An idyllic village inn in southwest Scotland has been brought back to life as a gastropub on the strength of a £1million donation from the renewable energy company behind a local wind farm. The Kenmuir Arms near Stranraer in Dumfries and Galloway closed down five years ago, before being taken over and refurbished by the […]
Amethyst in Mayfair, which had seemed to be one of the most successful launches of the past year, has closed following a falling out between chef Carlo Scotto (pictured, above) and his backers. The restaurant, with its distinctive jagged communal dining table, won high praise from critics, with the Guardian’s Grace Dent drawing attention to […]
The first of three new beer palaces scheduled for London’s West End opens this month. The Munich-style beer hall Bierschenke Bierkeller spent a decade in the City near Liverpool Street until its lease came to an end, and has now taken over the former Belgo site in Covent Garden. Bierschenke serves six types of sausage […]
Aynhoe Park, a Grade I listed Palladian mansion with a 73-acre park by Capability Brown near Banbury on the Oxfordshire-Northants border, has opened to the public for the first time, in the guise of a grandiose home-furnishing emporium complete with five restaurants and bars. Built in 1615 and later redesigned by Sir John Soane, Aynhoe […]
Here’s our weekly round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 11 June 2023. ***** The Guardian “Food doesn’t get much more personal than this.” Grace Dent was in Caversham, enjoying “thoughtfully made and determinedly different” authentic Hyderbadi food at the “second incarnation” of Clay’s Kitchen, now in […]
A Japanese restaurant with a monorail service system said to be the first of its kind in Europe pulls into Shoreditch in the next few weeks. Chuo, in Paul Street, will serve sushi and izakaya-style dishes made to order and delivered by a monorail from the kitchen – unlike the more familiar conveyor-belt counters, where dishes […]
Tatale, the restaurant showcasing African cuisine at the new Africa Centre in Southwark, is to close next Sunday, 18 June, after just a year in operation. Ghanaian-British chef Akwasi Brenya-Mensa said at the time of Tatale’s launch last year that he “hoped to change people’s perception of African cooking”, and his cooking gained plaudits from […]
Empire Empire, a double tribute to the Indian disco scene of the 70s and the traditional cuisine of the Old Punjab, has opened in Notting Hill ahead of a formal launch next Thursday, 15 June. The restaurant, in All Saints’ Road, is a follow-up to the successful Gunpowder trio from Harneet Baweja (pictured), and features a […]
Fresh pasta restaurant Bancone is to open its “biggest branch yet” in Borough Yards, adjacent to Southwark’s Borough Market – putting it in direct competition with pasta pioneer Padella. Bancone launched in Covent Garden in 2018 and followed up with a branch in Soho. Last year the business raised £900,000 via crowdfunding to finance expansion plans. […]
Veteran Scottish chef Nick Nairn is to open a new venture next month in his home town – Bridge of Allan in Stirlingshire – following the destruction of his restaurant Nick’s in a kitchen fire two years ago. The site has been completely restored to accommodate a new restaurant, Nairn’s, with a terrace on the high […]
