Will Ricker's World

While he may have settled down, Ricker's life is no less glamorous than it was. Probably more so. His home in Notting Hill has been featured in the pages of Vogue and the family regularly take off to their chalet in Courchevel. And he certainly seems to have a second wind in his sails when it comes to business.

Ricker has always had a knack for drawing the right crowd. "Sometimes I laugh my arse off when the staff show me the list. And there's no doubt our customers love the glamour of someone well-known making an appearance, but rumours started that we were tipping off the paps about Paul McCartney coming to XO which were, of course, complete fabrication. I had to call Mary, his daughter, to try and put his mind at rest — and she'd named us the best vegetarian restaurant in London!"

When it comes to talking about the realities of day-to-day business, however, Ricker is more serious. "The recession has been tough," he says, "and the fire at Eight Over Eight really knocked us — I had to write a cheque out for £100,000 for the staff just for starters, and then when we were told the insurance company weren't going to pay so we had to employ an expensive lawyer... yadda, yadda, yadda — it's a murky old world the insurance business. But the last two years we've had record takings at E&O."

Evidently he has put those takings into Glo Glo's, a Japanese bar and robata grill that is set to open tomorrow below the Great Eastern Dining Room. "It feels great to come back to Shoreditch. The place is so vibrant now but it does give me kind of a warm feeling to know I was one of the first there."

He also has a site in Westminster that he's yet to decide what to do with — but it's central London that he really has his heart set on.

"Yeah, Mayfair here we come," he sighs, impatiently. "As soon as the banks start lending again. I mean, look at places like Cipriani: the food's not all that, but it's heaving. Everywhere around there is.

"I want to do an E&O central. A bigger version of E&O, with a bigger bar." Wolseley size, I venture? "Why not! It's just finding the right site that's tricky. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on Oriel in Sloane Square. Everyone's falling over themselves for that place."

Despite the downturn, says Ricker, the restaurant scene is thriving because the margins are greater. "Everyone wants to have a restaurant in London these days because the rent is too high in places such as New York. You can make more money here."

So what happened to the Ricker of seven or eight years ago, who hung out in his restaurants every night and went to parties dressed in white suits, calling himself "Bruce" Saint Laurent?

"I work on my restaurants now, rather than in them," he smiles. "My wife's taught me a hell of a lot about how to behave. Once you realise you've got certain traits that might not be that good for business, you try and rein them in. And when you have kids you can't be running around like you used to. But I'm much more driven now and less afraid of making mistakes. I'm more confident about doing a big investment restaurant whereas before I've run to the suburbs, where it's the third of the cost of a West End venue."

So with all this work, how does workaholic Will relax? "Watching Arsenal. I've got two season tickets. And Amy and I both love art."

Despite the art collecting, Ricker may be less sociable now, more settled and certainly more mellow than the tousle-haired wannabe entrepreneur I met in Notting Hill a decade ago, but he has a new-found focus. "I see people who I admire in the bar and restaurant world and they're doing amazing things ... Of course I get competitive and think, I'll have some of that!"

As he jumps into a silver, chauffeur-driven Mercedes to check out how the building work is going at Glo Glo's, I wonder how many months it will be before I find out he's opening his next sceney hangout of the future.

THE RICKER EMPIRE
Cicada
Ricker's first restaurant, Cicada, opened in 1996. Boasting a modern interior and relatively cheap pan-Asian cuisine, the Clerkenwell eaterie has maintained a strong following ever since.

E&O
Notting Hill's E&O has become as famous for its celebrity clientele as it has for its styled, simple Asian food.

Great Eastern Dining Room
Reflecting the Hoxton locale, the Great Eastern's retro furniture offers a more relaxed feel than Ricker's usual openings, though the trademark pan-Asian cuisine is as good as ever.

Glo Glo's
Ricker's latest offering, Glo Glo's, opens tomorrow, bringing an eclectic combination of Tokyo street food and cocktails to trendy Shoreditch.

XO
Tucked away in Belsize Park, Ricker's north London outpost offers lazy locals a takeaway service if you don't fancy eating in.

Eight over Eight
Recently re-opened after a blaze in 2009, this Chelsea outpost of the Ricker empire is already attracting back the locals and celebs such as Kate Middleton and male model David Gandy.

Oliver Franklin