Criterion restaurant to relaunch as UK's first Granaio

The Criterion restaurant has closed for the second time in three years and will reopen under new ownership at the end of July.

The restaurant in London's Piccadilly was owned by Marco Pierre White in the 1990s and is one of the capital's oldest restaurants. Its latest incarnation, Savini at Criterion, announced its final service on 27 June. A spokesperson for Granaio said the concept "wasn't working for the area".

It is now due to relaunch as the UK's first Granaio restaurant, an Italian café/restaurant chain with four sites in and around Milan, on 20 July. It is unclear who is the owner of Granaio but the restaurant will be relaunching with a completely new team.

The restaurant is being redesigned to have a more rustic café-style feel and will serve traditional Italian food.

In 2009 the restaurant was bought by Irakli Sopromadze of VINS Holdings, however it fell into administration in June 2015. It reopened in December 2015 as Savini at Criterion by the Gatto family, owner of the Savini restaurant at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan.

The Criterion was built in 1874 and was once known as either the Long Bar or Marble Hall. It is part of the 120,000 sq ft Criterion Theatre block, which is owned by the Crown Estate. The Grade II-listed venue is famed for its neo-Byzantine golden mosaic ceiling.

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