Robin Simon Leigh has built a career that stands as one of the most influential in international hospitality. A British restaurateur and hospitality entrepreneur, Leigh is known for creating restaurants and dining concepts that have not only won awards but also shaped the way people experience food in both the United States and the United Kingdom. His career, which began in the early 1990s, has been guided by a philosophy rooted in excellence, creativity, professionalism, and dedication, values that have marked each of his ventures and continue to influence the hospitality industry at large.
Leigh’s early life set the stage for his achievements. He was born in the United Kingdom and attended Millfield School in Somerset. With an early interest in broad perspectives and global opportunities, he moved to the United States for higher education. In 1988, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Political Science, earning honors that included Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude distinctions. His academic discipline was paired with a growing interest in food and culture, which led him to enroll in the French Culinary Institute in New York City in 1990. There he trained in classical culinary arts and apprenticed under the renowned chef Jean Georges Vongerichten. He also studied at the New York Hotel School, though he chose not to complete a degree there, focusing instead on real world experiences that would soon define his path.
His career began with one of the most recognized names in modern dining. In the mid 1990s, Leigh played a central role in the development and launch of the original NOBU restaurant in Tribeca, New York. At the time, NOBU represented a groundbreaking vision of Japanese cuisine with a modern flair. Leigh’s work helped establish it as a destination that attracted both critics and a global audience. Following its success in New York, Leigh guided the brand’s expansion into Europe, opening NOBU restaurants in London, Paris, and Milan. His contributions helped turn NOBU into one of the most recognizable names in fine dining worldwide.
In 1998, Leigh furthered his influence on the New York dining scene by co founding BondSt with Jonathan Morr. BondSt became one of the first modern sushi restaurants to capture significant attention in the Western market after the rise of NOBU. Its unique style and atmosphere drew critical acclaim and cultural recognition, including being featured in the television series Sex and the City. BondSt has maintained its reputation for more than two decades and, as of 2023, continues to generate more than $33 million annually, with two thriving locations.
Leigh’s ability to recognize culinary talent early became another hallmark of his career. In the early 2000s, he partnered with TV chef celebrity Geoffrey Zakarian to open Town, a modern American fine dining restaurant in New York City. The collaboration earned a three-star review from The New York Times and the title of Best New Restaurant in 2002, placing Town among the most influential dining experiences of the era.
His search for new culinary perspectives led him to Asia in 2003, where he discovered chef Ian Chalermkittichai, then the executive chef at the Four Seasons Bangkok. Leigh brought him to New York to lead the kitchen at Kittichai, which opened at 60 Thompson Street. The restaurant quickly became one of the most celebrated Thai dining destinations in the United States and was named Best Thai Restaurant in the country by Condé Nast Traveler in 2005.
Leigh continued to experiment with new ideas and formats. In 2016, he launched ICHIBUNS in London, branded by Pentagram as a Japanese-inspired “super diner” that blended the energy of Tokyo street food with a contemporary casual dining concept. The design, created by Noriyoshi Muramatsu of Studio Glitt, won the 2018 Restaurant and Bar Design Award. With gourmet burgers, sushi, noodles, dumplings, and a downstairs bar featuring live DJs, ICHIBUNS showed Leigh’s ability to merge entertainment, design, and food into a single immersive experience.
In 2019, Leigh co-founded Endo at the Rotunda in London with chef Kazutoshi Endo, a talent he had discovered more than a decade earlier. Designed by Kengo Kuma and branded by Pentagram, the restaurant quickly established itself as one of the finest in the city. Within three months, working alongside Mathew Freud, it earned a Michelin star. The Times critic Giles Coren described his review of the restaurant as the best in his 20-year career, a statement that underscored the impact of Leigh’s vision.
In September 2023, he opened Bond St Hudson Yards in New York City, a flagship venue designed by the late James Beers, which operates for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
Building on these successes, Leigh launched Welcome To My House Group (WTMH) in London and New York in 2025, a global hospitality creative management company dedicated to curating, facilitating, and investing in innovative dining and lifestyle concepts. WTMH reflects Leigh’s role not just as a restaurateur but as a connector and visionary investor, bringing together talent, design, and strategy to create scalable brands. Among his contributions was helping bring to life the first Jean-Georges Residence at Miami Tropic in the Design District by uniting leading figures such as David Martin of Terra Group, merging luxury living with world-class dining.
WTMH’s new ventures showcase Leigh’s instinct for cultural trends. In July 2025, Sl’ice opened at The Bull Burford in the Cotswolds after successful pop-ups at exclusive venues like the Queen’s Tennis Members Lounge. Sl’ice reimagines pizza and gelato with authentic Italian inspiration blended with playful elegance, with a flagship London location set for 2026. Later in 2025, Leigh will debut IchiMad in Madrid, a Japanese lounge led by one of Europe’s leading female sushi masters. In 2026, Frost & Fry will launch as a British interpretation of Raising Cane’s, pairing premium chicken nuggets with creative gelato toppings, branded by Pentagram.
Leigh’s projects consistently unite culinary artistry with cultural experience. He has collaborated with chefs such as Geoffrey Zakarian, Ian Kittichai, Endo Kazutoshi, Francesco Martucci, Alan Yau, Marc Spitzer, Michele Pascarella, and Anshu Anghotra. These partnerships have resulted in landmark restaurants including Nobu, BondSt, Town, Kittichai, Ichibuns, and Endo at the Rotunda.
Beyond restaurants, Leigh shares his expertise through his podcast and YouTube channel Welcome to My House Group, where he interviews chefs and hospitality icons, offering insights into the world of dining and design.
“Welcome To My House is about connection,” Leigh explains. “It’s about ideas that bring people together and experiences that leave a lasting imprint. Sl’ice and Frost & Fry are both expressions of that – playful, refined, and rooted in something timeless.”
With ventures across London, New York, Miami, Madrid, and beyond, Robin Simon Leigh continues to redefine hospitality, bridging creativity with commercial success and shaping the future of dining worldwide.
