New York celeb chef Jody Williams is opening a branch of her French-inspired Buvette in Covent Garden next week. She has taken over and extended the former St John Bakery in Neal’s Yard to create an 80-seat space that will be open from 8am every morning until 9pm (Sun-Wed) or 10pm (Thurs-Sat) – so not quite […]
Portfolio, the pioneering Champagne venue bringing top-class bubbles to Manchester, opens an ambitious restaurant next week as it completes a staged launch that began before Christmas. Billed as the UK’s first ‘Champagne boutique’, the city-centre venture is the brainchild of a quartet who want to change perceptions of the world’s most famous fizz: Cameron Foster […]
Michelin has abolished its Green Star environmental award in an embarrassing reversal, to the dismay of almost 40 recipients in the UK. Confirmation of the decision emerged this week despite an earlier denial from the tyre men – and without any communication with the restaurants concerned. They will apparently have to cease displaying the credential by […]
A 1930s Lloyds bank in Notting Hill Gate has been converted into an all-day Lebanese brasserie with a dramatic triple-height dining room. Opening on 1st June, it is called Kinz – appropriately, ‘treasure’ in Arabic. The team behind the project includes Rasha Khouri Bruzzo (co-owner of the highly regarded Palestinian restaurant Akub, around the corner […]
Chef Daniel Rogan has relaunched his Southampton restaurant AO with a new open kitchen, refurbished dining room, refreshed menu – and enhanced backing as part of his father Simon Rogan’s Umbel Hospitality group. AO – which takes its name from Daniel’s children’s initials – originally opened in Hampshire in 2022, transferring into Southampton last year. The chef trained […]
Franklin’s in East Dulwich, one of south London’s longest-serving neighbourhood restaurants, has been relaunched this week under its original name as The Victory – a dining pub run by local hospitality veterans Jamie Younger and his wife Rema Waterhouse. Former owner Rod Franklin bowed out last month after 26 years at the helm, saying “a small […]
Two chefs who teamed up after meeting at Brockley Market in southeast London have now opened their first restaurant nearby – Cantinera, serving a mix of Spanish and Mexican-inspired dishes. Celia D’Ortiz and Jake Barwood have honed their approach while running residencies at Patio in Brighton and Joyce in Brockley under the moniker Codillos. Cantinera takes […]
Double-winning TV chef Nikita Pathakji (centre in picture) launches her debut restaurant next week – MAAI by Nikita in Clapham, south London, a family- and female-run business with her mother Rima (left) and sister Isha (right) at her side. Nikita, now 28, won MasterChef: The Professionalsin 2022 and followed that up by being crowned Great […]
Prolific chef Nick Molyviatis (right in picture) unveils his debut Greek taverna Zylia in London this week as the headline act at Covent Garden’s Arcade food hall – one of three new food halls opening this month as operators gear up for the summer. South of the Thames, Manchester’s Freight Island launched a southern outpost […]
