Our mission is remarkably simple. To tell it how it is!
The country’s restaurants are closing en masse due to the coronavirus outbreak, with successful London groups, high street chains, and scores of independents calling time. It has left the hospitality industry with an uncertain future. While the Government has promised a £330 billion rescue package, with low interest loans, few businesses feel safe boring against […]
Despite the ongoing turmoil in the restaurant industry, openings are still underway in some quarters. Sidd Bhat and Isabelle Chen have just launched Bema, a yellow pod serving takeaway, high protein plant-based food to people on the move. The bowls will take inspiration from the flavours and ingredients found across South America, Indi,a and the […]
Hundreds of restaurants are turning to Crowdfunder to stay afloat during this crisis and stories of resilience, community solidarity and also hardship are coming to light. In reaction to the situation, Crowdfunder has launched a ‘Pay it Forward’ tool to help businesses to secure money from customers now to keep them afloat and paying staff, […]
Perhaps surprisingly, vegan taco concept Club Mexicana is still planning to open its Mexican-Californian restaurant on Thursday May 21. If it goes ahead, diners can expect beer-battered tofish tacos, the vegan beef taco with red pepper queso and dill pickle, a plant-based cheese fondue topped with spicy faux chorizo, and tater tots drizzled with chilli […]
The government’s decree to avoid restaurants puts the trade in dire straits. In France, Emmanuel Macron has pledged that no company will go bust. No similar pledge has come from the UK government. Doubtless Macron is full of it. But he is at least making calming noises. Protecting lives in the short term will come […]
Our weekly round-up of where the national and local restaurant critics are reviewing and what they are recommending, for the week ending 15 March 2020. Gymkhana, London W1 Jimi Famurewa of The Evening Standard visited Gymkhana, “reopened in bolstered form after a kitchen fire forced it to close for eight months” and declared that “it […]
Chef and restaurateur Michel Roux OBE has died aged 79. He passed away on Wednesday, surrounded by his family at home in Bray, Berkshire, having suffered from a long-standing lung condition. His son Alain, who is also a chef, and daughters Francine and Christine, said in a statement: “It is with deep sadness that the […]
In May 2020, Rahul Khanna and Kabir Suri, of Azure Hospitality in India, will launch their first UK venture on Mortimer Street in Fitzrovia. Inspired by India’s diverse culinary heritage, the ground floor restaurant, Pali Hill, will offer an eclectic menu of regional sharing plates. Downstairs, Bandra Bhai will be an underground cocktail bar, inspired […]
The hospitality industry is calling on the government to do more to help as footfall slides amid the coronavirus outbreak. Some city centre restaurants and pubs have reported a 50 per cent drop in customers as an increasing number of people work from home. In his budget on Wednesday Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a 12-month […]
Taiwanese streamed bun group Bao is to launch a new daytime dining spot in King’s Cross. Opening in spring, the restaurant will serve Yoshoku, or Western-inspired pan-Asian cuisine. Café Bao will be the group’s first site to offer breakfast, which will be served until midday, with dishes such as bao loaf with butter and syrup, […]
