Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- The owners of Pied a Terre, one of only five London restaurants with two Michelin stars, are planning to open a modern French eatery, their first venture in 16 years.

L'Autre Pied will occupy the site of the Blandford Street restaurant, in Marylebone, said David Moore, who owns Pied a Terre along with Shane Osborn. The chef will be Marcus Eaves, 25, who currently heads the Pied a Terre kitchen under Osborn.

``It's going to be a casual dining, quality restaurant,'' Moore said today in a telephone interview. ``We're hoping to attract the hedge-fund crowd, as well as the ladies who lunch. Marcus will definitely be a Michelin candidate.''

The menu will be modern French, with dishes such as poached breast of quail, ragout of girolles with toasted hazelnut. The restaurant will seat about 45-50 people and will have a private dining room. It will be slightly larger than Pied a Terre, which originally opened in 1991 and seats about 40, Moore said.

Osborn, an Australian, is known for his creativity in the kitchen, with dishes such as rabbit ravioli with ragout of wild mushrooms, chicken consomme and tarragon foam. Moore said Eaves has a similarly individualistic approach to cooking, and it's the first time Pied a Terre has set up a chef in his own venue.

Moore said Pied a Terre is aiming to exchange contracts shortly and the plan is to open L'Autre Pied in October. The other London restaurants with two stars are the Capital, Le Gavroche, Petrus and the Square. Gordon Ramsay's flagship has three.

A receptionist who answered the phone at Blandford Street said the owner, Nick Lambert, was too busy to comment. The Web site says the restaurant opened in July 2001 and that the ground- floor venue was previously occupied by Stephen Bull Restaurant.

(Richard Vines is London food critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Richard Vines in London at rvines@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 10, 2007 07:24 EDT