Gordon Ramsay and David Beckham's new London restaurant attracted hordes of diners to reserve their seats within hours of it starting to take reservations.
The Union Street Café in Borough received over 1,200 reservations within half an hour of its website going live on Wednesday and 2,500 reservations within four hours. The Mediterranean-themed eaterie, which opens on 16 September, is near fully booked on Friday and Saturday nights until November.
Ramsay told the Evening Standard: “In London right now we’re spoilt with the range and sheer number of phenomenal restaurants available, so it’s amazing to see the response today when bookings opened. We can’t wait to get the doors open and start welcoming guests.”
Beckham came on board as a partner in Ramsay's latest food venture in a new business project after retiring from football.
"In the grand scheme of his business ventures, this is small but it's the one he's most excited about," a source close to the Beckhams told The Mirror. "He's a great cook and has learned how to do French and Italian over the years but his favourite is British. He loves a pie."
When he announced the new restaurant in February, Gordon said: "We're really excited to be opening Union Street Cafe in September and it’s great that David wants to come on board and be partner."
"We've been working on the new site, which is near Borough Market, for the past couple of years and the amazing large warehouse space will offer quality Mediterranean-influenced food with a daily changing menu."
He quipped: "David Beckham is going to be my sous chef."
Last year, Beckham said: "We've got something in the pipeline. We are obviously good friends and we are excited about a project that could happen very soon. It will be a business thing but owning a restaurant is going to be fun as well."