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Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 2nd August 2026 Financial Times Oudh 1722, Southwark Jay Rayner hailed the London debut of Birmingham-based chef Aktar Islam as “some of the best Indian food” in the capital, with dishes inspired by the royal court cuisine of Lucknow […]
Prominent restaurants Sorrel in Dorking and Berber & Q in Haggerston (pictured) have ceased trading this week as the hospitality industry continues to grapple with tough trading conditions. Sorrel was founded by chef Steve Drake nine years ago and achieved consecutive top-20 placings on the Harden’s 100 list of the UKs best restaurants in 2023 […]
A restaurant from Fukuoka has opened a branch in Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, specialising in Japanese wagyu beef cooked at the counter. Wagyu Yakiniku Ushio only uses A5 akani wagyu, a leaner style with less marbling, which apparently delivers a beefier flavour than other wagyus. It is served as a 7-course omakase experience at £95 a […]
Chef Gabriel Waterhouse and his wife, designer Patricia Waikamba, are opening a new restaurant next week near Columbia Flower Market in Bethnal Green – less than two months after closing its predecessor nearby. The new incarnation, called simply Waterhouse, is described as “a modern Northumbrian restaurant in London”, reflecting Gabriel’s upbringing in the north of England, […]
Whitbread is calling time on 261 restaurants with the loss of 3,800 jobs, in the biggest mass-closure to hit UK hospitality since the Covid era. The company confirmed this week that it will close all its restaurants under various brands, including 106 Beefeater steak houses and 89 Brewers Fayre family-friendly carveries, by 10 September as […]
Gary Usher is closing his bistro Hispi in Didsbury next month, when it will be taken over by fellow northwest chef Andrew Sheridan’s Open Restaurant Group and relaunched as a live-fire restaurant called Arcadian. The new owners have pledged to retain all Hispi staff, so there will be no job losses. For Gary, whose Chester-based […]
Leading West African restaurant Akoko has applied for a new premises licence that would see it moving across Fitzrovia from Berners Street to Wells Street. Westminster Council invited members of the public to comment on the proposed move by July 8. The application covers the ground floor and basement of the premises at 14-16 Wells […]
Live-fire restaurant Nela (pictured) has closed down after less than a year at the revamped Whiteley’s shopping centre in Bayswater – to be replaced by a similar venture under a new name and ownership. The new occupant is Kaio, funded by an unnamed private investor and operated by hospitality consultants Berkeley Simmons Leisure – who have retained […]
Sushi master Endo Kazutoshi has announced plans to open an intimate, 10-seater omakase restaurant in Chelsea in October – just over a year after a 14-hour fire destroyed his flagship at the top of the White City. The new venue, called simply Endo, will take over the townhouse near Sloane Square occupied until February last year […]
Army officer-turned-singer/songwriter James Blunt has taken over the Carpenter’s Arms in Hammersmith, his second pub after the Fox and Pheasant, his local in Chelsea. James acquired the cute Victorian pub in elegant St Peter’s Square from Jack Greenall of Wren Pubs, owners of The Surprise in Chelsea and The Walmer Castle in Notting Hill. A […]
