Lee Broom has created a brand new venue for London in his design for Old Tom & English, a reservation only restaurant and cocktail lounge on Wardour Street in London's Soho. Old Tom & English offers personally prepared cocktails and twists on traditional English dishes at the basement venue’s intimate tables and hidden rooms. The name references the 18th Century English ‘Old Tom’ gin recipe, as well as being a playful nod to Soho’s colourful history.
Lee Broom’s interior design for Old Tom & English is a contemporary take on the relaxed elegance of home entertaining in the 1960s. To gain entry via the heavy slatted wooden door, ring the doorbell and be welcomed through the hidden hatch to then be seated at the bar, lounge or one of the five personal cloisters.
“I have designed a complete venue concept for Old Tom & English combining all aspects including the interior, branding and elements of the service concept. I thought about the kind of personal service I like to receive in a venue and the theatre of creating drinks in front of you or presenting the food in a way, which considers its interior, like you would at home. The design has been created around those elements and much like the service informs the design, the design of the interior influences the service. For example, marble features throughout the venue in the lighting, the furniture and right through to the barware and tableware we have created. It is a dream project for a designer and I believe will be a real gem for Soho” says Lee Broom.