Exclusive: Patrick Powell to open new restaurant in former Gilbert Scott space

The hotelier and developer Harry Handelsman will again team up with the Irish chef Patrick Powell to open a new restaurant at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, CODE can reveal. 

Their latest collaboration will be The Midland Grand Dining Room – after the hotel’s name in the 19th and 20th century – which will occupy the former Gilbert Scott space that was previously led by Marcus Wareing. 

Set to open early next year, the upscale brasserie will be Powell’s second project within the Gothic Revival grandeur of the Renaissance. In November 2021, he helped set up the Booking Office 1861, the restaurant adjacent to the station concourse.

The chef first worked with Handelsman at The Chiltern Firehouse, where he was head chef. After four years there, he opened his own space, Allegra, which has continually impressed.

Powell said of the Midland Grand: ‘The layers of history that permeate the restaurant and bar create this extraordinary sense of excitement. I first walked past the building within days of moving to London and was immediately in awe of it. So to now be opening a restaurant within it just over ten years later feels like an extraordinary privilege.’ 

While the menu remains under wraps, CODE was told the interiors will be designed by the Parisian architect Hugo Toro, who was also entrusted with the Booking Office. 

Handelsman said the new restaurant will help further cement King’s Cross as a culinary destination.

‘Since I redeveloped and reopened the Renaissance Hotel back in 2011, the regeneration of King’s Cross has continued apace, cementing midtown as a true destination within the capital,’ he said. 

‘I’m convinced that under Patrick Powell, the upcoming launch of the Midland Grand Dining Room will go a long way to securing the neighbourhood’s culinary reputation too.’