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Shoreditch’s Ace Hotel announced last September that it would not be reopening, following its lockdown closure. It felt like a bit of a symbolic moment. The American chain’s first opening in the capital (in 2013) was seen by many people as a sort of international confirmation that Shoreditch had finally ‘come of age’ and was now a fully fledged chichi hotspot tourist destination. There are Ace hotels in Downtown LA, in Kyoto and in Portland. One in Brooklyn is slated to open this summer. So it said something about the area.
Now there is news that the old Ace Hotel will reopen next month as One Hundred Shoreditch. It’s being relaunched by the Lore Group, which also owns the extremely swanksome Sea Containers on the South Bank. They’re promising no fewer than six restaurants and bars across the building, plus ‘a new concept on the rooftop space with its panoramic views of the city’, which sounds potentially v cool. One of the restaurants is going to be British seafood restaurant Goddard & Gibbs, which will specialise in ‘locally and sustainably sourced seafood’, which is quite a boast in the East End (although the area’s name does contain both ‘shore’ and ‘ditch’, either of which could potentially yield a few crustaceans or whatever.)
There's also going to be The Wine Bar, focusing on modern producers, and The Hatch, inspired by childhood memories of the seaside. Finally, and most intriguingly of all, there'll be a new bar called the Seed Library by Mr Lyan (Ryan Chetiyawardana), who's known for peddling innovative cocktails from his current HQ Lyaness at Sea Containers London.
According to its website, ‘The redesign reflects how Shoreditch has evolved during the last decade with the interiors mirroring the new grown-up character of the neighbourhood’, just in case you were hoping the new launch might portend a reboot of the area’s kidult playground noughties heyday. Totally fucking Mexico.
One Hundred Shoreditch, 100 Shoreditch High St, E1 6JQ. Opens autumn 2021.
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