St Clement: Nick Jones opens his own hotel by the river
The founder of Soho House has opened his first independent hotel in the Temple, with Florence Knight in the kitchen, a bar that stays open until three and Soho House membership thrown in for every guest.
Nick Jones has influenced how London eats, drinks, and stays out late more than almost anyone of his generation. He opened the first Soho House on Greek Street in 1995, built it into a global network of members' clubs, and stepped down as chief executive in 2022. St Clement is his first project since then, and it opened its doors in September after a quiet summer of soft launches for friends.
Where it is
The hotel sits in the redeveloped block around Arundel Street, between the Strand and the Embankment, on the edge of the Temple and a short walk from Somerset House. It is part of the same complex as the Corner Shop, the grocer, bakery, café, and wine bar Jones opened last year, which has quietly become one of the best places in central London to buy a loaf and a bottle on the way home. Soho House's own 180 House is next door.
Rooms and river lofts
There are 90 bedrooms, including 15 suites known as river lofts, with views across the Thames towards the South Bank, and the interiors are by Eagle + Hodges. Guests get a concierge service and, more unusually, Soho House membership for the length of their stay, which opens the doors of the club next door and every House around the world. A health club with a 25-metre pool, a gym and treatment rooms is due to open soon.
Florence Knight and a bar until three
The food is where St Clement has been most carefully cast. Lunette, the main restaurant, is run by Florence Knight, whose cooking at Sessions Arts Club in Clerkenwell was some of the most admired in London, simple, seasonal and quietly assured. Downstairs, Café Clement is run by Danny Bohan, formerly head chef at the River Café, so expect plenty of Italian simplicity on the all-day menu. And for later, Bobbi's Bar stays open until three in the morning, which in this part of London, where everything shuts the moment the lawyers go home, is almost unheard of.
Who should go
St Clement will suit anyone who likes Soho House but wants a hotel rather than a club, and travellers who want to be close to the theatres and Covent Garden without staying in the middle of the crowds. The early weeks of any Jones opening tend to be full of his friends and their friends, and the restaurant will be hard to book for a while. Lunette is where I would start, with a drink at Bobbi's afterwards if the evening allows.
The details
St Clement, Arundel Street, Temple, London WC2. Opened September 2026. 90 bedrooms including 15 river lofts, Lunette by Florence Knight, Café Clement by Danny Bohan, Bobbi's Bar, health club and pool to follow. Rates on request.