Peter Evans (restaurateur)

Peter Evans (28 December 1926 – 19 July 2014) was an English restaurateur and writer. He opened The Cat's Whisker, widely regarded as Soho's first coffee bar. Evans later established the Peter Evans Eating Houses, a chain noted for its fashionable and innovative interior design.

He collaborated with interior decorator David Hicks and architect Patrick Garnett of the firm Garnett Cloughley and Blakemore. According to Malcolm Newell in his book Mood and Atmosphere in Restaurants, the trio helped shape the decorative style that came to characterise London during the Swinging Sixties, offering vibrant venues for dining and dancing that catered to a fashionable, affluent clientele. Prominent cultural figures and style icons of the period included Twiggy, Biba, Mary Quant, the Teddy Boys, Cecil Gee, John Stephen, and the Carnaby Street scene.

In 1967, Evans launched the members-only Raffles nightclub on King's Road in Chelsea, which retained the original Hick's design until 2007. The club attracted notable figures of the sixties, including Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, and Prince Charles. Recently, the younger generation of royals, including Prince William during his courtship of Kate Middleton and Prince Harry with Chelsy Davy, frequented the club.