Elmira Amdiy swapped a job in investment banking to join Wild Group, the London-based management company founded by Ilya Demichev and George Bukhov-Weinstein that operates steakhouse brands Goodman and Beast as well as Japanese restaurant Wild Izakaya, Sardinian restaurant Pinna, Chelsea Grill, Wild Tavern, Belvedere, and Wild Notting Hill.
Since she invested in Wild Tavern in 2020, the group has expanded rapidly across London, with Amdiy heavily involved across operations, concepts, interiors, menus, staffing, financial performance and long-term growth strategy alongside the group’s operating directors.
Alongside her London portfolio, she also owns luxury Riviera hotel Hostellerie La Farandole and its waterfront restaurants on the Côte d’Azur.
How did you become part of The Wild Group and work with Ilya and George?
I had known George and Ilya for many years before becoming involved with Wild Tavern, so there was already a great deal of trust there. I’d seen first-hand how passionate they were about hospitality and how much attention they paid to even the smallest details, which is what separates good operators from great ones. My involvement came during the pandemic. At the time, many investors were moving away from hospitality because there was so much uncertainty. We didn’t know when restaurants would reopen, what the restrictions might be or how long they would last. However, markets move in cycles and periods of uncertainty often create opportunities for those willing to take a longer-term view. While the short-term outlook was impossible to predict, I never felt the reasons people value restaurants had fundamentally changed. When I first became involved, there was one restaurant, Wild Tavern. Since then, we’ve grown the business into The Wild Group, opening six additional venues across London and building a team of more than 300 people. Today, the portfolio includes Wild Tavern, Wild Corner, Wild Notting Hill, Wild Izakaya, Chelsea Grill, Belvedere and Pinna Mayfair, alongside the redevelopment of Krokodilos.
Describe your career background and how you transitioned into hospitality
My background is investment banking. I spent years in sales and trading at Barclays Capital, Nomura and UBS, so I came from a world that is highly analytical, fast-paced and very focused on performance. At the same time, hospitality was never completely separate from my life. Alongside my finance career, I was involved with Hostellerie La Farandole on the Côte d’Azur, a luxury waterfront hotel and restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean. It gave me a very different perspective on business because hospitality is ultimately about people. You can have the most beautiful location in the world, but guests still remember how they were treated, how a place made them feel and whether the experience lived up to expectations.
Hospitality is so addictive. No matter how much you achieve, there is always something to strive for
What fascinated me was the combination of those two worlds. Hospitality is creative and emotional, but it is also incredibly commercial. Behind every successful restaurant or hotel there is a huge amount of operational discipline, financial planning and attention to detail - the guest only sees the finished experience, but an enormous amount has to happen behind the scenes to make that experience feel effortless. The move into London hospitality happened naturally through my relationship with George and Ilya, but also because I genuinely believed in the sector. Restaurants and hotels will evolve, trends will come and go, but people will always want to spend time together, celebrate important moments and create memorable experiences.
What is your role in the business and how do you work with the group’s operating directors?
I am very hands-on and work closely with George, Ilya and the wider team across the business on everything from growth strategy, future opportunities, investment and major business decisions, through to concept development, menus, interiors, financial performance and the long-term positioning of the group, while they remain deeply involved in the day-to-day operation of the restaurants. What works particularly well is that we bring different perspectives to the table. George and Ilya are exceptional hospitality operators and have a deep understanding of what makes a restaurant successful on the ground, while my background naturally leans more towards growth, development and the commercial side of the business.
Sometimes growth comes from backing a winning idea, and sometimes it comes from having the confidence to change direction when something isn’t quite working
There is a healthy amount of debate, of course, because we are constantly challenging ourselves, whether that is around a new site, a new concept or how we continue improving an existing restaurant. People often think restaurants succeed because of a great chef, a beautiful dining room or a clever concept, but the reality is much more nuanced than that. Hospitality is one of the few industries where guests experience every part of the business at once - the food, the service, the atmosphere and the overall feeling from the moment they walk through the door. If one element is not working, people notice.
What is the strategy behind opening different styles of restaurants under different brands?
People sometimes assume restaurant groups need to follow a single formula, but we’ve never looked at it that way. The Wild Group is a collection of very different hospitality concepts united by the same commitment to quality, atmosphere and guest experience. We are not trying to recreate multiple versions of the same restaurant; we’re focused on building concepts that feel authentic, distinctive and relevant to the people and places they serve. The common theme across the group is hospitality. The style of restaurant may be different, but the focus on quality, atmosphere and service remains the same. Wild Izakaya brings a contemporary take on Japanese dining under the guidance of chef Satoru, Pinna Mayfair celebrates authentic Sardinian cuisine led by Achille Pinna, while Chelsea Grill focuses on steaks, seafood, and timeless hospitality. The concepts are very different, but each has a distinct point of view, a clear sense of identity and a genuine reason to exist. Also, different neighbourhoods have different audiences, expectations and opportunities. The challenge is understanding what suits a particular location and creating something that feels natural there rather than forcing a concept into a space where it doesn’t belong. We don’t start with a fixed formula. We start by looking at the site, the customer and the area, then work backwards from there. Sometimes that leads us towards an existing concept, and sometimes it takes us in a completely new direction.
