Harveys (restaurant)

The restaurant opened in January 1987.[1] It was a joint venture between chef Marco Pierre White and restaurateur Nigel Platts-Martin. The two had met while White was head chef at Lampwick's restaurant, and Platts-Martin subsequently purchased Harveys and placed White in charge of the kitchen.[2] Platts-Martin later said that "it was in a terrible state but I bought it out of youthful optimism and invited Marco to become head chef. I knew Marco was an extremely talented chef who cooked sensational food but I was very unsure how things would turn out."[1] A year after opening, the restaurant was closed to be renovated. David Collins was the architect, who had previously worked on Pierre Koffman's La Tante Claire.[3]

Several chefs worked at Harveys who went on to be successful elsewhere, including Philip Howard, who won two Michelin stars at The Square,[4] and Gordon Ramsay, who worked at Harveys between 1988 and 1991 and went on to become White's protégé at the restaurant and subsequently own a restaurant empire.[5][6] White once described the team working at Harveys as "the SAS of kitchens".[7] The restaurant was frequented by celebrities such as Oliver Reed and Koo Stark.[8]

In 1993, White chose to leave Harveys and Platts-Martin purchased White's share of the restaurant.[1] The restaurant closed in August 1993, and was subsequently reopened as "The Bistro", meant to be a sister restaurant to "The Canteen" which White co-owned with actor Michael Caine.[9] It was subsequently relaunched under chef Bruce Poole as Chez Bruce in 1995.[10] White had left because he felt restricted by the size of Harveys and felt that he needed to move to larger premises to win a third Michelin star.[11]

Drew Smith, the editor of the Good Food Guide described Harveys as "This is a meteor hurtling through the restaurant firmament powered by the extraordinary passion of one young man".[7] Jonathan Meades visited the restaurant during 1987 for The Times, describing his meal as "breathtaking".[17] He ate the tagliatelle and oysters main course, and the restaurant was subsequently named the "Newcomer of the Year" in the Times restaurant awards for that year.[17] It was subsequently named the Times Restaurant of the Year in 1988.[3]

White's work at Harveys has subsequently been held in high regard among fellow chefs,[18] and the restaurant is where White became known as a celebrity chef.[19] Within a year of opening, the restaurant won a Michelin star.[20] It subsequently won a second in the 1990 Michelin Guide, making White the youngest chef to have held two Michelin stars to that point.[21]