£1.5m central Newcastle venue set to create 50 jobs

A new venue is set to open in the centre of Newcastle next month after three years of planning.

Combined bar, restaurant and nightclub venture Leila Lily’s is set to officially launch on Grey Street at the former Living Room site in September, and is expected to create around 50 new jobs.

Owned by the Malhotra Group plc and named after operations director Atul Malhotra’s daughter, Leila Lily’s will cover two floors at 2-12 Grey Street, which is also home to The Grey Street Hotel and award-winning All About You Spa.

Decorated with a floral theme, the venue will feature a ‘living garden’ as well as bespoke fittings and fixtures sourced personally by Atul Malhotra.

The venue’s bar and restaurant will sit at street level, while the basement level will house Studio 54-style club lounge 212@Leila Lily’s.

Malhotra Group’s head of operations Simon Wright commented: “We are very much aiming this at a sophisticated clientele. We want it to be somewhere they can drink cocktails after work and then enjoy a superb meal.

“They can then dance the night away and, if they really want to end the evening in style, stay overnight in our Grey Street Hotel and be pampered in the spa. It’s five experiences in one place and nowhere else offers that.”

As well as designing the interior, the group has worked closely with Newcastle City Council and Heritage England to restore the stone and marble exterior of the building.

Speaking about the development, the group’s operations director Atul Malhotra added: “We are very conscious that this is one of the finest streets in all England.

“I am confident Leila Lily’s will do it – and its customers – proud.”