Slingsby Place, A Covent Garden Restaurant - Restaurant & Dining Fit-Out

From an empty shell to a fully operational restaurant, Slingsby Place showcases a complete fit-out in the heart of Covent Garden. Delivered on a busy, high-footfall street, the project seamlessly integrated the dining area, bar, and commercial kitchen into one coordinated build.

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4Weeks

Project Timeline

100%

On Budget

86sqm

Gym Area

0 Days

Delays

Craftex was appointed to transform a Covent Garden unit into a destination restaurant — a single space that had to work just as hard at midday as it did at midnight. We took the project from concept through to the first covers served, acting as the single point of responsibility for design, construction, joinery and finishing. Every decision was weighed against three constraints that never moved: a demanding hospitality brand, a tight central-London footprint, and a delivery window that couldn't slip.

Design-led, single point of contact.

A dining space built for atmosphere and turnover.

Project Overview

The client briefed one team and held one team accountable. From the first design conversation to the final snag, Craftex managed the architecture, the joinery, the M&E coordination and the trades under one roof. That removed the gaps where central-London fit-outs usually lose time — no finger-pointing between designer and builder, one programme, one number to call.

A restaurant has to do two contradictory things at once — feel relaxed enough to linger in, and run efficiently enough to turn tables. We designed and built the front-of-house, bar and back-of-house as one connected flow: clear sightlines, an unhurried guest journey, and a service line engineered so staff move without friction at peak. Materials were chosen to look refined and survive nightly wear in equal measure.

A complete commercial gym fit-out delivered for a Banbury-based health and fitness operator. From shell to fully operational training facility in four weeks — joinery, mechanical, electrical, flooring and equipment installation, all coordinated through a single point of accountability.

Built For Service.
Designed For Atmosphere.

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How It Works

Brief. Build. Deliver.

Step Three

Handover & Aftercare

Defined aftercare period for adjustments once trading at full tilt

Single point of contact throughout — one programme, no interface risk

Delivered to the operator's marketed opening dat

Service-ready handover — kitchen live, bar pouring, front-of-house photographed

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Step Two

The Build

Commercial kitchen installed and commissioned ready for service

Bespoke bar and front-of-house joinery fabricated in-house

M&E first-fix coordinated ahead of ceilings, lighting and climate

Strip-out and structural works sequenced around restricted street access

02

Step One

The Brief & Design

Surveys, procurement and full trade programme completed in pre-construction

Material boards and 3D visuals signed off before any work began

Front-of-house, bar and kitchen planned as one connected service flow

Collaborative design sessions with the operator to lock covers, layout and brand feel

01

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In central London, every square metre has to pay for itself. We designed this restaurant to maximise covers without making guests feel processed — balancing intimate seating zones against the operator's revenue targets. The bar was positioned to double as a focal point and a waiting area, and the finished palette was built around materials that read as premium under low evening light yet photograph well for social content, an asset the operator now uses to fill tables.

Designing a restaurant that earns its rent

Covent Garden gives a fit-out almost no room for error: pedestrianised access, strict delivery windows, and neighbours on every wall. Before demolition we ran a full pre-construction phase — measured surveys, a sequenced programme, and procurement of long-lead items booked early so nothing stalled mid-build. Deliveries were timed around the area's restrictions, and the works were zoned so structurally and M&E first-fix progressed in parallel rather than in series.

Planning the build on a live street

With the programme set, the build ran as a tightly managed sequence: strip-out, structural and M&E first-fix, bar and kitchen installation, bespoke joinery, then the finishing trades. Craftex self-delivered the joinery and managed every specialist trade directly, which kept quality consistent and the programme honest. Where late design refinements came in — as they always do in hospitality — we absorbed them without losing the handover date.

Executing the fit-out

The finished restaurant opened as a complete, service-ready environment: a confident front-of-house, a bar built to be seen, and a back-of-house engineered for output. After handover we ran a defined aftercare period, returning to resolve the small adjustments that only reveal themselves once a venue is trading at full tilt.

The result, and what happened after

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Challenges & Solutions

01

Solutions

We scheduled all deliveries to the street's permitted hours and pre-staged materials so the build never stalled waiting on access.

Window-timed logistics

04

Challenges

Craftex managed design, kitchen, bar and joinery under one programme and one accountable team, closing the coordination gaps where fit-outs usually lose time.

Single-point delivery

03

Materials were specified to read as premium under evening light while standing up to commercial hospitality use, so looks and durability weren't a trade-off.

A considered finish package

02

Long-lead items were procured during pre-construction and trades were parallel-tracked, building in the float needed to hold the opening date.

Programme protection

04

Front-of-house, bar and commercial kitchen each had their own design, services and trades that had to be coordinated inside a tight footprint.

Four disciplines in one space

03

A restaurant interior has to photograph beautifully for social proof yet survive spills, footfall and heavy service every single night.

Premium look against nightly wear

02

The operator had already committed to an opening the public knew about, so the handover date was fixed before we started and could not move.

A marketed opening date

01

The unit sat on a pedestrianised street with no kerbside loading, narrow approaches and strict delivery windows, making logistics one of the hardest parts of the build.

Restricted central-London access

Every commercial fit-out has its constraints. Here's how this one was solved.