Lio London
Café des Paris sadly closed during the pandemic after nigh on a hundred years at the centre of London’s nightlife. However, from the ashes, a phoenix has risen in the shape of Pasha’s Lio London, bringing a great big dollop of Ibiza razzle-dazzle to entertain the metropolis.
The venue was in a dilapidated condition when WFC moved in to start the refurbishment on the 25th July 2022 and we achieved PC in 32 weeks on the 3rd March 2023. A great achievement in view of the challenges faced. The venue opened on schedule on the 17th March 2023.
The project included the incorporation of new kitchens, back of house storage and performers green rooms and magnificent entrance stairs and hallways. Also, revealing and protecting lime plaster walls and mosaic terrazzo flooring.
This beautiful floor had to covered to protect it for posterity and an unbonded reinforced levelling screed had to be installed over the top to maintain new floor levels in the basement and lower ground floor mezzanine level. Mark Woods devised a warranted system that would be robust but also be unbonded onto a dpm so not to disturb the original terrazzo floor underneath as this was part of the listed building consent application to restore and not disturb.
Artisan specialist plasterers, whose bread and butter is restoring beautiful ornate pieces within heritage buildings, carried out all fibrous plaster repairs and replicated some of the ornate plaster work that was missing from way back in the 1920’s when it was the original Café de Paris.
After dinner the central tables are removed and the stage emerges from the floor.
After the show, the restaurant transforms into a 715 capacity late-night club, with a moveable DJ booth that emerges from behind the stage – open into the early hours
