Owner Yanni Stais

The White Tower first opened as a restaurant in 1896. The building soon became The Eiffel Tower restaurant, becoming inextricably linked with artists and bohemians, in particular the Post-Impressionist and The Vorticist movements, throughout the 20s and 30s. The restaurant was immortalised in William Roberts’ painting, now in the possession of the Tate Gallery, “The Vorticists at the Restaurant de La Tour Eiffel”. The restaurant remained in the hands of owner Rudolf Stulik until 1943, when it passed into the care of Greek restaurateur Yanni Stais and it became The White Tower in 1949. For over forty years The White Tower enjoyed a reputation for excellence and was enthusiastically lauded by some Soho gourmets as “the greatest Greek restaurant in the world’1. Yanni presided over what had become one of London’s most famous restaurants until his death in 1983, and The White Tower remained on the site until The No.1 Cigar Club took up its residency in 1997.