The Licensing Sub-Committee (3) of Westminster Council met on Thursday 30 July 2020 to consider two applications for premises licences. The committee granted a new premises licence for Heritage, 18 Rupert Street, London, W1D 6DD, with additional conditions. They also granted a variation of a premises licence for Haidilao, Units 4 & 5 Trocadero, Coventry Street, London, W1D 7DH, also with added conditions.

Heritage, 18 Rupert Street, London, W1D 6DD

The committee granted a new premises licence for Heritage, located at 18 Rupert Street, London, W1D 6DD, which operates as a restaurant. The application sought to replace an existing licence with slightly extended hours and introduce a new drink-led element for up to 25 persons until core hours. The applicant, Filimonov Restaurants Ltd, represented by Marcus Lavell and Andrew Wong of Keystone Law, argued that the extended hours and the drink-led element would not add to the cumulative impact in the West End Cumulative Impact Area.

The Licensing Authority, represented by Karyn Abbott, raised concerns primarily based on policy, particularly regarding the drink-led element which was contrary to policy for that reason. The Metropolitan Police had withdrawn their objection after agreeing on additional conditions with the applicant. No objections were received from residents or residential amenity societies.

The committee decided to grant the application subject to additional conditions. These conditions included that the premises must operate primarily as a restaurant with alcohol sales ancillary to that operation, and that the drink-led element would be managed to ensure it did not routinely operate as a dedicated bar. Specific conditions were imposed to restrict the consumption of alcohol after certain hours unless it was ancillary to a table meal, and to prevent the promotion or advertisement of the drink-led facility. The committee also addressed the use of an external seating area, deciding exceptionally to allow it to be included as part of the licensed premises, subject to it being appropriately licensed for tables and chairs on the highway. The applicant was also required to surrender the existing licence upon the granting of this new application.

Haidilao, Units 4 & 5 Trocadero, Coventry Street, London, W1D 7DH

The committee granted a variation of the premises licence for Haidilao, located at Units 4 & 5 Trocadero, Coventry Street, London, W1D 7DH, a Chinese hot pot restaurant. The application sought to increase trading hours in the basement until 2:30 am, with all licensable activities terminating at 2:00 am. The applicant, UK HAIDILAO PTE. LTD, represented by Gary Grant, Andrew Wong, and Marcus Lavell, stated that the extended hours were necessary due to the longer dining times associated with their cuisine.

The main concern raised by objectors, including Environmental Health, the Licensing Authority, and a local resident, Clive Davidson, was the potential for the additional hours to contribute to the cumulative impact in the West End Cumulative Impact Area. The applicant argued that the premises operated as a restaurant with no proposed changes to alcohol sale hours, and that the extended hours would not add to cumulative impact. They highlighted that the existing operation had not caused issues and that they would implement additional conditions, including SIA supervision and no new entries after 1 am.

The committee granted the application subject to additional conditions. These included restrictions on access and egress via the adjacent Zedwell Hotel (once operational), limitations on alcohol supply and late-night refreshment for hotel residents and their guests during specific hours, and the requirement for the basement to operate strictly as a restaurant with waiter service and substantial table meals. Further conditions were imposed regarding off-sales, waste management, noise control, CCTV, and an incident log. Notably, the committee also agreed to allow the option for alcohol to be served to waiting customers on the ground floor, provided it was not from that floor itself. The committee concluded that the conditions would ensure the premises would not add to cumulative impact.