Fifty is a casino for the 21st century. A world away from the gaudy gambling palaces of Las Vegas, this chic members-club/cocktail-lounge hybrid is as stylish, exclusive and as cool as they come.
Based on the site of the former Jamaican High Commission in London’s St James, the new venture by Robert Earl has rapidly become the place to be, ditching the fustiness of existing English casinos for an altogether more glamorous atmosphere. Having commissioned one of the world's most talented interior designers, Jeffrey Beers, to revamp the wonderful old building, the management brought on board world renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and master mixologist Salvatore Calabrese to oversee the restaurant and bar respectively.
This is not the first time that 50 St James Street has played host to a gambling house. The original casino on the site, opened in 1827, was in its day known as "the Ascot of gambling." Fashionable from the start, the Duke of Wellington and the notorious French dandy, Count D'Orsay, were amongst the regulars – and in its current – impeccably designed - incarnation, Fifty remains a place that Wellington and D'Orsay would feel at home in.