Yes, Ralph: The Polo Bar Saddles Up for London Debut

Wherever you are in the world, restaurants open, enjoy their moment, and more often than not slide into irrelevance before a new order of coasters needs to be made. New York in particular is merciless in this regard, its diners fickle, its critics impatient, its supply of the new, endless. And yet, Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar, which opened on East 55th Street in 2015, has done something that is nothing short of extraordinary. It has not only endured but flourished, becoming an immovable fixture of Manhattan’s social scene. Reservations are still as sought-after as they were on day one. That a fashion house should achieve this in hospitality is a testament to vision, consistency, and a brand that understands lifestyle to such an extent that whatever it touches, people want in.

Now London is set to receive its own chapter of this story. Ralph Lauren has announced that The Polo Bar will open at 1 Hanover Square in 2028, adding to a hospitality portfolio that already spans New York, Paris, Milan, Chicago and Chengdu. The address alone tells you what you need to know: Ralph Lauren does not dabble. He plants flags at the heart of things, as he did in 1981 with the Bond Street flagship that introduced London to the World of Ralph Lauren.

London feels like a logical addition to the Polo Bar canon. Ralph himself describes his inspiration as rooted in the British way of life — a tradition of elegance that combines sophistication with ease. His connection to the UK is hardly fleeting: from dressing Wimbledon’s officials since 2006 to establishing the Ralph Lauren Centre for Breast Cancer Research at the Royal Marsden in 2016, and even being knighted by the late Queen for services to style and philanthropy, if we could claim him as one of our own, we would.

The question, though, is not whether the restaurant will be stylish, nor whether the food will be good. The question is whether The Polo Bar London can pull off the same trick as its New York sibling: to become not simply a place to eat, but a place to belong. Judging by precedent, and by the singular ability of Ralph Lauren to design not just clothes, but worlds, the odds are very much in its favour. We at The Rake cannot wait.