Margot founder Paulo de Tarso leaves the restaurant he launched

Margot founder Paulo de Tarso has left the restaurant he launched four years ago with Nicolas Jaouën.

At the time of opening the London restaurant was an antidote to chef-led operations, led as it was by two front of house experts.

The restaurant, named after de Tarso’s mother-in-law, was shortlisted for the Catey Best Newcomer award in 2019, winning the AA Food Service award in the same year.

Announcing his departure, de Tarso said: “After four successful and exciting years building Margot into one of London’s highly regarded restaurants, I am moving on. I wish all the team at Margot well and look forward to telling you more about the next chapter in my story in this amazing industry soon.”

De Tarso met Jaouën at Scott’s in London’s Mayfair in 2007 before the celebrated maitre d’ moved to open Bar Boulud with Daniel Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.

When de Tarso left to open Margot in 2016, Boulud said of the restaurant: “Not only is the restaurant casual and elegant, but there is always the finest quintessential London host, Paulo de Tarso, there to greet you.”

Jaouën told The Caterer: “We built Margot together so it’s been tough on both sides. I wish Paulo the best. He’s still a big part of Margot as we built it together but for us now it’s business as usual. We’re now focusing on keeping Margot on track and saving jobs and fighting these crazy restrictions.

“These things happen in business. Paulo is moving on and we have to focus on those that are still in the business. We will continue to focus on the staff, the service and the quality of the food.”

De Tarso added that he was working on a new project that would be launched in 2021.