FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, HOTEL CAFÉ ROYAL HAS SERVED AS ONE OF LONDON’S GREAT SOCIAL CROSSROADS. TODAY, CAREFULLY RESTORED AND QUIETLY MODERNIZED, IT REMAINS ONE OF THE CITY’S MOST COMPELLING PLACES TO STAYAND TO WATCH LONDON UNFOLD.
BY IZABELA CANNELLE
London has a curious relationship with its past. The city tears things down with ruthless enthusiasm, yet certain institutions somehow survive every cycle of reinvention. Hotel Café Royal—sitting elegantly on Regent Street where Soho collides with Mayfair—is one of those places that seems permanently woven into the fabric of the city.
In a decade when London has welcomed a steady procession of spectacular new hotels—restored palaces, architectural showpieces, global luxury brands arriving with great fanfare—Café Royal has remained slightly different. It does not compete for attention. It simply continues being exactly where it has always been: at the center of things.
Historically speaking, that center has been quite lively.
When the original Café Royal opened in the nineteenth century, it quickly became one of London’s great dining rooms, a gathering place for people who preferred conversation to privacy. Oscar Wilde famously treated the place as an extension of his living room. By the early twentieth century, the dining room had evolved into an unofficial salon where editors, ministers, and financiers exchanged ideas over lunch—Winston Churchill among its regulars. Long before London developed the modern concept of a “scene,” Café Royal was already hosting one.
The modern incarnation of the hotel—carefully restored and redesigned by architect Sir David Chipperfield—takes a notably restrained approach to all that history. Instead of leaning too heavily on nostalgia, the design embraces a kind of architectural calm. Pale stone, generous proportions, and marble bathrooms create rooms that feel quietly confident rather than theatrically ornate. It is, in other words, a very British interpretation of luxury: elegant, composed, and allergic to unnecessary drama.
Suites introduce another small indulgence. Guests staying in junior suites and above are offered the use of a private chauffeur for several hours each day—a detail that subtly alters the rhythm of London. Suddenly, the city becomes a sequence of elegant stops rather than a logistical exercise. Mayfair galleries, Belgravia dinners, Marylebone bookshops—all unfold with an unexpected ease.
Arguably, the hotel’s most persuasive argument lies underground.
Beneath Regent Street’s perpetual commotion sits the Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Centre, one of London’s more impressive hotel spas. The centerpiece is an 18-meter swimming pool surrounded by hammam, sauna, and treatment rooms—an unexpectedly serene sanctuary hidden below one of Europe’s busiest shopping streets. After navigating London’s galleries, pavements, and traffic, descending into that quiet space feels almost theatrical, like stepping backstage after a performance.
Above ground, the hotel resumes the role it has played for more than a century: a place where London comes to eat. The historic Café Royal Grill remains the building’s most atmospheric dining room, its Louis XVI interiors glowing with gilded mirrors and ornate plasterwork that have witnessed more than a century of London society. The menu today leans toward refined European classics—precisely cooked Dover sole, or carefully sourced beef. Elsewhere in the hotel, Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal quickly established itself as one of London’s most serious gastronomic addresses, earning two Michelin stars not long after opening. For something more relaxed, the hotel’s pastry and tea salon provides another ritual London still performs better than almost anywhere else. Afternoon tea arrives with careful ceremony: warm scones with clotted cream and jam, delicate sandwiches, and elaborate pâtisserie creations. The hotel’s striking Green Bar at Hotel Café Royal has become something of a destination in its own right. The cocktail list often draws inspiration from literary figures and London history, a playful nod to the writers and artists who once gathered in the building. Even the lobby carries the quiet hum of a place where people linger rather than rush.
Which may ultimately explain Café Royal’s enduring relevance.
Many luxury hotels promise an escape from the city around them. Café Royal does the opposite. It places you squarely inside London’s cultural circuitry. Café Royal does not attempt to insulate its guests from London.
It simply gives them the best seat in the house.
