Gary Rhodes to resurrect Rhodes W1 name in Dubai

Chef Gary Rhodes is to re-launch his Mezzanine restaurant at the Grosvenor House hotel in Dubai, resurrecting the Rhodes W1 name.

Rhodes said he wanted the restaurant to take on a much more casual feel, in response to changing demand among diners in the emirate.

The chef, restaurateur and TV presenter, who has four restaurants worldwide - one in the UK, two in Dubai and one in Grenada - is set to train staff in the new, British-style menu later this summer before it opens at the start of autumn.

He said that eventually he expected the restaurant to be known simply as W1. Despite having the same name as his Michelin-starred restaurant on the ground floor of the Cumberland hotel in London (now closed), Rhodes said W1 was also a suitable title for the Dubai restaurant because the hotel it sits in is on the west side of the marina and was one of the first to be built there.

The chef, who resides in Dubai, is currently in the UK and recently visited his Rhodes at the Dome restaurant in Plymouth, where he has introduced a new menu. He was also on hand to present the ‘freedom of the Dome' to the elite Stonehouse-based 30 Commando regiment at a reception on 27 June. The freedom of the Dome means that serving officers, sergeants and men in the historic regiment will enjoy a range of benefits at the restaurant, including a complimentary bottle of wine every time they visit.

Rhodes has a long history of supporting the armed forces and even came under hostile enemy fire whilst helicoptering into Iraq to cook the troops Christmas lunch a few years ago.