Wenjun Xiang launched her career while still at school. Less 10 years later, still only 26, she runs Xi Home Dumplings Bay, whose three London venues showcase the cuisine of her home city – Dalian, a busy port in northeast China. Harden’s met her at the newest branch, which opened a year ago in Blossom Street, […]
A new all-day restaurant and bar in Leeds with a roof terrace offering spectacular views over the city opens next week. CrowdedHouse will be able to feed quite a crowd, with space to accommodate up to 500 diners across its two floors and outdoor terrace. The new operation at the top of Leeds’ Trinity shopping […]
Ranjit Mathrani chairs MW Eat, the highly influential London group whose first restaurant, Chutney Mary, opened 35 years ago this month. A former senior civil servant and merchant banker, he runs the company alongside his wife Namita Panjabi (right in photo), the first Indian woman to become a merchant banker, and her sister Camellia Panjabi […]
If you want to keep staff for the long haul, it’s important to ensure their work leaves them feeling inspired, engaged and rewarded. Luckily, says the Sustainable Restaurant Association, getting your team involved in sustainability initiatives is a great way to increase job satisfaction and motivation. While staffing issues have been more challenging since the […]
Bellamy’s in Bruton Place, Mayfair, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Harden’s sat down with its founder, Gavin Rankin, to find out what makes it tick Tucked away in a mews off Berkeley Square, Bellamy’s is famous for its ‘club with no sub’ atmosphere. It’s a calm and welcoming place, “civilised” is the word its founder […]
Paco Tapas in Bristol and the Angel in Dartmouth are among the prominent restaurants to announce their closure this week, with Tom Kerridge’s Butcher’s Tap & Grill in Chelsea and the two Chick’n’Sours sites in London also shutting up shop. The loss of Paco Tapas means Peter Sanchez-Iglesias (pictured) and his family no longer have […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 11th May 2025 London Standard The Lavery, South Kensington Stepping in as guest reviewer, fashion designer Jasper Conran welcomed the opening of this venue of “restrained glamour” in an area that has been a “gastronomic wasteland” since the demise […]
Edinburgh chef Roberta Hall-McCarron and her husband Shaun have opened three restaurants in the city in less than seven years – The Little Chartroom, Eleanore and Ardfern – each to both critical and public acclaim. Harden’s caught up with Roberta at Ardfern, the newest of the trio. HARDEN’S: The hospitality industry is struggling around Britain, but […]
‘Bonjour, Chef!’ Marcus Rowlerson has turned a centuries-old greengrocer into an industry leader Just six boxes of the first crop of this year’s white asparagus from Provence arrived at Rungis market in Paris earlier this month. Two boxes found their way into Parisian kitchens – the rest were snapped up by a specialist grocer based in […]
The Sustainable Restaurants Association explains why recycling is not enough: we have to change how we think about waste. With the Simpler Recycling legislation being introduced in the UK from the end of March, the SRA explores the hidden horrors within the recycling system, why we need to go much deeper to solve our global […]
