Following a short-lived career in merchant banking, he went into catering, becoming Searcy’s
youngest ever manager at the age of 21. Subsequently headhunted to run a restaurant, wine bar
and wine importing business, the offer of a role as Maître d’hôtel at the new London outpost of
Joe Allen, the iconic New York theatre restaurant, soon tempted him to return to his real passion,
restaurants.
In September 1981, he opened his first restaurant, Le Caprice, with business partner Chris
Corbin, on the site of what was then known as The Arlington, on Arlington Street, St James’s. After
a rocky start, the restaurant went on to become a popular, commercial success. Under the
corporate umbrella of Caprice Holdings Ltd, the duo relaunched the historic theatreland
restaurant The Ivy in 1990 and fish restaurant J. Sheekey in 1998. In 1998, majority control of
Caprice Holdings Ltd was sold to Belgo Plc. King and Corbin left in 2000.
In 2003, they opened The Wolseley on Piccadilly, a ‘Grand Café’ , in the building that had originally
been the Wolseley Motor Company car showroom in 1921, followed by St Alban on Lower Regent
Street in 2006, which was sold in 2009.
They were involved with the launch of The Monkey Bar in New York from 2009 to 2011. Then, in
quick succession, they opened The Delaunay in Aldwych (2011), Brasserie Zédel in Soho (2012),
Colbert on Sloane Square (2012), Fischer’s in Marylebone (2014), The Beaumont Hotel in Mayfair
(2014), Bellanger in Islington (2015), Soutine in St John’s Wood (2019). In September 2018, The
Beaumont’s landlord Grosvenor Britain & Ireland sold the long leasehold interest of the building.
On 1 April 2022 Corbin & King was acquired in 2022 by Minor International, their majority
shareholder.
In 2022, King launched Jeremy King Restaurants, opening Arlington in March 2024 on the site
where he had originally opened Le Caprice with Chris Corbin. In June 2024, he opened The Park
on Queensway, a ‘contemporary Grand Café’. In March 2026, he reopened historic London
restaurant, Simpson’s in the Strand, which had been closed since 2020.