A Sri Lankan entrepreneur has opened his first international outpost in Canary Wharf – Prawn Crazy, which he has ambitions to turn into a global brand. Apinash Sivagumaaran launched Isso (meaning prawn in Sinhala) ten years ago as a 16-seater dining spot in central Colombo, and has grown it to a group of five across […]
A new Turkish-Cypriot restaurant from a former Bibi head chef kicked off a year-long residency at the Globe Tavern in Borough Market this week. Kismet is a joint production from chef Kieran Mustafa and restaurateur Dom Hardy, the man behind Bistro Freddie, Crispin and Canal. Kieran has worked in senior roles at some of London’s […]
Chinese/Texan smokehouse Hon’s BBQ opens in Hackney Wick today, bringing founder Man Hon Luk’s slow-cooked meat with East Asian flavours to a permanent home with the help of a crowdfunding campaign that raised £36,000. Hong Kong-born Hon road-tested his barbecue skills with a two-year residency at nearby hangout All My Friends under the name Uncle […]
Belfast-born chef Chris McClurg and his partner Alice Stewart this week launched their ambitious debut restaurant at the Regency House boutique hotel in the city. Chris was previously chef patron at Paul Ainsworth’s No 6 in Padstow, Cornwall, which appears regularly on the Harden’s 100 list of the UK’s best restaurants. He stepped down in […]
Chef Dom Taylor, who memorably brought Caribbean cuisine to London’s West End with a 10-month residency at the five-star Langham hotel, has died suddenly. Dom, who was in his mid-40s, grew up in South London with a Jamaican mother and St Lucian father, and spent 26 years as a chef after training at Lewisham College. […]
Aberdeenshire-born chef Orry Shand opens his debut restaurant next week – Falls by Orry Shand on Royal Deeside, about 20 miles from Aberdeen. Orry trained in top Scottish kitchens including Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles and Number One at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, and came to prominence as Scottish National Chef in 2019 and UK […]
Veteran Edinburgh vegan and vegetarian restaurant Hendersons this week launched its first venue outside the Scottish capital – in Glasgow, home city of founder Janet Henderson. Janet founded Hendersons in 1962 but it closed down during the Covid epidemic in 2020 before being revived two years later by her grandson, Barrie Henderson (pictured with co-owner Clara […]
Seafood specialist Prawn on the Lawn has closed its London venue to concentrate on its Cornish operations, while highly rated Stockport outfit Cantaloupe is switching to a new concept called Bar Caput. Prawn on the Lawn has been one of the capital’s most in-demand restaurants at two different addresses near Highbury Corner since its 2013 […]
Chef Andrew Wong is shifting his celebrated Chinese restaurant A Wong to the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Mayfair for a six-week residency this summer, to allow for a through renovation of his Pimlico HQ. A Wong is a regular in the upper reaches of the Harden’s 100 list of the UK’s best restaurants, offering a […]
The founders of high-achieving Scandi-style restaurant Hjem in Northumberland are quitting the hospitality industry and have scuppered long-term plans to open a follow-up venue called Freyja. Swedish chef Alex Nietosvuori and his Northumberland-born wife Ally Thompson-Nietosvuori will bow out with a farewell barbecue on 16 August at the Farmhouse in the South Causey Inn, County […]
