200-year-old Bethnal Green Road pub to reopen with New York-style restaurant and jazz music

Last week (November 19), Tower Hamlets Council’s licensing sub-committee approved a new premises licence for the Knave of Clubs, which is located at 1 Club Row, just off Bethnal Green Road.

The grade II-listed venue had operated as a pub since the 1800s but it reportedly closed in 1994 and reopened as a French restaurant called Les Trois Garçons in 2001. In 2016, the premises became a New York-style restaurant and cocktail bar called Dirty Bones but this shut down two years ago and has been empty since.

According to council documents, the new venue will be split across three floors, with the ground floor reopening as a ‘pub in style’ that will have a rotisserie grill and will serve French market-style rotisserie chicken.

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The first floor is set to become a fine dining restaurant called One Club Row inspired by New York and will serve oysters, steak and cocktails and will play jazz music while the top floor plans to be a small private dining room.

During last week’s meeting, legal representative for Club Row Ltd, James Anderson, said the plans come from two entrepreneurs who see this as an opportunity to bring life back into a ‘magnificent’ building which has the potential to be a real ‘focal point for the community’.

The plans received concerns from Environmental Health and the Licensing Team who were worried about the potential noise impact on nearby residents if customers were to congregate outside on the pavement as the venue doesn’t have its own outdoor area or pub garden.

Environmental Health officer, Nicola Cadzow, suggested there be a limit on the number of customers allowed outside the premises. The committee ultimately decided to grant the licence with conditions that include having no more than 10 customers hanging out in the outside area at once before 9pm. Additionally, the outside area will close at 9pm with the exception of no more than six smokers.