The former premises of much-loved Leicester Square fish specialist Manzi’s are to be relaunched as a West End offshoot of the famous English restaurant St John EC1.

St John is famous for its chef Fergus Henderson’s rediscovery of the meaty English dishes of old and is arguably the only London restaurant that can be said to be notable at an international level.

Despite its fame, however, St John has remained something of a foodie favourite – a destination for the cognoscenti, rather than the ‘ordinary’ restaurant-goer. The new location, on the block immediately to the north of Leicester Square, on the southern fringe of Chinatown, may be set to change all that.

Look out for an opening in the second half of 2009. (See PS)

PS (8 Jan) We're told on good authority that the opening date is in fact more likely to be in the spring of 2010.