The Blue Posts, Soho, London

Every project Layo Paskin and his sister Zoë touch turns to gold. Now the owners of two of London’s best and hardest-to-get-into restaurants – The Palomar and The Barbary – have embarked on their most ambitious project yet: transforming a crumbling Soho boozer into a sleek, multipurpose space with a members’ club vibe. Here’s why we couldn’t be more excited.

Layo, now 47, first made a name for himself on the London scene for running West End super club The End. Over its 14-year reign – in the golden era of clubbing – The End hosted a number of major celebs, from Robert De Niro to Prince, and was where kings-of-the-scene Daft Punk played their first London set. Sadly, the decline in record shops and music’s shift to digital saw the club close in 2009.

Layo was quick to move with the times – replacing his passion for DJing with food and opening The Palomar with his sister Zoë, now 42, who used to work at Hawksmoor. The 50-seater, award-winning restaurant serving top-notch middle eastern cuisine quickly became popular with big names including the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Patterson. Never a pair to become complacent, in 2016 the Paskins opened a second restaurant: The Barbary, specialising in North African and Spanish cuisine, and coffee-house Jacob the Angel soon followed.

Now the siblings have thrown open yet another pair of doors with an entirely new proposition. The Blue Posts is more trendy supper club than sweaty super club (although the drinks are just as important as the food). Set in a three-tiered, Grade II-listed pub dating back to 1739, Layo and Zoë’s new space has a members’ club-meets-traditional-boozer vibe, appealing to those who want to belong to the Soho House set but can’t afford, or don’t fancy paying, the membership fees. The Blue Posts isn’t actually private, but feels it.

The ground floor has remained a pub with drinks and an irresistible bar menu. The beer cellar has becoming Evelyn's Table, a single kitchen counter. There are just 11 seats here – and it offers what the Palomar and Barbary team do best: a damn good counter dining spot. You’ll have to book if you want to bag a spot here though, and presumably competition is outrageously fierce for tables.

The first floor has become The Mulwray, a cocktail lounge decorated in dark velvets, marble and satin brass with furnishings in soft pink and a wood burning stove which will come into its own on cold nights. There’s a bar menu available here too.

Head Chef Nacho Pinilla is in charge of the food. He was Executive Chef of The Barbary and as well as looking after Evelyn's Table, he's created the bar menus for The Blue Posts.

Layo’s former DJing days aren’t entirely in the past, though. Following his performance to die-hard fans at Glastonbury last summer, Layo will be bringing a taste of The End’s former glory to The Blue Posts once a month, with an (albeit tamer) club night: The Block Party. Want to check out the coolest new spot in Soho and hear the legend spinning decks? You can! The first club night will be held on 6th July – and it’s set to be a class act.

Click here for more information and to book