A “no-nonsense music pub” serving “old-school pub food” opens in a historic Camden setting next week from the people behind Le Bab and Kebab Queen. The Dark Horse has taken over the Grade II-listed former horse hospital and stables in Camden Market from The Farrier, which closed just two months ago. “The Dark Horse is […]
A dining pub promising “traditional but gastro” cuisine opens next week in Oxfordshire within walking distance of Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons – with a former Manoir chef running the kitchen. The Bat & Ball in Cuddeston is a 16th-century coaching inn that was closed down in 2023 by its previous owners, Admiral Taverns – sparking a campaign […]
Russian restaurant Zima has opened a new branch in Notting Hill, a decade after the Soho original launched next-door to Ronnie Scott’s jazz club. The Christmas opening came just two months after the sudden death of founder Alexei Zimin at the age of 52, while visiting Belgrade in Serbia. A writer-turned-chef and television personality, Zimin […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant reviewers were writing about in the week up to 22nd December 2024 London Standard Wiltons, St James’s David Ellis might be the only person ever to have paid his bill with a Tesco credit card at this bastion of moneyed Englishness (est. 1742) – but he was a sucker […]
Highly rated Edinburgh seafood fixture Ondine is to close temporarily at the end of the year, before reopening at an as-yet undisclosed location in the city centre – with a second branch launching in St Andrews on March 1st. The move has been forced on its founder, chef Roy Brett, by protracted work on the building […]
The landmark Regency Café in Westminster has been put up for sale at £170,000 – but the landlord, Westminster Council, says its future is safe. Hailed as a “post-War gem” in the new 2025 Harden’s guide, the greasy-spoon has barely changed since it was opened in 1946 – and is “still as great as it ever […]
Marylebone Peruvian restaurant Pachamama is to close after 10 years, and will be replaced by a new Italian venture as its owner repositions the group. Fans of Pachamama’s “incredible sticky aubergine”, recommended in the new 2025 Harden’s guide, will still be able to find it at the Shoreditch branch in Great Eastern Street. The move […]
Chef Isaac McHale (left in photo), co-founder of Shoreditch gastronomic powerhouse the Clove Clove, is to open a more informal offshoot just around the corner called Bar Valette, serving simple dishes inspired by French and Spanish coastal cuisine. Scheduled to open next month in the former premises of Two Lights (also backed by the team […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant reviewers were writing about in the week up to 15th December 2024 London Standard Chinese Gourmet, Canary Wharf David Ellis overcame his aversion to the Isle of Dogs to visit this unheralded Chinese spot that had been recommended by a reliable friend. The venue was very basic – “the […]
