“Shit, I thought that was smoke, but it’s a cloud,” Gordon Ramsay stands up and points out the window at the misty fog slowly enveloping the restaurant. “We’re literally in a cloud right now. Jesus” he mutters. Despite being less than a week away from opening night, it was almost as though Ramsay still hadn’t got used to the fact that his new restaurant is 269 metres above the ground.
When it opens, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High will be the tallest restaurant in Europe. Set on the 60th floor of 22 Bishopsgate, the restaurant looks out across the London skyline. Below, toy-sized cars inch across Tower Bridge. The Walkie-Talkie and The Gherkin seem tiny from this height. Even The Shard (London’s tallest building at 310 metres) looks abnormally small from here. The restaurant itself – a 12-seater, chef’s table-style space – is jaw-dropping. Dark, moody colours let the windows do most of the talking; sleek veined marble walls, swish leather bar stools, sparkling glass chandeliers. Then there’s the view – from every seated angle, the cityscape stretches out in front of you.
It’s Ramsay’s most ambitious project to date, involving not only the reimagining of his flagship restaurant, but also the launch of four outposts for his other brands. More than three years in the making, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High is opening its doors on Tuesday 4 February, alongside Lucky Cat Restaurant and Bar and The Gordon Ramsay Academy Powered by HexClad, and closely followed by Lucky Cat Roof Terrace and Bread Street Kitchen.
“The process has been incredible,” Ramsay says. “When we were given the news that the space was ours, we were so excited about what we were capable of delivering. We started looking at the renders, and thinking about the potential.”
Naturally, a project of this scale wouldn’t come without challenges. “We ummed and ahhed on the size of this concept,” Ramsay admitted. “Just to get food up this high, you need to be super organised, it takes great prep and planning.” That’s where James Goodyear comes in. “James is a very good logistics guy – I'm not good at logistics.”
Being thrown into high pressure kitchens is nothing new to Goodyear, RGR High’s executive head chef. He’s learnt how to stay calm in high intensity situations from the very best in the game. “I went to Le Manoir straight after school, so I didn't particularly know anything,” Goodyear says. “But it's a real breeding ground there. They dedicate so much time to nurturing young chefs. It was an incredible start to my career.” From there, he worked with some of the world’s top chefs across Scandinavia and Spain before heading up kitchens at Michelin-starred restaurants Adam’s in Birmingham and Hide in London. He’s spent the last 18 months at Evelyn’s Table, maintaining the Michelin-starred standard set by his predecessor – fellow trainee (and now executive chef) at Le Manoir, Luke Selby.
“I think it was the opportunity to take on the legacy of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay that excited me most,” he says. “Everyone knows about [the restaurant] and what it means to the industry. And to be responsible for taking that name – for the first time ever, I believe – and transporting it somewhere new is just something that every young chef dreams of.” What exactly he plans to do with the iconic name is the question – how will Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High be different from its original form?
“I think RGR High is different for multiple reasons,” Ramsay explains. “First of all, I think we've got one of the most prominent, exciting young chefs in Britain today. Secondly, it’s 12 seats – not 36, not 48 – 12. There’s an open plan kitchen that is to die for and a view like no other. So, it's pretty incredible, this combination. It’s the ultimate fine dining experience, set overlooking one of the most breathtaking views ever for dinner.”
“The unique thing about this is that the guests are facing out to a view,” Goodyear adds. “At the other places I've worked [that are] chef’s tables, the guests are always facing the kitchen. Here, the chairs swivel. So, they have the opportunity to turn around and look at us, as well as looking at the view – we're not just wanting the guests to sit at the table. We're going to be encouraging them to come into our space [...] and feel like they're coming into our home. So it's not just a table and a restaurant, it's a whole setting that we're creating.”
“I think it's always nice to be relaxed when you go and eat. Gone are the days where you go into a restaurant and you want to be stiff and feel pretty stuffy. I've had the opportunity to work in Scandinavia, which has a very relaxed, modern style of restaurant. So I want to bring that here and deformalise everything, while still maintaining the quality, if not taking it a little bit further.”
The idea of having a restaurant as impressive as this – the dizzying height, the stunning interiors, the world-class food, his iconic name – and trying to make it feel as unimposing as possible is intriguing. And incredibly clever. With so many fine dining restaurants in London, and with menu prices increasing by the year, (the latest reports from the British Retail Consortium show that food costs will increase by an average of 4.2 per cent towards the end of 2025), restauranteurs are faced with an impossible challenge: find a niche, or fail. Ramsay is hoping that this place offers something different.
“The stigma behind that intimidation – that’s not what customers want today,” Ramsay says. “Lockdown taught us a lot. Lockdown taught us that every customer in Britain got better at cooking because they had no option but to cook. And so we're coming out of that period, entering this grassroots moment with them being so much better and more educated about food.”
“We want to remove that intensity of fine dining and incorporate the social element in terms of how [...] interesting it is – the way we finish the sear, the texture, the sauce, the acid, the contrast. All these things will unravel across each and every course. And this space here is [...] where we'll be serving, clearing, lifting, plating, saucing part of the dish, getting [the guests] to sauce the rest of it and making them feel like they're dining in their house – but with prolific chefs and with a much better view.
“It’s about the interaction, I think – this level of connect with that customer. Showing them, teaching them, giving them insight – it's why we set up this way because it's all open as you can see,” Ramsay adds. “It’s all about deformalising fine dining, with one of the most exquisite views on the planet.”
The two chefs clearly share a passion. Their energy changes when talking about the joys of learning, and the power of sharing knowledge – they seem more animated, more excited. “Getting schooled is crucial for me,” Ramsay says. “Being a great pupil is something I am still today.”
“When I cast the net for the most talented up-and-coming young chefs, James was on the top of the agenda,” he continues. “He has this openness – I knew he would absorb, respect and then have the confidence to grow with the tools he's got. And that's crucial. The minute you close your ears or eyes to learning and developing and committing to be the very best, it’s game over. James is a million miles away from that.”
At face value, this restaurant is about show-stopping feats and record-breaking triumphs – and, of course, launching the UK’s highest restaurant is nothing to be sniffed at. Reimagining a space that has retained three Michelin stars for more than 20 years is a risky undertaking. It proves what many already know: despite owning 94 restaurants across the globe, with eight Michelin stars between them, Ramsay still loves a challenge – particularly one that goes against the grain.
But beyond the glitz and glamour of dining in the clouds, look a little more closely and you’ll find the focus here is about creating a space where people – guests and chefs alike – feel safe to question, communicate and learn from one another. It’s a very people-focussed ethos, one that could easily get lost in the theatricality of dining 269 metres above the ground. So, what do they hope guests take away from the experience? If they overheard someone talking about their restaurant, what do they hope they would say?
“For me, I'd like them to talk about getting to know the team,” Goodyear says. “We've gone and handpicked chefs that are, we feel, naturally very good with guests, that are going to provide that experience as well. So we have the opportunity to really elevate all the guests' experience and that's what I'd like them to go away with. Obviously as well as having a great meal and great wine to drink, getting to know all the individual members of the team and remembering them for that experience.” Ramsay agrees: “It's pretty special and it's something you don't do every week. Those moments are rare.”