Announcing Leila Lily's!
A Newcastle city centre venue, that has been three years in the planning and has cost £1.5m to create, is preparing to open its doors to the public.
Leila Lily’s – at the former Living Room site on Grey Street – will be the first building in the city to house three distinct areas; a bar, restaurant and nightclub, all under one roof. No expense has been spared to make it the most opulent, theatrical and impressive destination in the city.
The site – 2-12 Grey Street, which is also home to The Grey Street Hotel and award-winning All About You Spa – is owned by the Malhotra Group plc, which owns a portfolio of bars, hotels and restaurants across Tyneside. But, operations director Atul Malhotra, the man behind the project to create Leila Lily’s, said: “this will be our flagship.”
Named after Mr Malhotra’s two-year-old daughter, Leila Lily’s covers two floors, with the bar and restaurant at street level. And he has overseen every single aspect of the refurbishment, approving everything from the bespoke wallpaper to the furniture, bathroom fittings, crockery and glassware.
“Everything has been specially made for this venue,” said Mr Malhotra who travelled far and wide in his quest to find fixtures and fittings which reflected his vision for Leila Lily’s.
Richly decorated with a floral theme, the centrepiece will be a large, oval glass VIP table with a living garden growing through it – a first glimpse of the theatrical element which will run through all aspects of the venture.
“Take the restaurant,” said Mr Malhotra. “It will serve superb food created by a team of highly skilled chefs, but it will serve it in a totally new way – so that each meal at Leila Lily’s, each cocktail, will be more than food and drink – it will be an experience.”
Diners will be entertained by live music from pianists and saxophonists, while, the basement level will house a Studio 54-style Club Lounge, called 212@Leila Lily’s, which will pay a mix of hop hop and R&B.
“We are very much aiming this at a sophisticated clientele,” said head of operations, Simon Wright. “We want it be somewhere they can drink cocktails after work and then enjoy a superb meal.
“They can then dance the night away and, if they really want to end the evening in style, stay overnight in our Grey Street Hotel and be pampered in the spa. It’s five experiences in one place and nowhere else offers that.”
Along with re-designing the interior of the building the Malhotra Group plc has worked closely with Newcastle City Council and Heritage England to restore the exterior, cleaning its stonework and renovating the marble and granite.
“We are very conscious that this is one of the finest streets in all England,” said Mr Malhotra. “And I am confident Leila Lily’s will do it – and its customers – proud.”
This is the first of more than 10 developments scheduled be carried out by Malhotra Group plc on Grey Street and Mosley Street over the next three to four years as part of a long-term plan to restore the listed buildings to their former glory.
Around 50 jobs will be created with the opening of Leila Lily’s, which is scheduled for early September.
For more information visit www.leilalilys.co.uk
