Chef Larry Jayasekara to open new restaurant site in Mayfair

Chef Larry Jaysekara & his business partner, Tim Jefferies, have secured a location for their first solo venture.

The duo has managed to get a location in the exclusive Bruton Place development in Mayfair after a near 40-year commercial resident of Hamiltons Gallery.

They have signed a 20-year lease for 27 Bruton Place which is a location covering 3,000 sq. ft. split across four floors. 

Larry came to the UK in 2002 from Sri Lanka, he first met Tim in 2020 after 18 years of working in the UK. They formed a friendship quickly and after some planning, they set about discussing the opening of a new Mayfair restaurant.

For the pair, they wanted something intimate that would offer guests a vibrancy and buzz with an open kitchen and a private dining room. 

The yet to be named venue should do just that. 

It will be housed within the historic Bruton Place Mews building and along with it the pair also secured another 800 sq. ft. site opposite the restaurant, 38 Bruton Place. This site is set to be made into a delicatessen with takeaway options on the ground floor.

Larry said about the plans, “It’s been a bit of a roller coaster the past couple of years with Covid, but we’re thrilled to have exchanged on this particular site. When we first decided to open a restaurant together, we knew it would have to be in the right location, and this was our first choice.”

Both sites are set to be extensively remodelled before the opening in early autumn 2022 and will be managed by Astrea, the leading London asset and development manager. 

Tim Weston, Asset Management Director at Astrea commented that “We are very excited to welcome Larry and Tim to Bruton Place. Delivering the site has required significant collaboration from both sides, and it has been a pleasure working with the tenant team. The restaurant and delicatessen will add significant further amenity as part of our wider re-positioning of Bruton Place.”

About Larry 

During his time in the UK, Larry studied at South Devon College before joining Pétrus by Marcus Wareing in 2004. After that, he joined the three-star Waterside Inn as chef de partie, then moved to Michel Bras in Route de Laguiole; then Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, before rejoining Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley.

In 2015 he returned to Pétrus as a senior sous chef but was quickly promoted to head chef. In 2016 he not only won the Craft Guild National Chef of the Year Award but also achieved a Michelin star.

During the covid Pandemic, he worked with the ‘Help Them Help Us’ charity to feed over 100,000 front line workers across London, where he prepared and delivered hot meals to the staff at University College Hospitals. Because of his work with the charity he was awarded the Fortnum & Mason Special Award in 2021.