Damon rejected by top spot

Hollywood actor Matt Damon was dealt an embarrassing blow at the weekend when he was turned away from one of the capital's most celebrated restaurants.

The Ivy, which reportedly banned Liza Minnelli recently for ranting at staff, took a call from Damon on Friday wanting to treat a party of eight of his theatre co-stars to a meal on Saturday night.

He was told that he could only get a table for himself and three friends. But banking on talking round staff with his celebrity status he turned up with eight friends anyway.

To the Talented Mr Ripley star's shame, he was turned away at the door with the suggestion that he might like to try another restaurant a short walk away. With that, Damon, 31, and friends Summer Phoenix, 23, the sister of the Gladiator star Joaquin and the late River, and Casey Affleck, 26, the brother of Ben Affleck and five others, walked to Sheekey's fish restaurant in Covent Garden.

The blow was doubly hard for Damon as he had planned the meal to celebrate their first day off rehearsals. Damon, Affleck and Phoenix have been told by the producers of This Is Our Youth at the Garrick Theatre on Charing Cross Road that they must refrain from late-night drinking if they are to make the West End show work when it debuts in less than two weeks. Their decision to dine at The Ivy was to be the one extravagance of their stay.

A source at The Ivy said: "There is a six-month waiting list for a table here - though we do keep three tables for regulars to book at short notice, and for when celebrities are in town and book very late. In this instance, Damon was turned away with his friends and tried to sweet-talk his way in.

"It didn't carry any weight since we only have one table which can take nine and that was booked. We're certainly not in the business of rearranging people in the restaurant just to accommodate a Hollywood star."

The trio, who have been in London a week, had been working 12-hour days and turning-in early every night at their suites at the Covent Garden Hotel in Monmouth Street. On their 18-day stay, they are paying a special luxury room rate of £220-a-night - or £11,880 for their entire stay. After that, the theatre is putting them up in chic London apartments.

They have been told that there is no time for partying in the capital. A source on the show said: "They are being told in no uncertain terms to get some sleep rather than go out when they finish rehearsals each day.

"Matt, Summer and Casey take over from Hayden (Christensen), Anna (Paquin) and Jake (Gyllenhaal) in two weeks and there's still a lot of ground to cover. There's no suggestion that they won't be up to scratch by the time the curtain raises, but we are all aware there is a lot to do."