A new restaurant and bar has been granted a licence to operate on the fifth floor of 33A Sloane Street, London, SW1X 9NR. The application is for a restaurant with an external terrace, and while specific cuisine details are not explicitly stated, the proposals indicate a focus on community entertainment, alfresco dining, and cultural activities.
The Kensington and Chelsea Licensing Sub-Committee approved the application from Cadogan Estates Limited on Thursday, October 1, 2026. The new licence permits plays, films, live music, recorded music, and dance, along with the sale of alcohol both on and off the premises. This licence will take effect once the existing premises licence for the site has been surrendered.
The existing licence, which permits outdoor regulated entertainment and alcohol sales between May 1st and October 31st annually until 2031, is being surrendered to make the situation permanent and avoid the need for time-limited seasonal licences. The new licence will operate between 10 am and 10 pm, seven days a week, from April to December each year. The venue will be open to the public from 7 am to 10 pm Sunday to Wednesday, and until 1 am on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
The rationale for the April to December operating period is to consolidate existing licences, as the current licence already covers April to October, with separate licences previously obtained for Christmas. The differing public opening hours between weekdays and weekends are detailed in the application, with later finishes on Fridays and Saturdays.
During the hearing, concerns were raised by the Environmental Health Noise and Nuisance Team regarding potential noise and odour from deliveries. The applicant agreed to a condition restricting deliveries to between 7 am and 11 pm, and odour concerns were addressed by existing planning permission.
Cadogan Estates Limited, represented by solicitor Alun Thomas and Head of Place Søren Herons, proposed a comprehensive set of conditions to uphold licensing objectives. These include measures for age verification, CCTV operation, incident logging, and a dispersal policy. A 'Challenge 25' policy will be enforced for alcohol sales, with staff trained to ask for proof of age from anyone appearing under 25. Acceptable forms of identification include photo driving licences, passports, PASS-accredited ID cards, military ID, or national photographic identity cards from EU member countries. A notice will be displayed stating the policy, and a record will be kept of all refused alcohol sales.
Councillors questioned the proposed hours and the nature of daytime entertainment. It was clarified that music would be low-level and ambient, such as groups of two or three singers with a handheld microphone amplified at a low level, or a guitarist with a microphone. This is described as 'background ambient music rather than kind of, you know, heavily amplified performance level music.' The scale is not intended to transform Sloane Square into a music venue but rather a series of seasonal animations.
Security will be risk-assessed on an event-by-event basis. For larger events, such as a Christmas activation with Ralph Lauren, both daytime and nighttime security were in place. For less intensive events, security may not be deployed throughout the duration. The general approach is to assess the need for security as part of the event management plan for any event selling alcohol. A condition requiring a security risk assessment to be included in the event management and safety plan was agreed upon.
Conditions were also agreed upon regarding litter and waste management. The committee also discussed the surrender of the existing premises licence, which is due to expire in 2031. It was agreed that the new licence would only become active upon the surrender of the current one.
Further details on the application can be found in the Public reports pack and the Agenda frontsheet for the Licensing Sub-Committee meeting.