Speaking to Restaurant, Simmons says the site - which is on Park Place just off the Welsh capital’s inner ring road overlooking Cardiff City Hall and the National Museum Cardiff - will be his biggest project yet.
It will comprise an all-day brasserie on the first floor, an events space on the ground floor and a late-night wine and cocktail bar called Paper Plane in the cellar.
The chef acquired the Grade I-listed French Gothic-style building in 2023 and will begin work on the site next month, with Park House expected to open around this time next year.
Simmons and his wife Lois have no backers as such but are billing the project as a joint venture with two of their key team members from their Pontcanna flagship Thomas.
Tom Peters, currently executive chef at Thomas, will relocate to Park House to lead the kitchen, while general manager Adam Day will take the reins at Paper Plane.
“It’s a huge project for us – we will have 160 covers not including the cellar. We will cater for anyone and everyone. We haven’t quite decided on the name for the brasserie yet,” says Simmons, who also operates four, soon to be five, bakeries in and around the city under his Ground brand.
“Cardiff has really taken off since we came here five years ago. When we arrived, high-quality independents were few and far between. It was mostly chains, but now we have places like Sonder, which is going from strength to strength, Gorse and Alex Vines’ upcoming restaurant Ogof, which will be just round the corner from us.”
Simmons - whose cooking CV includes Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s - launched Thomas in 2020, having previously run a restaurant near London’s Tower Bridge.
The chef has partnered with local 3D visualisation studio 4Real Creative to digitally reimagine Park House as a premier dining destination.
4Real will work closely with Simmons and his interior designer to create photorealistic CGI renderings.