Vagabond wine bars have been bought out of administration by Majestic, marking the largest UK wine retailer’s entry into the hospitality market. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, secures the future of nine Vagabond venues – eight in London and one in Birmingham – employing 171 staff. The company’s two outlets at Gatwick airport and its […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 7th April 2024 The Evening Standard The Shoap, Angel Jimi Famurewa thoroughly enjoyed himself at this “hybrid cafe, food shop and bar that bills itself as ‘London’s first Scottish deli’”, from Glaswegian former economist Gregg Boyd – a “brilliant … invigorating, […]
Dim sum group Ping Pong has come under fire for introducing a 15% “brand fee” to replace tips – a move seen as circumventing a new law coming into force this summer that forces restaurants to give service charges to staff. Ping Pong, which operates five outlets across London, most notably beside the Festival Hall […]
A trio of friends with impressive track records have opened a new wine bar and restaurant called Wilson’s in Ladywell High Street, southeast London. Wilson’s is next door to crowd-funded sustainable food store Plenty and opposite coffee shop Oscar’s, which are both owned by husband and wife Alina and Joel Falconer. Joel is a former […]
Peripatetic zero-waste and foraging specialist Native, most recently based in Mayfair, is to take up permanent residence on the site of the former Pensons restaurant on the Netherwood Estate where Worcestershire meets Herefordshire. Ivan Tisdall-Downes and Imogen Davis developed the Native concept via markets and pop-ups, and progressed through sites in Neal’s Yard and Borough […]
The new vegan restaurant from Great British Menu 2024 winner Kirk Haworth, Plates in Shoreditch, has already proved a smash hit – months ahead of its July launch. When advance bookings opened this week, its computer crashed under the weight of 70,000 applicants. Kirk trained initially with his father, Nigel Haworth, former chef-patron of Northcote in […]
Deadline: May 6 2024 Share your best and worst restaurant experiences of the last 12 months and you can earn free apps; free books; free club memberships… and maybe even win a luxury stay for two in one of the UK’s most renowned properties. In case you are new to Harden’s, the ratings and reviews […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 31st March 2024 The Evening Standard Yuki Bar, Hackney Bored of London’s small-plates scene and bewildered by the “ruinous” prices of London’s Japanese-inspired restaurants, Jimi Famurewa had the highest hopes of master sommelier Yukiyasu Kaneko’s tiny Hackney spot, anticipating […]
The Emory, a new luxury hotel overlooking Hyde Park in Knightsbridge, opens next week, with a signature restaurant from New York celeb chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Billed as London’s first all-suite hotel, the nine-storey Emory was designed by the late architect Richard Rogers and is clad in his trademark glass panels. It is the fourth London […]
An ambitious restaurant devoted to risotto is to open in Fitzrovia this spring. All’Onda, meaning ‘on the wave’, is from first-time restaurateur Cordula Schulz, who has recruited chef Andrea Granzarolo and general manager Marco Montalbano (respectively from Hélène Darroze and Muse by Tom Aikens) for the project. Hailing from Lombardy, the birthplace of risotto, Andrea […]
