Founder Mark Fuller talks Embassy Club Dubai
Ahead of the opening of the Embassy Club at Grosvenor House Dubai Tower Two this month, London restaurateur Mark Fuller shares his thoughts on bringing back the ‘dinner and dance’
On his relationship with celebrity chef Marco Pierre White
I went into partnership with Marco Pierre White and we started Sugar Reef and Red Cube Bar & Grill together. Marco and I parted company amicably in 2001 and we remain great friends, but it’s very difficult for us to be in the same room together because of the clash of egos!
On bringing back dinner and dance
The Embassy is all about dinner and dance, and so was Sugar Reef. It’s what Marco and I call ‘total entertainment and affordable glamour’ – a one-stop shop, it just appeals. We’ve been through two recessions – we’re just getting stronger.
On Embassy, the celebrity hang-out
The original Embassy Club opened at number seven, Old Bond Street, London in the early 1900s and first came to celebrity status in 1925 when it was King Edward VIII’s and Mrs Wallis Simpson’s hangout while they were dating.
It’s where Duran Duran and Wham! were discovered, and the place where Elton John and David Bowie socialised. Then you had the rock crowd – Ozzy Osbourne, and the fashionistas.
On tripping over Madonna
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On tripping over Madonna
Sugar Reef and Red Cube also attracted celebrities such as George Clooney, the Spice Girls and Robbie Williams. I always remember a party at Sugar Reef and I was getting a bit upset because it was so busy and people were hanging around on the stairs and I tripped over Madonna and fell onto the band Mystique.
On discovering Dubai
A lot of brands were being touted by Dubai so I started thinking about having Embassy there, and we got a few people interested and I was introduced to the fine team at Grosvenor House. Now, five years after we signed up we’re back here. I’ve watched it being built from the foundations, but unfortunately a lot slower than everyone hoped due to the economic climate. About a year ago Pam Wilby [hotel general manager] phoned and said we’re nearly ready!
On the Dubai version of Embassy
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On the Dubai version of Embassy
The extraordinary thing about the Embassy in Dubai is that it is on the 43rd-45th floors, with the most stunning views across The Palm down to the Burj Al Arab and it offers fantastic modern European food. You’ve got one floor as a restaurant with a private dining room on one side, and a kitchen on another. The middle floor has an Italian raw bar and lots of seats, as well as champagne and vodka bars, and a private room – I’ve nicknamed it James Bond’s playground. Then the floor below is a main bar with an emphasis on style and quality. This is not a nightclub, it’s a supper club and a members’ club.
On a food-led operation
We have one of our head chefs coming to Dubai from England, Francois, and there will be some of our other chefs popping back and forth between the two clubs in Dubai and London, as well as one of our cocktail waitresses, Maggie.
It’s a food-led operation and it isn’t for kids. Our clientele in London is aged roughly between 23 and 50 and that’s probably what we’re looking at getting out here in Dubai.
On hotel buffets
I’ve never ever been in a hotel where the buffet restaurant food is edible – even in some of the highest-end places. However, Sloane’s buffet at Grosvenor House is absolutely fantastic, I eat there by choice every lunchtime.
A brief history
- Fuller took over Embassy on Old Bond Street London in 1983
- He is known in the UK for projects with Marco Pierre White, like Sugar Reef and Red - Cube Bar & Grill, which he sold for GBP 7.5 million (US $12 million)
- He set up the company Concept Venues in 2003 with Iron Maiden manager, Andy Taylor
- They bought and refurbished upmarket fish-and-chips restaurant Geales in Chelsea in 2007