2024: The Year Of The Noughties Restaurant Revival

Girls Aloud are going on tour. Mini skirts and ballet shoes are all over the catwalks. Flip phones have made a comeback. The noughties revival is well and truly underway – and now restaurateurs are joining in with the fun, bringing back some of London’s buzziest eateries from the ‘00s. From a reimagining of the iconic Le Caprice to a new iteration of the original party restaurant Gilgamesh, it looks like Y2K dining will be all the rage in 2024.

2024: The Year Of The Noughties Restaurant Revival

Spearheading the trend is veteran restaurateur Jeremy King, one of the biggest names on the noughties’ food scene. Along with his long-time culinary partner Chris Corbin, he helmed the launch of some of the most talked about openings of the decade, including The Wolseley, which opened in 2003. The pair also relaunched London stalwart Le Caprice in the ‘80s, which remained one of the capital’s most glamorous dining spots until it closed in 2020.

Chris Corbin and Jeremy King

This year saw a second branch of The Wolseley open in the City, and in 2024 King is reopening Le Caprice as Arlington, named after the street it’s on in St James’. In an email he described it as a ‘new version’ of Le Caprice, writing: ‘I hope you will find it reassuringly familiar in how it looks, and what we serve.’ He also confirmed the return of long-standing maitre d’ Jesus Adorno, who was GM for a whopping 38 years.

Le Caprice

Over in west London, another beloved noughties restaurant is also gearing up for its comeback. Julie’s in Holland Park opened back in the ‘60s, remaining a top celebrity haunt until it closed at the beginning of this year. Famous faces were often pictured dining there during the noughties: it hosted Kate Moss’ 17th birthday party, and the tucked away table G3 was always filled with a celeb or two – hence its ‘G-spot’ nickname.

Next year, west London chef Tara MacBain is reopening Julie’s as a modern French brasserie. She’s aiming to bring back its heyday glamour with seafood towers, oysters, and a theatrical martini trolley, which will make cocktails tableside. With Holland Park one of the capital’s most star-studded neighbourhoods (everyone from the Beckhams to Robbie Williams has a home there), perhaps it will become the new go-to for west London’s A-list brigade.

Julie’s

And of course, we can’t talk about the 00s restaurant revival without a mention of Gilgamesh, a noughties institution. Opened in 2006, the Camden hotspot was known for its Babylon-inspired interior and glitzy pan-Asian menu, hosting everyone from Fearne Cotton to Emma Bunton. It was one of the earliest examples of a club-restaurant, precursing openings like MNKY HSE and Isabel Mayfair, but closed its doors in 2018. 

In 2024, Gilgamesh will reopen with the same name – though in a new location of Covent Garden. The premises will be smaller (the original was the largest restaurant in London), but diners can expect the same party atmosphere, with dishes inspired by China, Japan and Southeast Asia.

Also on the cards for 2024: big celebrations for the 20th anniversary of Rainer Becker’s legendary ROKA, and the former boss of Quaglino’s, Des Gunewardena, is launching a new venture at the Royal Exchange. All in all, it’s time to don some double denim and party like it’s 2000.