Mimosa restaurant at the Langham hotel and the Thames Foyer at the Savoy have closed down – the latter to be replaced by the new Savoy Lounge as the hotel’s venue for afternoon tea.

Mimosa opened less than six months ago as a replacement for Michel Roux’s Roux at the Landau, and was the London outpost of a big-name Paris restaurant offering cuisine inspired by the French Riviera.

Its operator, the Moma Group, which also runs Café Lapérouse at the OWO, has yet to issue a statement on the closure. Michel Roux remains an active presence at the hotel, with his restaurant Chez Roux in the Palm Court and his ‘British pub’, the Wigmore, at street level.

At the Savoy, the Thames Foyer is undergoing a refurb masterminded by studio BradyWilliams (pictured) which retains the grand atrium – hailed as “beautiful” and “wonderful” in the 2024 Harden’s guide – while adding a new central walkway and modernised lighting so the atmosphere can ‘evolve’ through the day to host breakfast, morning coffee, cocktails, lunch and dinner as well as the showcase afternoon tea.

This new Savoy Lounge will open in November alongside Scoff, a scone shop producing traditional and new versions of the afternoon tea speciality to eat in or take away.

Another high-profile recent opening, Cafe Kitty in Soho, from the Kitty Fisher’s group, has closed down barely nine months after opening – and despite a warm reception from critics including Giles Coren, Jay Rayner and Tim Hayward. Announcing the closure, its website noted that “in life, some things just don’t work out”.