Romy Gill at the Pem Opens at Conrad London St James

LONDON, June 9, 2026 — The Pem at Conrad London St James is to reopen this autumn as Romy Gill at the Pem, with British-Indian chef Romy Gill MBE taking the restaurant in a new direction centred on the regional cuisines of India. The announcement marks Gill's return to restaurant kitchens for the first time in six years.

The move represents a significant repositioning for one of Westminster's most recognised hotel dining rooms. Gill steps into a space previously shaped by chef Sally Abé, who launched The Pem in July 2021 and led it until March 2025 as part of a £1.75m investment by Hilton into the Conrad London St James food and beverage programme.

Regional Indian Cuisine Takes Centre Stage

At the Pem, Gill plans to bring the distinct flavours of Punjab, Bengal, Kerala and Rajasthan to Westminster, drawing on her own extensive travels across India and paying homage to the women who first taught her to cook.

Guests can expect rich curries, smoky grills and slow-braised dishes rooted in the cooking traditions of those regions. A tasting menu will also be available, though details are still being finalised ahead of the autumn opening.

"I want the Pem to feel lively and full of energy," said Gill. "The kind of restaurant where people stay longer than they planned, order another dish because the table next to them had it, and leave already thinking about when they're coming back. That's how I love to eat, and that's what I want to create here."

A Chef Returning to the Kitchen After Six Years

Gill operated Romy's Kitchen in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire for six years before its closure in 2019. In the period since, she has built a reputation as a broadcaster and food writer, contributing to publications including The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph, and making regular appearances on BBC and ITV programmes.

She is also the author of three cookbooks — Zaika, On the Himalayan Trail and India: Recipes from Home — which have established her voice as one of the most prominent in Indian food writing in Britain. Her cooking style is known for combining spices and techniques from her upbringing in West Bengal with ingredients she discovered after moving to the UK in 1993.

Gill was awarded an MBE for services to the hospitality industry in 2016. The appointment at the Pem brings her back to the pass at a venue with considerably higher profile than her previous base in South Gloucestershire.

For those looking to explore the range of Indian regional cooking styles that will inform the menu, HCP Good Food's Indian recipes collection offers useful context on the breadth of the cuisine.

A New Chapter for a Suffragette-Inspired Venue

The Pem takes its name from Emily Wilding Davison, the suffragette known to her family by the nickname Pem. The restaurant launched in July 2021 under Sally Abé, who assembled an all-female senior team and positioned the venue as a showcase for elevated British cooking.

Abé served as both head chef of the Pem and consultant chef for the wider hotel until her departure in March 2025. Gill's remit is narrower she will be responsible for the Pem alone, with no hotel-wide consultancy role attached.

Bernadette Gilligan, general manager of Conrad London St James, said: "The Pem has always evolved through the people leading it, and each chapter has brought something different to the restaurant. Romy takes it somewhere we've never been before. We knew very quickly that she was the right person for this next chapter."

The Conrad London St James opened in 2014 as the UK's first Conrad hotel. It operates 256 rooms and a collection of food and drink venues including the Blue Boar pub, a cocktail bar and an afternoon tea lounge, all developed during the 2021 investment programme.

Further information on the hotel is available via the Conrad London St James official page.

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