Meet the knight of the night

Buying Mahiki, one of London’s most famous celebrity nightclubs, during Covid when the industry was shut, might have raised a few eyebrows. For Asher Grant, the international nightlife entrepreneur, it was an opportunity.

A few years on, that instinct has helped turn him into one of the driving forces behind London’s booming festive dining scene, where restaurants evolve into late-night destinations and experience is everything.

Today, Asher, 37, is behind a growing portfolio of venues spanning London and beyond – including Reign on Piccadilly, TABŪ in both London and Mykonos, Clubhouse and, most recently, PIRAÑA in Mayfair, which is emerging as his most successful concept yet. Open for just over a year, PIRAÑA has become one of the capital’s most in-demand destinations and is regularly booked up months in advance.

Built around a Peruvian-Japanese menu, it pairs high-end dining with a late-night atmosphere that has struck a chord with London’s evolving nightlife crowd. It has also attracted a steady stream of celebrity guests, with names including Drake, Anthony Joshua, DJ Afrojack and the Liverpool football team among those to have passed through the doors of Asher’s venues.

The success of venues such as PIRAÑA reflects a wider shift in the hospitality industry, as traditional nightclubs give way to experience-led dining concepts that blur the line between restaurant and late-night playground.

Often dubbed “clubstaurants”, these spaces combine high-end food with music, atmosphere and a gradual transition into dancing. Asher, the founder of Strongarm Hospitality, says London is undergoing a significant transition, driven not just by increased competition but by changing consumer habits.

“There’s more pressure than ever in the luxury F&B [food and beverage] space,” says Asher, speaking from his office in Berkeley Street. “Restaurants and nightclubs have to do more than ever to compete and keep attracting clientele.” He believes that shift is being shaped in part by a more health-conscious generation, with younger audiences drinking less and moving away from traditional late-night clubbing.

But Asher is not a fan of the “clubstaurant” label. “I prefer ‘festive dining’ or ‘elevated dining’. For me, it’s always a restaurant first. “For the first few hours it’s just a great place to eat. Then it builds into something more – people are up, dancing, enjoying themselves.”

The model is one he is taking global, with PIRAÑA sites opening in Dubai, Saint Tropez and Courchevel in 2027, alongside further expansion in London and a presence at Formula One’s Silverstone this year.

But despite the success, Asher insists none of this was part of a master plan. “I don’t think I was destined for this at all,” he says. “It all happened accidentally.” Growing up in a council house in Epsom, Surrey, Asher moved to London aged 16, determined to make his own way. “It made me fiercely independent. I remember getting a job in a clothes shop just to pay my rent.” His entry into hospitality came soon after. “I started when I was 18 cleaning tables in a nightclub,” he recalls. “I just thought it was amazing that people would pay to go out like that.”

He worked his way up, moving from clearing tables to hosting and eventually waiting on customers, building relationships with a regular clientele along the way. Many of those he encountered were high-net-worth individuals and familiar faces from the worlds of sport, music and entertainment. “They’re great places to meet people,” he says. “You break boundaries very quickly in that environment, and you build relationships naturally.”

Those relationships would prove pivotal. By his mid-twenties, Asher began to consider striking out on his own. “I was 26 and thought – maybe somewhat naively – that I’d love to open my own nightclub. So I reached out to some of the clients I’d built relationships with and asked if they’d ever want to do something like that.” To his surprise, they said yes.

The result was Reign on Piccadilly, the venue he still describes as “my baby”, and the foundation of a career that would grow far beyond what he had initially imagined. “I had absolutely no idea what I was doing,” he admits. “But that was probably my strength. I didn’t understand the size of the challenge. I just got on with it.”

That instinct would be tested again during the pandemic, when Asher acquired Mahiki – a former favourite haunt of Prince Harry and Prince William – at a time when much of the sector was effectively shut. However his connection to hospitality – and food in particular – has much earlier roots. “Growing up Jewish, food is everything,” he says. “It’s how you socialise. Friday night dinners, big family meals – it’s the centre of everything. Food is the lifeblood of the community. That’s probably where I became a foodie,” he adds. “And now, for my wife and I, our love language is food. We travel, try different restaurants, and talk about what works and what doesn’t.”

While his own venues are not centred around Israeli cuisine, he is a strong admirer of its growing influence. “The chef scene in Israel is incredible,” he says. “You’ve got Israeli chefs all over the world doing really special things and that’s definitely being felt in London as well.”

That global influence is something Asher is watching closely, particularly in Tel Aviv, a city he describes as one of the most exciting dining markets in the world. “There are restaurants there doing things at another level. They’re pushing boundaries with food and atmosphere in a way that’s really interesting.

“I’d love to open in Tel Aviv one day for sure.

He says the UK market has undergone a significant shift over the past decade – both in how people go out and how venues operate. “The biggest change has been around health and fitness,” he says. “We live in a much more wellness-focused society now. “When I was younger, everyone went out on a Friday and Saturday night. That’s not really the case any more. People still want to go out, but they don’t necessarily want to be out drinking until four in the morning.”

At the same time, the business of hospitality has become increasingly challenging. Margins, he says, have tightened dramatically. “Years ago, you might be making 20 to 25 per cent. You’re lucky if you’re making 10 per cent now.” With around 450 staff across his London venues, the pressure is constant. “PIRAÑA had our most successful first year, is booked up months in advance and a unicorn business but even then, there can be times when we are struggling to make payroll, pay VAT and NI contributions. And if you don’t make payroll, people can’t pay their rent or their mortgages,” he says.

Despite the challenges, Asher has emerged as one of the defining figures of London’s evolving nightlife scene, helping to reshape it for a new generation. Now, his ambitions stretch far beyond the capital. “London will always be home,” he says. “But I’ll definitely be on a plane a lot more.” And, inevitably, with a few good meals along the way.

piranalondon.com