Much-travelled Aussie chef Scott Hallsworth opens the second permanent venue of his pan-Asian project, Freak Scene, in Balham, south London, next week. Freak Scene Sushi & Grill launches on Thursday 18 January, and follows the first permanent Freak Scene in Parsons Green, which opened last spring in “fine form“, according to the 2024 Harden’s guide. […]
James Close is to close down his acclaimed Co Durham restaurant the Raby Hunt after 14 years and join nearby Rockliffe Hall as culinary director. An ex-pro golfer, James taught himself to cook in the kitchen of the former pub and quickly earned a reputation as a standard-bearer for gastronomic excellence in the Northeast. The […]
Highly rated Manchester pasta specialist Sud is relaunching its four restaurants as Rigatoni’s – less than a year after their last name change. Brothers Alex and Mike de Martiis (pictured above) founded the group as Sugo in 2015 with a single site in Altrincham, adding further branches in Ancoats, Sale and most recently the city centre’s […]
Prominent vegetarian restaurant Greens, of Didsbury in south Manchester, has closed down after 33 years following a 35% rent hike – while Copper & Ink in Blackheath, southeast London, is another New Year casualty of rising costs. Greens’ founder Simon Rimmer, a regular on television, announced the closure in a video posted to social media […]
Possibly London’s smallest restaurant opens in Notting Hill next week – an omakase with just six seats per sitting called Juno, upstairs at Markus Thesleff’s Mexican-Japanese mashup Los Mochis. Juno will serve a 15-course meal costing £180 in two evening sittings – at 6 and 8.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday – overseen by Los Mochis’ executive chef […]
A team who met at Larry’s in Peckham have taken over the former Nest site in Hackney’s Morning Lane to launch Big Night – billed as a ‘British izakaya’ drinking den with meals cooked over a charcoal grill. Jack O’Connor and Joshua Ralphs have between them worked at some of London’s hippest spots, including Flor, Lasdun […]
High-profile Bristol chef Freddy Bird and his wife Nessa are to open a new restaurant in the city’s Georgian enclave of Clifton tomorrow. 1 York Place is named after its address, and takes over the premises occupied by Italian restaurant Rosemarino for 13 years until its closure in July. The Birds also run Little French, […]
A swish, design-led and Japanese-inspired Middle Eastern restaurant opens on Monday (18 December) near Harrods, under the far from glamorous name of Clap. Clap takes over three storeys of a building in Knightsbridge’s Basil Street, and incorporates a main dining room with open kitchen, a street-level café and a rooftop bar. The brand made its […]
A kebab house claiming to be the biggest in Britain opens in Oxford Street next Thursday (21 December) – just in time to feed last-minute Christmas shoppers. Kebhouze is from an Italian-based chain which also has an outlet in Ibiza, and promises “premium ingredients at a low cost [that] prioritise variety“. The menu includes chicken, beef, veal […]
Bar du Champagne, a new bar and bistro that promises fizz at accessible prices backed up by a menu of nibbles to share and comfort food, has opened in Covent Garden. The new venue is from Liana Kazaryan, who ran the former Avobar on the same Henrietta Street premises, and is designed with a retro […]
