Jul’s, an Aegean-rooted hospitality project that began on the road to Ibiza’s Sa Caleta in 2018, has opened in London’s St James’s, taking over the former National Bank of Egypt in March. The group behind it now runs Humain in Athens and a two-hectare organic farm on Ibiza, and has built its London debut around a 6.5-metre wine wall and a drinks programme overseen by Greek-born sommelier Klearhos Kanellakis, according to The Drinks Business.
The opening has drawn genuine design buzz, and a few pointed questions about how the room will hold up once the cameras go away.
What happened:
- The St James's site opened in March, inside the former National Bank of Egypt.
- The wider group runs Jul’s in Ibiza, Humain in Athens, and a two-hectare organic farm.
- Klearhos Kanellakis shapes the wine list, with a bespoke cellar holding roughly 2,200 bottles.
- Palmer sits as the house Champagne.
- Winemakers from France, Germany, and Italy have already visited the dining room.
The room, and what the design tries to do
The St James's interior comes from Athens-based ArcSet, the same studio that shaped the now-closed Mayfair venue Onima. The look pulls together charred timbers, lime plaster, sculpted snail motifs, mesh curtains that look like trapped bees, mosaic tabletops, custom pottery, and the dominant wine wall. The Drinks Business notes that the effect is intricate to the point of distraction, and reports uniforms that look unwell-considered, a soundtrack that pushes rather than eases, and washrooms that pull the eye away from the room they belong to.
The same review recounts an early tour before the room was ready, with an owner visibly anxious and the meal delivered after stray garnish had reached the chairs. The shorthand: the room is doing a lot, and it knows it.
The wine programme
Around seven in every ten bottles on the opening list arrived from the original Ibiza operation. Champagne duties fall to Palmer, picked for its slimmer body. Kanellakis has previously worked openings at 67 Pall Mall, Trivet, and Ekstedt at The Yard, and he is a Decanter judge. At Ekstedt, he says, the kitchen called for weight; at Jul’s, the brief is agility.
The bespoke cellar runs to roughly 2,200 bottles, stacked from the sparkling selection near the loos, up through the ground floor and into the mezzanine. By the glass, the route moves from Palmer in three formats, then bends east to Macedonian reds, Sicily's Etna whites, Burgundy's Puligny-Montrachet, Nemea in the Peloponnese, Orcia in Tuscany, the cooler Rioja Alavesa sub-zone, and finishes in France's Châteauneuf-du-Pape before crossing to Ribera del Duero.
By the bottle, the grand Mayfair classics sit on the list next to less obvious routes through Turkey, the islands of Tinos and Santorini, Ribeira Sacra in Galicia, the Portuguese region of Dão, and California. A run of growers from Burgundy, the Nahe, and Piedmont have stopped by in person, and the team has played host to a Champagne launch tied to a new Bollinger release, plus a mezcal tasting led by FT writer Alice Lascelles. The aim, Kanellakis says, is for makers to be present, not only their bottles.
Mark-ups can run as low as 40%, and producer corkage is waived to keep the mezzanine in regular use.
Our analysis
The room gets attention. The wine list is where Jul’s wins or loses. St James’s is dense with wine-led competition: 67 Pall Mall is a sprint away, and most of the neighbouring venues can pour a familiar Bordeaux without thinking. The interesting test is whether Kanellakis can pull a general London audience past the comfort zone into pine-resin Greek whites, obscure Galician reds, island wines from the Cyclades, and serious fortified Madeira. Based on what The Drinks Business has reported, he has the voice. The question is whether one sommelier can hold that line through a full service every night.
For nightlife and bar readers, the second story sits downstairs. No. 11 is a separate cocktail bar under bar directors Vasilis Sgouromallis and Dimitris Karapanos, working with visible lab-grade kit, a late-night licence, and cocktails like Aguacate, which pairs gin, Noilly Prat, and guacamole. That bar is likely to do more trade than the upstairs wine flights, and it sets the tone for the whole building.
A worked example
Say you book a 7pm table for a date who already knows Palmer Champagne. Start with a glass of Palmer Brut, move into a glass of something from Tinos or Etna alongside the raw bluefin course, and let Kanellakis steer the main course toward a bottle from Ribeira Sacra or Dão. Finish downstairs at No. 11 with a single Mezcal Reina or a tomato-water Negroni. You will have crossed three or four regions most Mayfair lists never touch, without ever feeling like you’re on a wine exam.
Key takeaways
- Jul’s opened in St James’s in March, inside the former National Bank of Egypt.
- Klearhos Kanellakis, formerly of 67 Pall Mall, Trivet, and Ekstedt, leads the wine programme.
- The bespoke cellar runs to around 2,200 bottles, anchored by a 6.5-metre wine wall.
- Palmer sits as the house Champagne.
- The downstairs No. 11 cocktail bar carries the late-night licence.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Jul’s?
Executive chef Christos Fotos, with Jem Akyuz on business development and Ilhan Akyuz as general manager.
Where is the London restaurant?
In the former National Bank of Egypt, which opened in March.
Who runs the wine programme?
Klearhos Kanellakis, a Greek-born Decanter judge and former sommelier at 67 Pall Mall, Trivet, and Ekstedt.
What is the house Champagne?
Palmer, selected for its lighter build.
How large is the wine cellar?
The bespoke cellar holds roughly 2,200 bottles.
Source: thedrinksbusiness.com
