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Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 2nd November 2025 The Guardian Franc, Canterbury Grace Dent enjoyed some “just great, great cooking” at a new venture from Dave Hart and Polly Pleasence, formerly of the Folkestone Wine Company, in a timber-framed gatehouse to Tudor-era almshouses – which, unusually, serves its fancier […]
A new restaurant in Fitzrovia turns the focus on the cooking of Occitania, with dishes inspired by France’s Mediterranean coast, from the bouillabaisse of Marseilles and the rice of the Carmargue to Pâtes au Pistou from Nice. Maset, on Chiltern Street – which takes its name from vineyard houses in the region – is from Melody […]
The opening of two new neighbourhood French bistros in quick succession confirms the enduring popularity of classic Gallic cuisine in the British capital. Earlier this month, La Bouffe (pictured) launched in Wandsworth Bridge Road, Fulham, from husband-and-wife team Lawrence and Emily Hartley, who own the Provence-inspired Le Petit Citron in Brook Green. They say the […]
Romanian-born chef Alex Craciun, who made his name at Jason Atherton’s Sosharu, has returned to London after nine years to open a Japanese-inspired restaurant called Aces Foodcraft in Fitzrovia. The restaurant, which opens tomorrow (1 November), operates on two levels: during the daytime it is relatively casual, with a seasonal à la carte menu, daily […]
Amy Poon will revive one of the most famous names in British Chinese cooking with the opening of her first permanent restaurant – called Poon’s – in Somerset House on Bonfire Night. Amy’s parents Bill and Cecilia opened the original Poon’s in Chinatown in 1973, which ran alongside a second venue in Covent Garden until they […]
Tickets go on sale today for Obsession26, the latest edition of the annual culinary festival that brings together a constellation of top national and international chefs at Northcote, the gastronomic boutique hotel in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley. The festival dinners take place on 17 consecutive nights from Friday 23 January to Sunday 8 February. Host chef-director […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 26th October 2025 The Guardian Fête, Chelmsford Grace Dent thoroughly enjoyed a “welcome slice of unpretentious hospitality happiness” in deepest Essex, where chef Tobias Godfrey and his co-owner and partner, Laura Day, have “taken the Chelmsford dining scene by storm” with […]
Ivan Tisdall-Downes, the chef behind several versions of itinerant sustainable restaurant Native, has opened a new venue in London Fields – this time under a different name. Field Notes, close to Mare Street Market, occupies similar culinary territory to Native, with Ivan saying it is “about exploring sustainability as a global conversation. But at its heart, […]
One of East London’s ‘lost’ eel, pie and mash shops has been revived as a pub called The Black Eel by Andy and Steph Solley of Walthamstow’s Exale Brewing. The new pub opens this Friday (24 October), with 150 free pints of beer waiting for the first arrivals through the door from midday. The spacious […]
Birmingham high-rise restaurant Orelle is changing its name to 24 Stories as the Evolv Collection – originally Conran Restaurants and more recently D&D London – modifies its structure with the introduction of a series of mini-brands. 24 Stories – on the 24th floor of Birmingham’s tallest office building, 103 Colmore Row – combines with 20 Stories […]
