The French group behind brasseries from Paris to Bordeaux has taken 1 Sloane Square for its first London room, cooking everything in-house, with a vinyl bar downstairs due on 29 October.
La Nouvelle Garde has built its business in France on one institution, the traditional brasserie, across more than ten addresses from Paris and Neuilly to Lille, Lyon, Marseille and Bordeaux. Brasserie Olivia, at 1 Sloane Square, is its first in London, and the group has brought the format across whole: French classics, an open kitchen facing the dining room, wood-fire cooking and a kitchen that makes everything itself.
Whole carcasses and British farms
The group’s rule is that nothing arrives ready-made. Meat comes in as whole carcasses, the fish is filleted in the kitchen, and vegetables from the group’s market gardeners are prepared from start to finish so that little is wasted. The menu turns with the seasons, and the group is blunt about what that means: no tomatoes in the middle of winter.
In London the produce is largely British. Fish, meat, vegetables and dairy are sourced across Great Britain, while a few French essentials made the crossing, among them Maison Millas saucisson and the wine cellar. The bread comes from The Dusty Knuckle, the coffee from Volcano Coffee Works and the beer from Harbour Brewing Co in Cornwall. La Nouvelle Garde is a certified B Corp and a French mission-driven company, it issues an annual impact report, and it gives its 2026 gender equality index as 89 out of 100.
An oyster bar and a lobster tank
London also gets things the French houses do not. The group lists breakfast service, seafood at the counter and lobster with fries as additions for Sloane Square. An oyster bar runs off the main bar, serving langoustines and oysters, and a lobster tank sets what the group calls a consciously retro French Riviera tone. Breakfast, when it starts, runs from a house-made croissant to a galette complète and an egg gribiche sandwich.
The brasserie is open daily from noon to midnight, with lunch from noon to 3pm and dinner from 6pm to 9.30pm. Only part of the room can be booked, and the group keeps many places for walk-ins at both services.
Vinyl in the basement
The Venus Bar, in the basement, is due to open on 29 October, from 6pm to midnight except on Sundays and Mondays. Its cocktails are by the group’s mixologist, Jennifer Le Nechet: around ten drinks, each named after a song, with oysters from upstairs and snacks from the brasserie on the side. The DJ booth is the guests’ own, stocked with a vintage selection of records to choose from.
Tables of up to 16 can be booked, with a set menu for groups of 11 to 16, and a party of 17 or more can take the brasserie for private use in whole or in part. The Venus Bar is offered for full private hire, for parties, cocktail events, shoots and talks.