Wiltons to open new café and wine bar

The team behind Wiltons, one of the oldest restaurants in London, is set to open a new café and wine bar in St James’s this autumn called Locket’s.

Based on Jermyn Street, Wiltons first began trading as a shellfish mongers in Haymarket in 1742.

More than 70 years have passed since the group opened a new establishment with the launch of classic Italian restaurant Franco’s on the same street in Mayfair.

The new site will open on Smithson Plaza in a Grade-II listed building with interiors designed by Fran Hickman.

Offering a more casual alternative to Wiltons and Franco’s, the 60-seater all-day café will serve breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.

A daily changing menu, with a focus on sustainability, will include seasonal salads and sandwiches with both breakfast and lunch available to take away.

A wine bar in the evening, the venue will offer a selection of tapas-style small plates and provide 32 guests with the opportunity to dine outside on a heated terrace in the plaza. 

The café and wine bar has been named Locket’s in honour of the daughter of Wiltons Group co-founder Jamie Hambro, whose family have owned the company for more than 70 years.

Locket’s will open this autumn.