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A proposed new branch of Ottolenghi has made some locals in Richmond, southwest London, rather unhappy. The deli – which will serve wine, as well as lovely little cakes, posh pastries and fancy salads – has been given official permission by Richmond Council to take over the site of an old furniture show room on Hill Street, and will be open seven days a week.
My London reports that people living in the southwest London neighbourhood expressed strong concerns about the plans at the council’s recent licensing hearing, saying the location is unsuitable and would make the area ‘intolerable’ and too busy.
They quoted resident Sean Chapman, who said the restaurant would pump ‘out into the evening dozens of people per night into an area that’s already febrile'. He added: ‘It’s extremely disconcerting to live there now and I’d like to suggest that you all have a duty of care to the town and to your council taxpayers to ensure that this kind of application gets reined in because it is becoming completely intolerable to live here.’
Another local resident Rachel Woolner added that she was ‘very distraught’ about the plans for the deli, saying: ‘I’m really concerned about the noise of people coming and going, the constant bikes coming to collect… orders.’
The new Ottolenghi deli is set to open from 9am-10:30pm daily. It follows the recent opening of an Ottolenghi deli in Hampstead, and will join celebrity chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s eight-strong chain of London restaurants and delis, which includes Nopi and Rovi, as well as delis in the affluent neighbourhoods of Chelsea, Islington and Notting Hill.
During the licensing hearing, Marcus Lavell represented Ottolenghi and said that local ‘alcohol-fuelled disorder’ would come from nightclubs and bars, and not a small, 40-cover restaurant such as the new deli.
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