Celebrity restaurants are becoming as ubiquitous as celebrity beauty brands, it seems. But unlike skincare lines, they offer something more immersive: a chance for fans to take a seat inside a star's world.
Sometimes they are vanity projects, and sometimes they are serious hospitality businesses, but often these ventures reveal something about the personalities behind them.
Some of the famous owners are hands-on, while others simply lend their name, backed by seasoned restaurateurs who understand that fame may fill tables on opening night, but only good food keeps them occupied one year later.
Al Nassr and Portugal footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has, characteristically, taken a grand approach. Tatel is a Spanish dining concept that Ronaldo co-owns alongside Spanish sports stars Rafael Nadal and Pau Gasol, and which currently has branches in Dubai, Madrid, Ibiza, Riyadh, Valencia and Malta. It's not Ronaldo's first venture into the hospitality space; he partnered with hotelier Dionisio Pestana on Pestana CR7 over a decade ago. It currently has five locations around the world.
The Argentinian player Lionel Messi is the owner of several establishments. In addition to his own hotel brand, MiM Hotels, he also owns Hincha with Michelin-starred chef Nandu Jubany. It serves Catalan and Argentine dishes, including a Messi favourite, Grandma's Macaroni. Fellow footballers Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso have brought Argentine cooking to Milan's Brera district thanks to their restaurant Botinero.
Former Los Angeles Lakers basketball player LeBron James, meanwhile, has been a part-owner of Blaze Pizza in America since 2012. One of sport's great business success stories, James's backing helped transform a fledgling fast-casual pizza concept into a nationwide chain, proving a carefully chosen restaurant partnership can be every bit as lucrative as an endorsement deal.
Rock frontman Jon Bon Jovi and his wife Dorothea, meanwhile, started JBJ Soul Kitchen in New Jersey in 2011. Founded with a philanthropic slant, JBJ Soul Kitchen lets diners either pay for their meal or volunteer their time in a pay-it-forward model that has become as integral to the restaurant's identity as its menu.
Director Baz Luhrmann has never been associated with restraint, and the maximalist filmmaker behind Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby has brought that same theatrical sensibility to Monsieur, his New York cocktail bar. Filled with Gothic arches, medieval references and bohemian decadence, it is intentionally closer to a film set than to a neighbourhood night spot.
Actors also seem to be drawn to neighbourhood restaurants, with London in particular becoming something of a laboratory for celebrity hospitality. White Lotus star Theo James has co-opened his second restaurant in the UK capital. The first is Lupa in north London, inspired by the traditional, casual eateries of Rome, with dishes such as cacio e pepe and crispy fried courgette flowers; the second is Ornella, which serves Milanese dishes to an east London crowd.
British singer Ed Sheeran owns Bertie Blossoms in Notting Hill. Rather than a glossy celebrity flagship, it resembles an understated neighbourhood pub, serving tapas-style small bites, such as carrots with labneh and hazelnuts, or burrata and blood oranges. The name honours his wife Cherry rather than the musician himself.
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels director Guy Ritchie owns The Lore of the Land in Fitzrovia, where traditional British fare comes with a twist, such as cod tempura and pistachio and gooseberry Eton Mess. Luther actor Idris Elba, meanwhile, has taken a more polished route with Porte Noire in the King's Cross area, serving sharing plates of thick pappardelle pasta with slow-cooked shiitake ragu and chickpea chips.
Lord of the Rings and X-Men actor Sir Ian McKellen has also left his mark on hospitality, co-rescuing the historic London riverside pub The Grapes. Mounted on the bar is a wizard staff prop McKellen used when he played Gandalf in the Tolkien trilogy.
Across the Atlantic, celebrity restaurants often feel more expansive. Kansas City's 1587 Prime, opened by NFL star – and Taylor Swift's new husband – Travis Kelce and fellow player Patrick Mahomes, is a classic American steakhouse. Over in Miami, singer Bad Bunny is co-owner of Gekko, a high-end Japanese eatery and nightclub.
Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman founded Laughing Man Coffee in New York. The Tribeca cafe serves organic, fair trade coffee and all profits go to the Laughing Man Foundation to support farming communities in Ethiopia through housing, health and educational programmes.
American character actor Danny Trejo has built an equally distinctive, if less rarefied, empire through Trejo's Tacos, Trejo’s Cantina and Trejo’s Coffee & Donuts. Each of his outlets is infused with the actor's unmistakable East Los Angeles identity.
Of course, the trend for mixing celebrity and eateries was kick-started by Oscar winner Robert De Niro, who launched the first Nobu restaurant in 1994, alongside chef Nobu Matsuhisa and film producer Meir Teper.
De Niro's support helped transform Nobu from a single restaurant into one of the world's most recognisable luxury hospitality brands. Today it has more than 50 restaurants around the world, including two in Dubai, and more than 35 Nobu hotels.
Ultimately, celebrity restaurants are popular not just because famous faces own them but because they offer something closer to home. While a film finishes, a football career ends and an album slips down the charts, a good neighbourhood restaurant, whether backed by an Oscar winner or a World Cup champion, can become part of everyday life.
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