Cardiff diners have two interesting new options for 2026 following the Christmas launch of natural wine bar and restaurant Ogof in Canton and next week’s relaunch by chef Tom Simmons (pictured) of his Pontcanna flagship Thomas as a more relaxed brasserie. Ogof has taken over the former site of Poca and La Cuina on King’s […]
Well-travelled chef Ed Baillieu, previously executive chef of the Pelican in Notting Hill and the Hero in Maida Vale, has opened his first venue in London – close to where he grew up in Putney. Ruth’s, a neighbourhood restaurant and bar, has taken over a corner spot on the Lower Richmond Road occupied for 40 years […]
Bambi, the London Fields restaurant and record bar from James Dye of Shoreditch hit One Club Row, is closing next week for a three-week refurb that will see it doubling in size with an expanded kitchen. Head chef Jamie Thorneycroft, who joined last year, is putting together a menu that takes advantage of the new […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about over the holiday period up to 4th January 2026 The Guardian Poon’s at Somerset House, Aldwych Grace Dent was an immediate convert to Amy Poon’s relaunch of the family’s restaurant brand in the New Wing of Somerset House, declaring it simultaneously “sweet, confident, feminine, […]
David Moore has appointed 28-year-old Aggelos Kassais to the post of head chef at Pied à Terre as the Fitzrovia fine-dining institution enters its 35th year. The promotion marks a return to a familiar environment for Aggelos, previously sous-chef here under fellow-Greek chef Asimakis Chaniotis, who ran the kitchen with distinction for seven years before leaving […]
Glasgow-based chef-patron Peter McKenna is to close his Finnieston fixture The Gannet at the end of the year, replacing it in early 2026 with a more casual bistro called Eleven Fifty Five, after its address in Argyle Street. The new venture, in partnership with maître d’ Kevin Dow, is pitched as an “upscale but approachable […]
Brendan Padfield (left in picture) has retired after 11 years running the Unruly Pig in Suffolk – passing ownership to Dave Wall (centre), the head chef from the beginning, and his deputy Karl Green (right). Brendan, now 66 and planning to spend more time with his grandson, leaves the pub in great shape, having topped the […]
Tast, the Catalan restaurant backed by senior figures at Manchester City, has announced its closure after eight years, as a number of restaurants around the country pull down the shutters for the last time in the face of tough trading conditions. The restaurant in Manchester’s King Street was backed by the football club’s manager Pep […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 14th December 2025 Financial Times Vetch, Liverpool Jay Rayner had his faith in top-end tasting-menu establishments and their frequently self-important, grandstanding chefs restored – well, “(almost)” – by dinner at this “sweet, modest and clever restaurant”, where chef Daniel McGeorge […]
A Turkish restaurant has opened in Mayfair with the ambition of ‘setting a new benchmark for modern Mediterranean-Turkish dining in London’. Chargal, from restaurateur Serdar Demir, has taken over the former site of Jeru on Berkeley Street and offers mezze at ground level, a more formal first-floor dining room and a late-night lounge in the […]
