The Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch hotel unveils its restaurant partners

After multiple challenges, including the pandemic and a change of ownership (followed by revised designs), Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch is finally edging towards opening.

That said, Hilton won’t be more specific than ‘2026’. The original developers bought the site in 2012.

Clare Smyth and Daniel Boulud were announced this week as its official chef partners.

The two chefs, who together hold seven Michelin stars, will each oversee one of the hotel’s signature restaurants.

Whilst Daniel Boulud is a low key figure in the UK, he used to run a restaurant in the basement of Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. I met him there once as part of a Marriott Moments event he hosted, despite the Mandarin Oriental venue. Boulud is best known for his New York restaurants and is presumably a nod to the strong US demand expected at the hotel.

Clare Smyth was previous head chef at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay before opening Core in Notting Hill – where I also met her on a Marriott Moments event.

In terms of the hotel:

Originally commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of Queen Victoria, Admiralty Arch stands proudly at the opposite end of The Mall to Buckingham Palace, offering unrivalled views of Buckingham Palace in one direction and across Nelson’s Column and Trafalgar Square to the other. 

Disappointingly, the original plans for an ‘afternoon tea salon’ on the fourth floor bridge were replaced with a two-bedroom VIP suite following the change of ownership halfway through development.

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