Our mission is remarkably simple. To tell it how it is!
A new neighbourhood haunt is to open in the heart of the Portobello Market, taking over the very characterful premises which for years have traded as amiable 1980s dive Portobello Gold: an ex-Hell’s Angel’s hang-out, whose past customers have included then-serving-president, Bill Clinton. Gold will be a modern European neighbourhood bar and restaurant in the […]
EartH Kitchen, London N16 Jay Rayner leaped straight in to describing the food when reviewing EartH (not a typo) Kitchen for The Observer; stopping just long enough to explain that it’s “the restaurant of a major new arts venue in London’s Hackney”. Crispy pig’s cheek salad was “an adult bowl of food designed to make […]
Seasoned restaurateur Rebecca Mascarenhas (a partner in Phil Howard’s Elystan Street and KitchenW8 restaurants) is one of the partners in May 2019 debut Gezellig: a ‘good times’ venture, which has taken over the grand and characterful Holborn site some will still remember as Shanghai Blues (or more recently, a branch of Burger & Lobster). If […]
The Stafford London is soon to launch its first independent restaurant project. Norma will be inspired by old school Italian restaurants, namely their hospitality and charm, and will feature a menu drawing on the food culture of Sicily, as well as cuisine with Moorish roots. The hotel’s culinary director Ben Tish, best known for his […]
The Balmoral hotel in Edinburgh has announced Mark Donald as the new head chef of its “exceptional” flagship restaurant, Number One. The appointment is, the Rocco Forte Group says, the chef’s “homecoming”: he returns to Scotland after a 13-year stint “honing his skills” elsewhere. Among others, Donald spent time as head chef at Bentley Restaurant […]
Alyn Williams has left The Wild Rabbit, his “Cotswolds gem” in Kingham. He was chef patron. Williams has returned to London full-time in order to focus on his London restaurant, Alyn Williams at The Westbury. The chef opened his eponymous Mayfair spot in 2011, and won a star the following year. He later won the […]
The Langham hotel is to launch its first cookery school in its 153-year history. Called Sauce, the operation will be fronted by executive chef Chris King and Michel Roux Jr., who oversee Roux at the Landau and The Wigmore pub. Classes will range from core culinary skills such as knife work and baking to more […]
Grind, the East London-based coffee shop and cafe brand behind “great espresso martinis” and “on-trend, wholesome food” is planning to open a “restaurant bar” if its crowdfunding total hits £3.5m. The burgeoning chain, currently 11-strong, already has plans to open six new sites. But Grind has well exceeded its original £1.25m crowdfunding campaign, which was […]
The team behind the prolific Flat Iron restaurant group has launched Vinegar Yard, a new “eating, drinking, shopping, and art space” at London Bridge – it’s currently in ‘soft launch’ and officially opens on 3 April. Described as “urban cool”, the entertainment venue features art installations, bars, events, pop-up shops, and street food vendors. Food […]
Angelina, London E8 Jay Rayner for The Observer visited Angelina despite the “acute flashbacks” he suffered when told it was a fusion of Italian and Japanese food; it took him right back to the “unmitigated disaster” that was Shumi in 2003. Luckily for him, and us, Angelina avoids any such disaster: it “feels like a […]
