Members' club that's just 'for nice people' to open at historic Soho venue

 
New venture: L'Escargot is to open a private members' club

A private members’ club “for nice people” who are not rude to waiters and want the music turned up only slightly louder than at home is opening at one of London’s oldest restaurants.

The owners of the Upstairs Club at L’Escargot in Soho say they want to create “somewhere to hide from the hurly burly” of the capital that does not pander exclusively to the young and beautiful.

Co-founder Brian Clivaz, 54, who previously ran Home House in Marylebone and the Arts Club in Mayfair, said: “There have to be places people of my age can go to without all the madness that goes with youth culture.

“We don’t want to go to bed when the 10 o’clock news headlines come on, we want to be able to go somewhere you can have a nice glass of wine — not all these incredibly complex cocktails — something good to eat and where the music might be only slightly louder than you get at home so I can still talk.

“I don’t want to go on until 4am, so we only have a 1am licence — that’s late enough for me.”

Mr Clivaz, who took over the Greek Street landmark with business partner Laurence Isaacson in February, said members would be “nice people, people we like” and are likely to be drawn largely from the theatrical world — such as Nigel Havers and Cherie Lunghi, seen at L’Escargot last month after the press night of The Importance Of Being Earnest.

He added: “The most important thing is how do they treat the receptionists and the waiters. In all the places I’ve been involved with I’ve often sat on the front desk without letting on who I am. Some people are incredibly nice and other people treat you like dirt.”

Mr Clivaz and former Chez Gerard boss Mr Isaacson bought L’Escargot for “middle single figure millions” from Marco Pierre White. They have since spent a further £700,000 restoring the building to its former glory. The Upstairs Club, which launches formally in September, will occupy six salons in the upper two storeys of the Georgian town house. Membership will be limited to around 1,000 and will cost £365 a year for the first 365 members and then £365 plus VAT.

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