Mayfair's Maison Estelle shut after Met calls for licence review over alleged weapon incident

A prominent Mayfair private members' club has shut its doors and suspended its alcohol licence with immediate effect, after the Metropolitan Police asked Westminster City Council to review whether the premises had become associated with serious criminality or disorder. Maison Estelle, which occupies a seven-storey Georgian townhouse overlooking Grafton Street, confirmed on Thursday that it would remain closed for "a few weeks" while investigations continue.

The Metropolitan Police said it had applied to Westminster City Council to review the club's alcohol licence, arguing that the premises was "allegedly associated with serious crime, or serious disorder, or both". That phrase tracks the legal test councils apply when officers seek intervention against a premises licence, and it allows a licensing panel to impose conditions, suspend the licence, or ultimately cancel it.

The action relates to an incident on 19 September in a street near the venue. Police said they were investigating allegations of threatening behaviour and whether a weapon had been brandished. The club itself is not alleged to have been involved in the incident, which is understood to have taken place outside, on nearby public ground. No injuries were reported.

Councillors suspended the licence at a private hearing on Thursday, a step that allows a licensing panel to act swiftly on an interim basis before the full merits of a case are tested. Maison Estelle did not oppose the Metropolitan Police's application at that hearing, a decision observers said removes one obvious route to a longer stay open while the circumstances are examined.

Westminster City Council said that, having considered the application and the relevant representations from other parties, councillors suspended the licence "in the interest of public safety". A full hearing, at which the licence will be considered on its merits, is due to be held within 28 days.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "A further hearing will be held in due course. The circumstances remain under investigation, including whether a firearm – or imitation firearm – was involved." That wording leaves open a wide range of possibilities, from a real weapon to a replica or prop, and the force has not publicly identified any individual in connection with the incident.

A spokesperson for Maison Estelle said: "The safety of our staff, our members and their guests will always come first." The club added that it is "continuing to work closely with Westminster City Council and the police as we review our licence conditions and procedures" — language that suggests internal practices are already under examination, even as the investigation reaches further back to a single night in September.

The venue is a significant addition to Mayfair's late-night economy, and its scale reflects the appetite for premium nightlife in the area. According to the club's website, the townhouse contains four dining rooms, 11 bars and two floors of dedicated "nightlife spaces" spread over seven levels. Membership costs £5,950 a year, placing it firmly at the top end of the London market.

The club has attracted a high-profile clientele over its run in Mayfair, with Princess Beatrice, Idris Elba and Kim Kardashian among those reported to have visited. Its closure therefore removes a familiar fixture from the capital's social and nightlife calendar, and leaves members facing an uncertain period of refunds and relocations for events booked during the shutdown.

For staff, a closure of "a few weeks" is likely to mean lost shifts and unpaid time, questions that will be particularly acute in a sector where pay is heavily dependent on tips and where employers retain discretion over compensation during temporary shutdowns. The club's statement emphasising the safety of its workers will be tested by how quickly and generously those affected are supported.

The case echoes a precedent set less than a year ago, when the Groucho Club closed following similar claims that it had become associated with serious crime. That episode prompted wider scrutiny of how London's most exclusive venues are policed and licensed, and drew criticism for the frequency with which private members' clubs have featured in such cases.

Westminster has become an unlikely focus of attention for the licensing of late-night economy, given the concentration of high-end restaurants, bars and clubs within a short radius of Bond Street, Piccadilly and Oxford Street. Each of those premises competes for the same small pool of late-night customers, and licence reviews are widely seen among operators as a reputational risk as well as a regulatory one.

Campaigners and commentators are likely to press two separate questions as the case progresses: first, whether the allegations against individuals in September can be substantiated, and second, whether any continuing risk justifies keeping a licence suspended for a venue of this size. Neither question can be answered before the full hearing within 28 days.

There is also the wider question of proportionality. A full suspension of a large operating business with a six-figure annual membership model is a severe step, and one taken on the basis of an investigation that the police themselves describe as continuing. The Met's refusal to say whether a firearm, an imitation firearm or neither was involved is likely to be pressed at the hearing.

For now, the club's future rests on two processes running in parallel: a police investigation into the events of 19 September, and a Westminster licensing review of the premises' fitness to operate. Both will meet at the full hearing, where the club will have the opportunity to answer the concerns raised and to argue for the return of its licence.

Until then, Maison Estelle remains closed, its members are without their club, and a questions have been asked of the licensing system about how it handles venues that are simultaneously the subject of criminal allegations and regulatory scrutiny.