London restaurant The Lavery takes its name from the artist-in-residence

Photography: Henry Bourne

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The natural light is a star attraction the Lavery, a new restaurant and event space on a prominent Georgian terrace in London. It’s no wonder: this Grade II-listed townhouse was the late-1880s home of Anglo-Irish artist John Lavery, and he painted many of his portraits in the windowed studio.

The home itself barely features in those paintings, yet the original details still exist across the bright white spaces of the first-floor dining rooms. Private staircases with iron balustrades and curved timber handrails remain, along with original fireplaces, intricate cornicing, ornate plasterwork and baroque mirrors that reflect the sun.

The kitchen gets a veteran of the River Café, Chef Yohei Furuhashi, who also did a stint at Toklas at 180 The Strand. And a ground-floor café is due to open later this spring.

Meanwhile, the collective talent overseeing design of the spaces includes creative director Martin Cohen, who ran the launch for Rochelle Canteen years ago. The furnishings he’s sourced are artefacts from some of Europe’s most illustrious meeting places, like the Hotel Excelsior in Venice, London’s Groucho Club and La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland. A contemporary zinc bar designed by Daytrip Studio (of Oriole and Nightjar fame) is a landing space for diners at lunch and dinner.

Having lived in America, Morocco, Switzerland, the UK, and, of course, Ireland, Lavery himself would approve of the international South Kensington crowd.