Bob Bob Ricard’s Leonid Shutov, Grilled!

Leonid is the effortlessly charming and charismatic co-owner of Bob Bob Ricard and Biblioteka, which is to hit St James’s Street next year. Leonid’s planning to spend a mere £9 million kitting out the dining room. It will be beautiful. From the moment I first slipped into a London taxi style seat in Bobby’s Bar at Bob Bob Ricard I was well and truly hooked. I had found the most beautiful bar in the whole entire world, and one that would bring me lots of happy memories.

What made it special was not just its stunning looks, or impeccable service, but the fact that you could bring anyone there and they’d fall in love with it too. My heart is still bereft at the news Bobby’s Bar is to become a dinner and dance restaurant as from May, but I am clinging onto the hope that it will bring me as much joy as its predecessor.

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If money was no object, what kind of restaurant would you open and where?
As luck would have it, Biblioteka in St James

If you had to eat the same meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A glass of Krug, a poached egg and an extra garlicky caesar salad.

What do you keep on your bedside table?
An iPad and a crystal decanter.

When is the last time you had a McDonald’s?
About a year ago, after a dinner at a certain Michelin-starred restaurant

What is your career Plan B?
Moonshiner. I love the idea of one day making my own vodka.

Is there anything on the menu at Bob Bob Ricard that you ever cook at home?
I love a five-minute onglet for lunch on weekends.

Is there any food that you can’t stand?
Abalone is the only food I could not finish.

Do you have any recurring dreams?
No.

Who would be your ideal dinner date?
Kenneth Williams and Freddy Mercury at the same table.

What is the one object you can’t do without?
I like to keep a tape measure on me at all times, in case I need to measure up for new interior ideas for the restaurant.

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Read our other Grilled interviews on Thomasina Miers  ◙ Neil Rankin ◙ Tom Sellers ◙ Marina O’Loughlin
◙ Paul Foster ◙ Scott Collins & Yianni Papoutsis ◙ Hieu Bui ◙ Shaun Rankin ◙ Tim Anderson ◙ Will Beckett
◙ Mark Sargeant ◙ James Perry ◙ Gino D’Acampo ◙ James Martin ◙ Russell Norman ◙ Edd Kimber