Describe the process of opening a new restaurant
Once we’ve identified a site that we believe in, we spend a lot of time evaluating what could realistically succeed there, not just from a commercial perspective, but from a guest perspective as well.The first question is often whether one of our existing concepts could work in that space because we already understand those businesses, their customers and what makes them successful. If the answer is no, then we start looking at what else the site could become. What I’ve learned over the years is that good ideas are the easy part. Hospitality is full of good ideas. The difficult part is building something that works consistently, operationally and commercially, while still creating an experience people genuinely enjoy. Differentiation matters, of course, but I don’t think it comes from trying to be different for the sake of it. Guests have endless choice and they’re incredibly sophisticated. The real challenge isn’t getting someone through the door once; it’s giving them a reason to come back again and again. That’s where having a clear identity, understanding your customer and delivering consistently becomes so important.
You closed Fantomas after less than a year and converted it into Chelsea Grill. What was behind the decision?
Fantomas was a very good restaurant, but being a good restaurant and being the right restaurant for a particular location are not always the same thing. It was a much more creative concept with bold flavours, darker interiors, red neon lighting and an energy that felt almost nightclub-like at times. We were incredibly proud of what the team created and it did develop a loyal following, but over time it became clear that it wasn’t quite the right fit for Chelsea and the local audience. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that once you recognise something isn’t performing at the level it should be, there is very little value in pretending otherwise. We had a lot of discussions internally about what Chelsea needed and, to be honest, we all had different opinions at various stages.
We don’t start with a fixed formula. We start by looking at the site, the customer and the area, then work backwards from there
There was plenty of debate around what direction we should take and what would work best for the neighbourhood. Eventually we landed on the grill concept because we felt there was a genuine opportunity for it. Chelsea Grill still delivers atmosphere and energy, but in a format that feels much more aligned with the location and the customer base. Sometimes growth comes from backing a winning idea, and sometimes it comes from having the confidence to change direction when something isn’t quite working.
What’s next for the group?
The immediate focus is Krokodilos, which is currently being redeveloped into an entirely new concept. It’s a project we’re very excited about because it perfectly reflects how we think about growth - sometimes the biggest opportunities aren’t new sites at all, they’re existing businesses with untapped potential. We’re also working on a new hotel project, which is another exciting step for the group.We’re always on the lookout for new opportunities, but hospitality can be a tempting industry to expand quickly, particularly when concepts are performing well. We’ve always taken a more measured approach; every new project has to add something meaningful to the portfolio and meet the very high standards we’ve set for ourselves. We’re not interested in growing for the sake of growth, we’re interested in building exceptional hospitality businesses that people genuinely enjoy, return to time and time again, and recommend to others.
What are the biggest challenges restaurants in London face at the moment?
The reality is that hospitality has always been a challenging industry. At the moment, operators are managing rising labour costs, inflation and increasing operating expenses, while guests are becoming more selective about where they spend their time and money. Expectations are incredibly high and competition in London remains intense, which means being ‘good’ is rarely enough. That said, I don’t necessarily see those things as negatives. London is one of the most competitive hospitality markets in the world and that competition pushes standards higher. Guests are better travelled, more knowledgeable and have more choice than ever before, which challenges all of us to keep improving. For me, the biggest challenge is maintaining exceptional standards as a business grows. Opening a great restaurant is difficult. Delivering that same experience consistently, day after day, across multiple venues is where the real work begins. That’s why so much of our focus remains on our teams, our culture and the details that guests may not consciously notice but would certainly miss if they weren’t there.
What motivates you?
For me, it’s always been about people. Hospitality is one of the few industries where you get immediate feedback on whether you’ve done your job well. People vote with their feet; they either come back or they don’t. Of course, it’s incredibly rewarding to see guests celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, promotions and other important moments in our restaurants. Being part of those occasions is a privilege and never something I take for granted, but what I find most satisfying is seeing people return again and again. In a city like London, where there is endless choice, loyalty has to be earned. I also enjoy the challenge. What keeps me motivated is the idea that there is always another level to reach. We are incredibly proud of what we’ve built so far, but there is always another restaurant to improve, another opportunity to explore and another guest experience to make better. That’s what makes hospitality so addictive, no matter how much you achieve, there is always something to strive for.