For some years afterward, it was in occasional use as an exhibition space for local artists, since there was a long and complex planning process to convert it to a luxury hotel and restaurant.

The restaurant features an open kitchen, and the interior was designed by Paris-based Studio KO.

[8] The Independent's restaurant critic Tracey MacLeod described the interior by saying that "they've kept the huge firehouse doors, giving an almost rustic feel, while cleverly-placed mirrors create the illusion of infinite space.

"[15] The Daily Telegraph reported a "rigorous screening process to accept bookings", saying: "Chiltern Firehouse is all about who's who and with the amount of detail gone into creating what has to be one of the loveliest and coolest new places in London, it's almost justified.

"[8] MacLeod appeared critical of the exclusivity of the Firehouse, writing: The garage, once home to the fire engines, now revs with the self-congratulatory hum of a fashionable crowd, who have scored a table despite a bookings policy apparently borrowed from the North Korean tourist board.

[10] Britta Jaschinski of Time Out said: "Checking in feels a bit like arriving at a Scientology meeting.

[17] The food, however, has not been universally praised, with Matthew Norman of The Daily Telegraph writing that the:cooking ranges from the merely comforting to the plainly inedible; and which, despite the unstinting efforts of its publicists at Freud Communications to festoon newspaper pages with tidings of its stellar clientele, barely qualifies as the best restaurant on its own premises.