Our mission is remarkably simple. To tell it how it is!
Gordon Ramsay has said his restaurant empire has lost almost £60m of trade since the start of the pandemic. The chef told The Sun he thought coronavirus would be over “in a couple of weeks”, but has instead caused “utter devastation”. “In December we had £10m-worth of reservations wiped out overnight, and as of 19 […]
The Indian restaurant brand Mowgli will open a site in Cheltenham in the summer, adding to its portfolio of 11. Founder Nisha Katona revealed on Instagram she had taken a unit in the town’s Brewery Quarter shopping centre. Katona said: “Out of the ashes of a decimated 2020 we hope to raise this sweet fledging […]
Westminster City Council will bring back its popular alfresco dining scheme from April. It means restaurants will be provided with extra outdoor space from April, making up for lost space indoors brought about by social distancing measures. The measures increased space and helped boost revenues between July and October last year, in between lockdowns one […]
Bone Daddies is opening a restaurant in Putney. It will take over the space vacated by the SW15 branch of troubled brand Byron. The ramen stop will start with delivery before opening when restrictions allow. Putney will be joined by Kentish Town in seeing a new Bone Daddies, though in a new iteration, Wing Daddies, […]
Here is our weekly round-up of what the national and local restaurant critics are writing about, for the week ending 21 February 2021. England remains in national lockdown, with restaurants and pubs closed (many are operating a takeaway or delivery service): https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-local-restrictions. All of Wales is at alert level 4, with similar restrictions to full […]
A new report on the safe reopening of hospitality, commissioned by UKHospitality from analysts CGA, shows that businesses in the sector were not significant areas of Covid transmission in 2020 and argues they should be central to reopening plans in 2021. Details issued by UKHospitality, according to the study: The UK hospitality market saw a staggering […]
More than 160 CEOs from the UK’s leading hospitality businesses, employing hundreds of thousands of people, have written to the Chancellor ahead of next month’s Budget. They call for decisive support to help the sector survive, rebuild and drive the economic recovery of the country as it emerges from the Covid-19 crisis. The letter, co-ordinated […]
The Hummingbird Bakery business and brand have been saved by a family investment firm, securing three London sites and protecting more than 60 jobs, The Caterer reported. Acropolis Capital, a London-based group, acquired the business through a pre-pack administration, and has reportedly “committed to supporting the cake chain’s recovery and future growth”. Cameron Chartouni, chief […]
You might think that London is oversaturated as far as fried chicken is concerned, but no: the Brighton-born chain Bok Shop is planning an expansion of more than 10 sites after securing £1.2 million of funding from a private equity backer. Apparently people think there are legs in chicken drumsticks yet. The brand serves chicken […]
Restaurants in the City have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic in an industry disproportionately hit overall. Which is why it is a dose of good news to learn the City of London Corporation has agreed to continue issuing pavement licences free of charge to suitable premises until the end of September. The six-month licences […]
