Restaurant Manager - Host

Join our leadership team - Lead the host team. Shape every first impression. Drive Front of House Performance!

About Arcade:

We’re gearing up for something big. Arcade is opening a brand-new venue in the heart of Covent Garden — and we’re looking for an experience Host Restaurant Manager to be part of our opening team. With multiple global kitchens, a high-energy bar, and over a thousand guests served daily (1.2k covers daily), this is an opportunity to lead at the heart of a fast-paced, creative, and guest-focused environment.

About the role:

As an experienced Host Manager at Arcade, you will oversee the daily operations of reception and the front-of-house guest journey. With revenue exceeding £150K per week, you will ensure every guest receives a seamless and memorable welcome, while optimising bookings, walk-ins, and sales opportunities.

This is a pivotal front-of-house leadership role — owning the guest journey from the door, driving revenue through smart booking management, and ensuring a safe, polished, high-performing reception operation.

As a successfull Host Manager you will: 

• Lead, coach and motivate the host team to deliver a warm, professional and seamless guest experience
• Control the pace and flow of service through effective table and queue management
• Maintain immaculate front-of-house standards at all times
• Optimise bookings, walk-ins and live table allocations to maximise capacity
• Manage large groups and special requests with precision and attention to detail
• Support recruitment, onboarding and ongoing training
• Deliver regular feedback and contribute to performance reviews and succession planning
• Ensure full compliance with fire, emergency and allergen procedures

We'd love to hear from you if you bring:

• Exceptional communication and guest engagement abilities
• Proven experience leading a host or reception team in a high-volume hospitality environment
• Strong experience using booking and reservation systems, with confidence managing live availability
• An analytical mindset, comfortable reviewing cover data and using insights to improve performance
• Strong commercial awareness and confidence managing bookings and floor flow
• The ability to thrive under pressure with excellent decision-making skills
• Strong understanding of health & safety and compliance standards
• A hands-on leader who leads by example and thrives in fast-paced venues

Working at Arcade:

Our teams are the most important part of our business, translating our passion for genuine hospitality to our guests every day. We are proud to work with industry-leading talent and recognise the importance of offering our teams the tools, guidance and experience necessary to build confidence and grow.

At Arcade, we’re more than just a restaurant group... We’re a collective of bold, diverse food and drink brands driven by creativity, collaboration, and a passion for hospitality. We believe in growing together, empowering our people, and creating opportunities to thrive across all areas of the business. Whether onsite, behind the scenes or head office, working at Arcade means being part of something exciting, fast-moving, and truly unique in the hospitality industry.

Benefits of being part of the team:

• Refer a friend bonus
• Internal wage advance facility to instantly access the wages you’ve earned
• A restaurant recognition budget for Birthday goodies and career milestones
• 50% off food in our restaurants for you and your loved ones
• 50% off food in JKS restaurants within Arcade for you and your loved ones
• Access to counselling, remote GP/physio services, legal advice and more through
• Hospitality Action 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year
• Summer and Christmas team parties where we all down tools and have some fun!

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