Named after Searle’s late grandmother, a self-certified Francophile, who put food and wine at the centre of her everyday life, Marjorie’s is described as being ‘the missing slice of Paris in central London’ and promises to feel brand new while also paying homage to French tradition.
Marjorie’s will be split over two floors, offering 47 covers in total. The ground-floor will have space for Comprising 27 seats while the downstairs dining and open kitchen space will have space for 20. A further 12 seats will be available for al fresco dining on the outside terrace during warmer months.
The food menu will be overseen by Naples-born head chef Giacomo Peretti, who has had kitchen experience at restaurants, including stages at Core by Clare Smyth, Kol & Silo. He further spent a year as commis chef at Le Gavroche, before moving on to a head chef role at Temper in Soho, followed by executive head chef positions at Firebird, also in Soho, and most recently The Culpeper in Shoreditch.
Peretti’s style of cooking will offer a modern take on French cuisine while respecting classic technique, with dishes on the launch menu to include chicken liver rocher, hazelnut and morello; fried courgette, rouille and trout roe; Brie de Meaux, summer beans and apricot; escargot, seaweed and pine nut cream; crab tart with crab bisque; red mullet, bouillabaisse and tapenade; bavette, egg yolk and girolles; mille-feuille, strawberries and chantilly; and raspberry and tarragon sorbet.
There will also be a daily cheese board served table-side offering a collection of French cheeses sourced from La Fromagerie.
Marjorie’s ‘highly curated’ tight wine list will be exclusively French and will feature contemporary, small-batch producers as well as more carefully chosen, classic varietals.
Design elements of the restaurant will include a travertine-topped bar designed for communal dining and drinking in the ground floor space while downstairs will have a more ‘old school’ Soho atmosphere with a darker colour palette, walnut wall panelling, bespoke banquette seating and a large round table in the centre for groups.
“Josh and I have been planning a wine bar since our first road trip around France together in my old P-reg Vauxhall Corsa, back in 2014,” says Searle.
“Through many a research trip, we’ve always been completely inspired by the ‘bar à vins’ of Paris' outer arrondissements where young Parisian chefs and restaurateurs work hard to show a contemporary edge to French cuisine; a cuisine that can often be misinterpreted to be firmly rooted in classics that haven’t changed in decades.
“There’s an edge to this certain style of wine bar that offers food and wine of exceptional quality in a totally laid back, laissez-faire style, almost saying that top-quality food and wine should be a given.”
Emma Matus, head of restaurant Leasing at Shaftesbury Capital, adds: “We identified this Foubert’s Place location as being perfect for a wine bar and premium casual dining concept, and Marjorie’s embodies the quality and calibre of concept we were looking for.
“As one of the streets that connects with Carnaby Street, we know that Foubert’s Place naturally attracts people looking for a place to stop and pause, so whether it’s for a glass of wine or a more leisurely meal, Marjorie’s will provide exactly what our visitors need and want here.”
Marjorie’s will open on Foubert’s Place, just off Carnaby Street in Soho, this May.