It is understood that Murphy will have his name above the door but that the name of the restaurant will also reference the site’s 74 Charlotte Street address (update: the restaurant’s name has now been confirmed as 74 Charlotte Street by Ben Murphy).
A protege of Pierre Koffmann, the chef is best known for his seven-year stint at The Evolv Collection’s (then D&D London’s) Launceston Place restaurant in Kensington.
It is understood that Murphy’s latest project will be ambitious and top-end but will be positioned more casually than Launceston Place.
Murphy’s began his career at Koffmann’s at The Berkeley, where he advanced from commis chef to sous chef.
He then moved to France to Michel Guérard’s Michelin three-starred Les Prés d’Eugénie in the Aquitaine region, followed by a stint at Epicure at Le Bristol in Paris
Returning to London, he was appointed sous chef at the two Michelin-starred The Greenhouse in Mayfair, followed by his first head chef role at The Woodford in east London.
Murphy’s impressive CV was further bolstered in 2022 when he was named National Chef of the Year, a year after he was promoted to chef patron at Launceston Place.
Restaurant understands that the lease of the 74 Charlotte Street site is held by Alastair Storey, a key backer of chef Monica Galetti’s Mere - which closed in 2024 - and a director of WSH Restaurants as well as the chief executive of contract catering company WSH.
The launch will bring WSH’s portfolio up to five with the restaurant joining the newly-opened The Braywood (on the former site of The Royal Oak at Paley Street), The Clockspire, The Boxford and The Woodspeen