The Biltmore Mayfair has completed an £8 million renovation of its ground-floor public spaces, reopening this week with a reimagined all-day restaurant, a new standalone cocktail bar and a significantly expanded afternoon tea programme that the hotel's general manager describes as "the single most important investment we have made since opening."
The project, which ran for fourteen weeks and closed the hotel's lobby-level spaces in January and February, was designed by the London studio responsible for the original interiors when The Biltmore opened in 2019. The brief was to retain the hotel's signature aesthetic — a calibrated balance of Edwardian grandeur and contemporary restraint — while creating a ground floor that functions better as a destination in its own right.
The restaurant
The all-day restaurant, previously operating under the name Pine, has been relaunched as Seymour's — named after the street that connects Grosvenor Square to Portman Square, which the hotel sits between. The menu has been comprehensively redesigned under executive chef James Durrant, with a focus on what the hotel describes as "modern British brasserie" — a broad category that in practice means a confident, ingredient-led menu with strong sourcing credentials.
Breakfast spans the expected territory: freshly baked pastries, avocado preparations, full English, eggs Benedict variants. Lunch introduces a short à la carte with a strong emphasis on fish — Durrant has established relationships with day-boat suppliers in Cornwall and Scotland — and dinner moves toward richer, more classic preparations. A Dover sole meunière, a rib of beef for two, and a chicken Kiev that the kitchen says is "period-accurate to the Escoffier version" have already attracted attention in pre-opening reviews.
Seymour's seats 90 covers, with a separate private dining room for up to 22.
The cocktail bar
Adjacent to the restaurant, a new 30-seat cocktail bar — named Grosvenor — has replaced what was previously an underutilised lounge area. The drinks programme, developed with a consulting mixologist who has previously worked at The Connaught Bar and Lyaness, centres on a menu of fourteen original cocktails alongside an extensive spirits selection with particular depth in aged rums and Japanese whisky.
The bar will operate from noon to 1am Sunday to Thursday, and until 2am Friday and Saturday.
Afternoon tea
The Biltmore's afternoon tea, which has long been a significant revenue contributor for the hotel, moves to a dedicated space on the mezzanine level overlooking the lobby. The new room seats 48 and has been designed specifically for the afternoon tea experience, with bespoke crockery produced by a ceramicist based in the Potteries and a tea programme curated in partnership with a specialist supplier.
Afternoon tea is priced at £68 per person, with a champagne option at £88.
The renovation positions The Biltmore strongly ahead of what London's luxury hotel sector expects to be a strong summer season, driven by continued inbound demand from North America and the Gulf.