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PizzaExpress has reported an earnings decline of 15.3 per cent in 2018. The company saw group turnover up 1.6 per cent to £543 million overall, but the fall in sales will worry bosses. The slip was, in part, at least, down to the challenges in establishing itself in international markets, the foremost being China, where […]
Gary Usher broke a crowdfunding record to open Kala, his latest restaurant in Manchester. After seeing £100,000 flood in in less than 24 hours, Usher said: “I am honestly struggling to get my head around last night”. Is it all worth it? His effort and thousands of people’s hard-earned cash? An early impression of Kala […]
Corbin & King’s latest restaurant, Soutine, will launch on or after April 29. The industry is watching closely. As we reported earlier this year, the St John’s Wood restaurant (which occupies a site snapped up from Carluccio’s) will be in the vein of “Colbert meets Fischer’s”, and – in keeping with C&K’s general philosophy – […]
Harden’s regular round-up of the restaurant critics’ musings, from the week ending 28 April 2019. Pasta Ripiena, Bristol Jay Rayner for The Observer isn’t afraid to say it: “the best things to eat are rarely the prettiest”. He was in Bristol, eating plates of pasta that look like “paintings by one-year-olds that proud parents stick […]
After five years of wondering when, exactly, the restaurant would open, Bob Bob Cite finally has a launch date. The eastward iteration of Leonid Shutov’s super-chic French brasserie will launch on Friday May 10, ploughing £25 million pounds worth of interiors and cuisine into the City of London. The Russian restaurateur has billed his latest […]
Joël Robuchon’s L’Atelier, in Covent Garden, closed on April 14 after a “successful decade”. A closing statement from the team said: “Fulfilling Joël Robuchon’s wish, Michelin starred Executive Chef Jeremy Page and his team will be moving to Mayfair to open a new, evolved Joël Robuchon concept later this year. Further details of this new […]
Jason Atherton and The Social Company will reopen Little Social in Mayfair on May 8. The restaurant will still be a part of the French bistro brand, featuring its tried and tested ‘French cooking with British produce’, but is to relaunch as NO.5 Social with a new look and overhauled menu. And, perhaps most importantly, […]
Just 16 months after its much-heralded refurbishment, the dining room is now a no-go area for non-members (unless patrons book and stay in the site’s hotel). Kettner’s Townhouse, a restaurant that has for more than a century been a part of Soho’s eclectic dining scene, has been closed to the public by its owners Soho […]
Bill’s, the casual English restaurant chain, has announced a strong start to 2019, bucking the downward trend suffered by so many of its competitors. The company reported like-for-like sales for the year up to March were up 12 per cent. This is in part down to the group’s bold refurbishment plans. Bill’s has converted 13 […]
The Million Pound Menu contestants behind Spanish-themed restaurant Pilgrim will be opening their first site in Liverpool on May 15. Managing director Jamie Duffield, chef director Dave Bone and marketing director Anthony Power saw plaudits on the Beeb’s restaurant show earlier this year. Their restaurant is inspired by cuisine encountered during the ancient pilgrimage to […]
