McNally Heads to Native London with Covent Garden Space? (With UPDATE)

According to a piece in the Evening Standard, restaurateur Keith McNally may be teaming up with Pulino's investor and Le Caprice owner Richard Caring to bring a version of Balthazar to a huge space in Covent Gardens in London. Planning documents for the space—which the developer awarded to Caring at the last minute over the former owners of his London spot The Ivy—call for "a brasserie restaurant..." that will have "a similar feel to Balthazar in New York." The 120 seat restaurant aims to serve 1,000 people throughout the day but still requires a whopping £30 million of investment to get off the ground.

Update: McNally responds: "I haven't even seen the space, let alone agreed to be a part of it. Richard Caring (a friend and partner in Pulino's) has asked me to come and look at the space but I've been too busy working at Pulino's to think about a possible Balthazar in London."
· Caring strikes ‘the new Wolseley’ off West End menu [Evening Standard via Grub Street]