Oli’s Thai, the massively popular Oxford restaurant whose closure in early 2022 upset its legion of fans, reopens today – on its original site in Magdalen Road. Owners Rufus & Ladd Thurston closed the business after a nine-year run, replacing it with Elle’s Deli to improve their work/life balance – in particular, to spend evenings with […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week to 1st September 2025 The Guardian Inis, Hackney Wick Grace Dent found a “little patch of sanity” amid the gentrification of the 2012 Olympic zone, in a new all-day venture by the canal that is “Irish in spirit” – in its […]
Fulham Football Club have signed three more top chefs to boost the match-day culinary offering at Craven Cottage – although team manager Marco Silva would doubtless prefer three new players for his football squad. The latest additions to the club’s high-powered line-up of chefs are Sally Abe, Judy Joo and Ben Murphy, who have joined […]
Leading Spanish chef Nieves Barragán this week opened Legado in Shoreditch – her highly anticipated follow-up to Sabor in Mayfair. Expectations are high for the new venture: Sabor, which opened in 2018, has registered extraordinary scores of 5-5-5 in the annual Harden’s guide – the highest possible ratings for food, service and ambience – for three consecutive years. […]
The Bridge Arms near Canterbury has relaunched under new ownership with a more casual direction as a village pub, after four years under Daniel and Natasha Smith, the chef couple who run the nearby Fordwich Arms. The couple have passed the lease on to their friend Elliot Hewitt, a former manager at the Fordwich who […]
Renowned Yorkshire chef Tommy Banks opens his latest venture today (29 August) – the General Tarleton, a historic former coaching inn at Ferrensby, near Knaresborough, that has been closed since the Covid epidemic five years ago. The reopening is the first project from Jeopardy Hospitality, a company established to rescue pubs across Yorkshire from closure that […]
Claude Bosi’s flagship restaurant Bibendum at landmark Michelin House in Brompton Cross has closed down suddenly following a breakdown in relations between the chef and the owners of the building, the Hamlyn and Conran families. The restaurant served its final meals on Sunday (25 August), while the downstairs Oyster Bar & Seafood Restaurant is to […]
The Sustainable Restaurant Association discusses why you should build a more diverse supply chain — and how to get started. The sourcing decisions made by restaurants and other food businesses have a direct impact on communities, livelihoods and local economies. Your procurement strategy isn’t just about buying the items you need: it represents an opportunity […]
Dominic Hamdy has emerged as one of the most dynamic young restaurateurs in London, having opened five restaurants in seven years. Over lunch at his latest venue, Canal in Westbourne Grove, he told Harden’s why he believes hospitality is so important today – and why he’s in it for the long haul HARDEN’S: Dominic, congratulations, this […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 24th August 2025 The Guardian Bellota, Bury St Edmunds Grace Dent hailed a 20-seat counter venue “tucked away in a quaint West Suffolk market town” and serving a set menu from two “relatively unknown chefs”, married couple Ruben Aquilar Bel and […]
