Babbo, the former Mayfair Italian restaurant with footballing connections, completes its transfer to St John’s Wood next week, while its fellow glossy Italian Bocconcino opens a seafood spinoff in the Strand called Osteria del Mare (pictured). Launching on Monday, Osteria del Mare takes inspiration from the Tuscan coastal resort of Forte dei Marmi, with ex-Barrafina […]
Provençal bistro Socca in Mayfair has closed down suddenly, in what is an unusual backward step for its co-founders Samyukta Nair and Claude Bosi – separately, two of London’s most prolific restaurateurs in recent years. The pair announced the move without any notice on Saturday (30 November), saying “It is with a very heavy heart that […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant reviewers were writing about in the week up to 1st December 2024 – a much shorter list than usual, with Christmas coming early for a number of critics as their publications switched focus to seasonal recommendations London Standard AngloThai, Marylebone David Ellis beat a path to a restaurant “famous before […]
The Groucho Club has closed its doors following the suspension of its licence pending a criminal investigation, in a severe blow to ArtFarm, the hospitality arm of Swiss art dealership Hauser + Wirth, which bought the Soho membership club for £40m three years ago. Westminster council suspended the licence for 28 days on Tuesday, following […]
Sardinian chef Achille Pinna is to open a new self-named restaurant by the entrance to Shepherd Market in Mayfair next week. Pinna is backed by prolific restaurateurs George Bukhov-Weinstein and Ilya Demichev, the duo behind Burger & Lobster and Goodman, who earlier this month launched Fantomas in Chelsea. Achille is a former executive chef at […]
Less than three months after closing his highly rated Islington restaurant 12:51, chef James Cochran is opening a new venture nearby – a ‘bistro pub’ called The Brave in a revamped Essex Road boozer. “We’re creating something really special here at The Brave,” says James. “Given all the love we received from locals when we closed […]
A new Lebanese restaurant from industry veteran Pierre Hobeika opened this week in Barnes – a part of southwest London with no other Middle Eastern cuisine available. Omm, meaning mother in Arabic, has taken over a generous corner site in White Hart Lane long occupied by local favourite Annie’s, and more recently by the short-lived Farmer’s […]
Two chefs who were part of the opening team at Stockport’s high-flying foodie hotspot Where The Light Gets In eight years ago have teamed up to launch their own restaurant and wine bar, Cantaloupe, in the Cheshire town. Josh Reed-Cooper and Mike Thomas stayed in touch while working their way through some of greater Manchester’s […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 24th November 2024 London Standard Vatavaran, Knightsbridge David Ellis visited the latest venture from Rohit Ghai, who made his name as founding chef at Jamavar and his since opened Kutir and Manthan in his own name. David was puzzled […]
