Edinburgh chef Scott Smith (right in photo) is helping launch a new pub in Stockbridge next week – The Captain Darling – having made the difficult decision to close his highly rated fine-dining restaurant Fhior. Named after a character in classic TV comedy series Blackadder, the new pub is from John Howard (left)‘s Ã’ir Group, […]

Continue reading

Two well-known London restaurants closed temporarily this week following fires in their kitchen extraction systems – Som Saa in Spitalfields and Straker’s in Notting Hill. Straker’s will reopen as soon as possible, initially as a cold bar, following a fire that damaged parts of both the kitchen and restaurant. No injuries were reported. “We’re still investigating […]

Continue reading

A new all-day bakery and restaurant pitched as an antidote to the austerity of recent years launches next week on the former site of Forza Win in Camberwell Church Street. Hello JoJo takes its name from Jo (JoJo) Lavender, co-founder with Rob Newlan. They say: “Hello JoJo is a true celebration of the very special […]

Continue reading

NoMad boutique hotel in Covent Garden relaunches its main restaurant today under a new name as Twenty8 NoMad – a New York-style bistro, reflecting the brand’s Manhattan origin. The hotel opened four years ago after a slick modern conversion of the former Bow Street Magistrates’ Court, with a spectacular restaurant in a glass-roofed courtyard called The […]

Continue reading

Paternoster Farm, an off-the-radar restaurant near the western tip of Pembrokeshire, faces closure following the loss of its lease – just days after a glowing review in the Sunday Times brought it to national attention. The restaurant originated as a lockdown project during the pandemic, when self-taught chef Michelle Evans – a former divorce lawyer – opened a […]

Continue reading