Crisp Pizza founder and the Devonshire team to launch London pub

The founder of social media sensation Crisp Pizza is to open a new pub in London’s Mayfair in partnership with the team behind the Devonshire in Soho.

Carl McCluskey said the Marlborough would launch at 24 North Audley Street this autumn in a site that has sat vacant since 2020.

Crisp Pizza will relocate from its current home at the Chancellors pub in Hammersmith, where reservations are only available via phone or WhatsApp.

The project has the backing of the Devonshire’s Charlie Carroll, Ashley Palmer-Watts and Oisin Rogers, who have invested financially in the project, according to The Standard.

It will feature a wet-led pub upstairs with standing room by the bar, while the downstairs area will be a 52-cover Crisp Pizza restaurant featuring a 50-cover outside terrace, the paper reported.

McCluskey wrote on Instagram: “One of the most important parts of growing a business, I believe, is knowing your strengths and your weaknesses. I’ve always worked hard, and somehow managed to teach myself how to make a pretty decent pizza.

“Running a pub, though – especially a big one – is a whole different challenge, and not something I could manage alone. In the early stages of this venture, I spent a lot of time trying to find the right partner to share the load. I’ll be honest: it didn’t go well. I was naïve, inexperienced and there were moments I almost threw in the towel.

“But just when I was ready to give up, I got lucky. I won’t go into all the details, but as you’ll see in today’s press, I’m now teaming up with the incredible crew from the Devonshire – Charlie, Ashley, and the UK’s most famous landlord, Oisín Rogers. They’ve helped me breathe new life into this beautiful pub, and I truly hope you love what we’ve created together.”

Image: crisppizzaw6 / Instagram