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Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 16th August 2026 The Guardian Kinz, Notting Hill Grace Dent was transported back to a 1980s Duran Duran video by a former Lloyds Bank now converted into a “cinematic” triple-height Lebanese restaurant that is a very different proposition from all […]
A beautifully designed family-run Afghan restaurant has opened in a converted railway arch next to Leyton Midland station in east London. Azra takes its name from the Hazara ethnic group, and founder Waheed Kazemi says he hopes the venture will “change the perception of Afghanistan by incorporating aspects of its traditional heritage, highlighting the educated […]
A new Indian bistro called The Crossing opened in Leeds this week – hot from Paris, where it was the first restaurant from the subcontinent to open in the famous Galeries Lafayette on Boulevard Haussmann. Founder Ankur Chakraborty was inspired to cook as a boy by his travels with his father, who worked for the Indian […]
Chefs Brad Carter (left in picture) and Tom Brown are closing Island, their King’s Cross surf-and-turf restaurant, after just a year and moving it to a new address in Clerkenwell. Their last service in the Chandelier Room above Mare Street Market will be this Sunday, 16 August, following which they will reopen next month at […]
East meets West at a new sake and wine bar in Islington that aims to strip the formality – and some of the expense – of drinking high-end artisanal bottles. Combining both liquids in its name, SANE has opened in cute Camden Passage, close to Angel tube station. Founder Maxime Maiano is a winemaker, importer and […]
The landmark Oxo Tower Restaurant on London’s South Bank has been acquired by the trio behind Fallow in St James’s, who say they plan to work with the current team before introducing changes next year. The move follows the sale this week of the Chelsea department store Harvey Nichols, which opened Oxo Tower Restaurant and […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 9th August 2026. Financial Times Keller, Whitstable Jay Rayner had been tracking this new venture from chef Dan Smith and sommelier Elliott Ashton-Konig, the crew behind the Fordwich Arms near Canterbury, since before it opened – and found his anticipation […]
Dining with a view in central London receives a boost next week with the launch of Arcus at the revamped Imperial Hotel in Russell Square – pitched as the first rooftop restaurant and bar in Bloomsbury. Set on the tenth floor, Arcus has almost 360-degree views over some of London’s most famous sights, including St Paul’s, […]
A spacious new Persian restaurant opens in Marylebone next week from the Pachamama group, promising a menu redolent of “smoke and saffron”. Soraya, in the new Loxton Walk development off Baker Street, is group’s second venue of the same name, following an original which opened in Abu Dhabi two years ago. The restaurant will accommodate […]
Legendary West End restaurant Quaglino’s is closing next week for a major overhaul that will see the creation of three new bars and the introduction of a new menu as it approaches its centenary in 2029. Relaunched in its modern form by the late Sir Terence Conran in 1993, the basement venue in Bury Street, […]
