If the walls of the Olympic Studios could talk… this new London venue was formerly a recording studio where the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin came to make some music. Pretty lively times. Before that Olympic Studios was a cinema and the redeveloped site has gone back to its roots by reintroducing two screens – one with the new Dolby Atmos sound tech – and adding a private members’ club and a smart eatery under the stewardship of chef Andreas Engberg.
Interior designer Simone McEwan took charge of the remodelling, calling on the building’s 1906 heritage in the whitewashed brick and exposed beams. McEwan was also able to keep links to the venue’s former life; some rugs and carpets that made it through the rock and roll years have are now damping down any echo from the parquet flooring, and a series of photographs tell the story of times past. Above the bar a suitably showy chandelier is arguably the star turn. A very well-received comeback role for Olympic Studios.
