Markus Thesleff: ‘The goal is always the same: creating experiences that make people happy’

London may remain “an incredibly strong global destination”, but for Markus Thesleff, there is more “clarity and opportunity abroad”.

Returning to the UK in 2021, from a successful career in Dubai, he was entering a market with a huge amount of pent-up demand – which created “an artificial surge initially” – but also one struggling from a post-Brexit hangover and the impact of Covid.

While the market has stabilised, there are significant pressures facing hospitality, with staffing remaining one of its biggest challenges, he says.

“At the moment, we are very focused on international growth. We remain cautious about deploying large amounts of capital into the UK right now because of uncertainty around economic policy and where future growth will come from,” he tells MCA.

The weaker pound may have brought more American visitors to the UK, which has benefited premium hospitality. But overall, he believes the industry needs more support and clarity from government policy “because hospitality and tourism are such important contributors to the wider economy and culture”.

Following the success of its Mexican-Japanese restaurant Los Mochis – in the City (Liverpool Street) and Notting Hill – the experience-led hospitality group is taking the concept overseas, with an opening in LA due next year.

Thesleff believes the concept has “significant international potential”, with the group looking at further opportunities across the US and other markets globally.

The group is also in discussions regarding the international expansion of Sale e Pepe. It acquired the Italian restaurant in Knightsbridge in 2023, transforming it into a luxury dining venue, inspired by Milan townhouses, before opening Sale e Pepe Mare at The Langham Hotel – featuring a menu inspired by Italian costal dining – in November last year.

Thesleff says the group has plans to open further sites under the Sale e Pepe brand, which it sees as “a very strong brand platform”, both in the UK and internationally.

“We have the original Sale e Pepe, now Sale e Pepe Mare, and there are a couple of additional offshoot concepts we are exploring within the brand family,” he explains.

“We are actively looking at another London site already, and we are also in discussions regarding international expansion. We’ve agreed a number of LOIs already, so international growth for the brand is very much on our radar.”

But while international growth is the ‘plat du jour’, the group is also still seeking further opportunities on its home turf.

Last week it opened MA/NA – a modern Japanese dining and drinking venue, in Mayfair. It’s the concept that Thesleff had intended to launch first in the UK, pre-Covid. But the pandemic changed the deal structure and the timing no longer worked. Conceptually, it evolved into Los Mochis instead.

“We’ve spent years waiting for the right location for MA/NA because it’s a very personal concept. We’ve already had interest regarding second and third locations internationally, which has been exciting.”

Signature dishes include O-Toro Tartare with fatty Bluefin tuna, avocado, truffle soy, kaiware, tobiko, daikon, fresh wasabi, shallot and rice crisps; Avocado Aburi with grilled avocado, Japanese teriyaki mushrooms, spicy aioli, spring onion and sesame; and A5 Wagyu Ishiyaki, featuring tenderloin seared on a Himalayan stone with garlic ponzu and Asian leaves.

MA/NA is also one of a handful of restaurants in London officially certified to serve Kobe beef, which is selected only from the Tajima strain of Japanese Black cattle raised in the Hyōgo Prefecture.

When dinner draws to a close, the venue evolves into a contemporary cocktail bar, with the programme led by Thesleff Group bar director Pietro Collina of The World’s 50 Best Bars’ Viajante87 – another concept in the group’s stable.

“For me, MA/NA is about bringing a fresh perspective to contemporary Japanese dining at the very top end of the market,” Thesleff explains.

“London has historically been hugely important for this category, Nobu became globally iconic through London, Zuma started in London, and I felt there was space for a new contemporary Japanese brand to emerge from here again. If MA/NA is ever mentioned in the same conversation as those brands, I’d be honoured.”

Also within Thesleff Group’s portfolio is Bad Boy Burritos – a delivery brand from Los Mochis Notting Hill, Juno Omakase – located within Los Mochis Notting Hill, and Luna Omakase – housed within Los Mochis City.

Commenting on the different motivations behind the Luna concept – an intimate 12-seater Japanese dining experience with a menu inspired by the cycles of the moon – Thesleff says he was keen to create a different kind of chef’s table experience – “something immersive where guests feel truly connected to the chefs and the journey of the meal, but in a less formal or sterile environment than traditional omakase can sometimes feel”.

Luna, which opened in March last year, has also given the team at Los Mochis an outlet for creativity and experimentation that isn’t possible at scale. Los Mochis city is a high-volume operation, serving around 1,200 guests on busy days. “It allows the chefs to push boundaries and create dishes and experiences for 10 or 12 guests that you could never execute for hundreds.”

The food is fundamental but it’s about much more than that, he says. “For us, the real story is the people behind the experience, the chefs, the team and the interaction between them and the guests. Every seating creates a completely different dynamic depending on the guests in the room and the chefs leading the experience that night.

“Theatre plays a huge role because it creates emotion and connection. The stories behind the dishes, the interaction with the chefs and the atmosphere all become part of the overall experience. That’s what makes it personal and memorable.”

Despite a price-tag of £230 per head for the set food menus at both Luna and Juno, he says it’s been really interesting to see the level of repeat business it’s achieved at both.

“Traditionally with omakase, many people might only visit once or twice, but we already have guests who have visited Luna and Juno seven or eight times within a year.

Part of that is because the menu evolves and changes regularly, but I also think guests become attached to the overall experience and the intimacy of it.”

Thesleff says he doesn’t really think about hospitality in the traditional sense, viewing the group as being in the entertainment business. “Today we compete for people’s time, and time has become the real luxury.”

Despite the wider economic challenges, demand for experience-led dining is still incredibly strong, he says – but people are much more selective about where they spend their time and money, prioritising experiences that feel authentic, exciting and emotionally engaging.

“People are looking for much more than just food, décor or music. They want memorable experiences. Our currency is memories and experiences, and that’s what people are really paying for.”

On the inspiration for his different concepts, “I always work backwards”, he says. “I tend to start with the end result and the feeling or experience I want to create, then build from there.

“A lot of it comes from travel, experiences and ideas I’ve collected over the years, but it’s also about testing a thesis,” he adds. “I spend a lot of time speaking to people, trying dishes, observing trends and seeing how people react to ideas. Interestingly, when people initially tell me an idea is ‘crazy’ or ‘won’t work’, it often means I’m onto something because it probably hasn’t been done before.

“At the end of the day, the goal is always the same: creating experiences that make people happy.”