The new concepts will be housed within the 30,000sq ft Pillar Hall, a Grade II listed landmark that was the site of one of the first film screenings in Britain.
The projects, which will collectively be in excess of £10m, will comprise a 300-cover all day restaurant called Idalia on Pillar Hall’s ground floor; Pepperbird, a 70-cover speakeasy bar tucked beneath Pillar Hall; and Upstairs at Pillar Hall, a double height 500 capacity event space on the upper floors of the building.
Idalia’s name is associated with goddess Aphrodite who lived on Mount Olympus and is a nod to the beauty of Pillar Hall. The name reached peak popularity in the 1880s, the very decade that Pillar Hall was built.
The restaurant will be designed as a series of distinct spaces, with guests beginning in the conservatory before moving to the cocktail bar, and finally the dining room. It will have seating for 250 with a 50-cover terrace spilling into Olympia’s Grand Hall.
Pepperbird will be a basement speakeasy where live music will play a key factor while Upstairs at Pillar Hall will have a mezzanine floor overlooking the main dining and entertainment area below.
All female team
Pillar Hall’s kitchens will be led by an all-female team, with Samantha Williams appointed executive chef and Lorena Tommasi as executive pastry chef. Williams, previously executive chef at Jeremy King’s The Park and former group executive chef for Angela Hartnett, will oversee the venues’ culinary direction, while Tommasi, whose experience spans The Park, Annabel’s, George Club and Josephine by Claude Bosi, will lead on pastries and desserts.
The menus will reflect Williams’ and Tommasi’s modern interpretation of British cuisine, according to the company, featuring both ‘quintessentially English dishes and international influences that have become staples of the UK dining scene’.
Originally built in 1886 by architect Henry Edward Coe, who was behind Olympia’s iconic Grand Hall, Pillar Hall’s neoclassical interiors have been redesigned by global design studio Robert Angell Design International. The redesign will honour the building’s historic architecture ‘while introducing a bold, contemporary aesthetic’.
Pillar Hall marks the second new venture from restaurateur Gunewardena since founding his new hospitality company, D3 Collective. “I have been involved with this amazing project since before Covid, so we are unbelievably excited to finally be opening,” he says.
“Olympia is a much-loved British institution. Yoo Capital and DFI’s ambitious and visionary redevelopment of Olympia will mark a significant milestone in its storied history.
“Olympia will become a world-class destination for culture, entertainment, and leisure in the heart of West London, and we are very proud to be a part of it.”
D3 also has a number of other projects in the pipeline both in the UK and overseas.