The Araki, a nine-seater Japanese counter in Mayfair that at over £350 a head is Britain’s most expensive restaurant, has been crowned London’s Top Gastronomic Experience at the first ever Harden’s London Restaurant Awards, justifying sushi master Mitsuhiro Araki’s gamble in closing down his Michelin three-star operation in Tokyo to move around the world. He shared the […]
Just can’t wait for the opening of Phil Howard’s new restaurant, Elystan Street in Chelsea, at the end of this month? Well, you can have a sneak pre-taste (and at a significantly lower price) next Saturday, September 17, at Barnes Food Fair. Howard founded Mayfair thoroughbred The Square and ran its “brilliantly focused” (Harden’s Survey) kitchen for […]
Quo Vadis, the Soho veteran rated as “particularly charming” by the Harden’s Survey, reopens on Monday after a six-week nip and tuck which will allow its hip young stablemate Barrafina to bunk up in the same address in Dean Street when its lease in nearby Frith Street comes to an end in November. The re-shuffle of Sam and Eddie […]
Upmarket chicken shacks are taking London by storm, with posh single-dish poultry parlours proliferating across the city. The latest to graduate from market stall to permanent site is Butchies, a buttermilk-fried chicken sandwich concept that opens in Camden this month (September 21) after two successful years of Saturdays at Hackney’s Broadway Market. A day earlier, Chick’n’Sours, opens a […]
Cabotte, a wine-led restaurant celebrating the produce of Burgundy, opens in Gresham Street, in the heart of the City, next Thursday (September 15). It will offer a list of 500 Burgundies and another 100 wines, paired with classic dishes from the region including beef cheek Bourguignon, oeuf meurette and tarte tatin. It’s the brainchild of star sommeliers Xavier […]
⦿ The Observer’s Jay Rayner, perhaps enjoying an August Bank Holiday at the seaside, moseyed happily into Hantverk & Found in Margate, “a tiny cupboard of a fish restaurant, half tiled in the sea green of a Victorian public convenience”. “There are 10 seats up front, plus a few in the garden, and a couple of people in the kitchen knocking out […]
Why should the newbies get all the attention? Three of London’s longer-serving restaurants are giving themselves (and their diners) a pat on the back as they notch up milestone anniversaries. Pied à Terre, David Moore’s “perennially excellent” (Harden’s Survey) foodie mecca in Fitzrovia, celebrates its 25th anniversary with the return of Richard Neat, its founding partner who […]
Heston Blumenthal heads a line-up of industry heavyweights mincing words on the food and drink stage at FT Weekend Live, the pink-un’s first foray onto the festival scene, at Kenwood House in Hampstead on Saturday (September 3). Mr B will explain how British culture, science and history shaped the ideas that led to his restaurants, […]
Chewton Glen, the “gorgeous” country-house hotel on the edge of the New Forest, is opening a purpose-built cookery school with its own restaurant and bakery, to be known as The Kitchen. A rolling programme of masterclasses led by big-name guest chefs is being put together by James Martin from the extensive list of contacts he […]
Foodies who like a bit of competition should bag a ticket for the Croquettas Challenge hosted by Ben Tish, director of the Salt Yard group, at Ember Yard on Berwick Street next Tuesday (Sept 6). The pride of London’s tapas purveyors will be represented, including Social Wine and Tapas, Brindisa, Oldroyd, Duende, Copita, Barrica and […]
