves at

The Ivy The Ivy is a British restaurant which is known for being popular with celebrities. It is located on West Street near Cambridge Circus in London, opposite the Ambassadors and St Martin's theatres, making it a popular restaurant for theaterg ...

. Then, the place to go for your sushi (and a quick romp in the broom cupboard) was

Nobu Nobu Hospitality, LLC is an American company founded by Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro, and Meir Teper in partnerships with Drew Nieporent as an Operator with Myriad Restaurant Group. Background In 1987, Nobu Matsuhisa moved to Los Angele ...

. These days, it's the Chiltern Firehouse". The ''

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'' noted the Firehouse's exclusive reputation, asking: "Fancy booking a table at Chiltern Firehouse? Well unless your name is written on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

then you may as well give up!" ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported a "rigorous screening process to accept bookings", saying: "Chiltern Firehouse is all about who's who and with the amount of detail gone into creating what has to be one of the loveliest and coolest new places in London, it's almost justified." MacLeod appeared critical of the exclusivity of the Firehouse, writing:

The garage, once home to the fire engines, now revs with the self-congratulatory hum of a fashionable crowd, who have scored a table despite a bookings policy apparently borrowed from the North Korean tourist board. ..Appropriate perhaps, that in keeping with its previous incarnation, the Firehouse seems to operate a strict no-civilians policy.

Britta Jaschinski of ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' said: "Checking in feels a bit like arriving at a

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The most recent published census data indi ...

meeting."

Bryony Gordon Bryony Naomi Gordon (born 5 July 1980) is an English journalist. Early life Gordon is the daughter of ''Sunday Mirror'' gossip columnist Jane Gordon. She was educated at a Kew College primary school and later attended the independent Queen's Ga ...

blogged that "there is even a waiting list for the waiting list". The food, however, has not been universally praised, with Matthew Norman of ''The Daily Telegraph'' writing that the:

cooking ranges from the merely comforting to the plainly inedible; and which, despite the unstinting efforts of its publicists at
Freud Communications Freud Communications is a public relations firm based in London. It was founded in 1985 by Matthew Freud. He is the great-grandson of the Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who himself was the uncle of Edward Bernays, the Austrian-American pion ...
to festoon newspaper pages with tidings of its stellar clientele, barely qualifies as the best restaurant on its own premises."This is the tale of the ale and the quail", Matthew Norman, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 6 September 2014, p. w20.

References

External links

* Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster Grade II listed government buildings Fire stations completed in 1889 Restaurants in London Buildings by Robert Pearsall Defunct fire stations Fire stations in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Marylebone {{Restaurants in London