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Starters' orders at Gordon's new pub
Amar Singh, Media Correspondent21 Feb 2008
Gordon Ramsay's latest venture - a £6 million gastropub in west London - is already a sell-out within weeks of opening.
The Warrington opened earlier this month, without publicity, but is already fully booked for several weeks due to word-of-mouth recommendations.
Kate Moss is among those who have been seen eating at the pub in Warrington Crescent, Maida Vale.
It features an art nouveau bar and dining room and has been renovated extensively since Ramsay bought it more than a year ago.
The TV chef today said that sticking to a traditional menu and sympathetically restoring the pub's listed Victorian interior had been crucial in winning local support. "The Warrington is a landmark pub and I'm delighted that it is back open and doing so well," he said. "It's a historic neighbourhood pub serving great food and that's the way it's going to stay."
The menu features classics such as steak and kidney pie (£11.50) plus more adventurous dishes like braised Gloucester pig cheeks with swede (£11.00) and roast guinea fowl with puy lentils and bacon (£13.25). Bar snacks include pork pies (£6) and pickled cockles (£1.50).
Ramsay is said to have paid £5.2millionfor the GradeII listed former Warrington hotel, which dates back to the 1850s. The pub's stained-glass windows, mosaic-tiled porch, stone fireplace and frescoes featuring semi-naked women - reputedly a nod to its former life as a brothel - have all been retained.
The Warrington is run by Mark Sargeant, the former head chef at Ramsay's Claridge's restaurant, who is now tasked with overseeing the Ramsay group's expansion into pubs.
It was bought by Gordon Ramsay Holdings as part of a strategy to conquer London's gastropub market.
Last week, Ramsay purchased his fourth venture - the York And Albany in Camden, which is set to reopen in May. His two other pubs are The Narrow in Limehouse and The Devonshire in Chiswick, which have also been well received.
