Updated 17/11/25 with restaurant details
Big changes are afoot at Olympia. Long known as a place for huge events in Central London (it's been around for 140 years), it's now in the process of getting a £1.3bn overhaul. As with lots of these big projects, that means there will be many new bars and restaurants to come.
The space is due to open in 2025, and in the run-up, we'll be gathering together just who's opening there.
Des Gunewardena (the former CEO of D&D London) is going to run three hospitality ventures in the Grade II listed Pillar Hall. The first is a huge all day restaurant, Idalia. Then there's Pepperbird which is a speakeasy bar underneath the main hall. There's also an event space upstairs, creatively called Upstairs at Pillar Hall. He's poached chef Samantha Williams from The Park and we're told that the food will be a modern interpretation of British cuisine.
The events space Upstairs at Pillar Hall
Next, there's Incipio Group, the people behind big venues like The Libertine and Pergola on the Wharf. Their slice of the action is going to be pretty big too as they've got over 39,000 square feet to fill. Their offering is still in the vague phase, being described as having everything from "casual ‘grab and go’ offers to premium dining and drinking experiences."
Then there's Hyatt, who are opening the Hyatt Regency London Olympia which will have "a restaurant and a lobby lounge with bar and market area".
That's all we know of so far (outside of a new music arena and a new theatre), but a lot more is being promised with 20 bars, cafes and restaurants planned. As soon as we have more info, we'll add it all here.
The new Olympia launches in Summer 2025. Find out more about it here.
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