Top pizza independent Santa Maria has opened a new branch in Kew, taking over the premises long occupied by Bruce Poole’s The Glasshouse. Santa Maria has expanded very slowly since its launch by Neapolitan-born founders in Ealing in 2010, with branches opening in Fulham, Fitzrovia and most recently Islington. Combining “top-quality ingredients and fabulous bases”, […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 12th January 2025 London Standard Nipotina, Mayfair David Ellis found a lot to like about the latest opening from Mayfair powerhouse Samyukta Nair – an all-day Italian that “exists to assuage stresses that exist only outside its door”. What he meant […]
An upmarket pub and restaurant boasting a Basque chef, its own branded caviar and state-of-the-art draught Guinness opens in Belgravia next week. The Prince Arthur, in Pimlico Road, also has a fishmonger counter in the bar offering seafood from Spain and Cornwall to eat in or take home. The venue is divided into ‘The Pub […]
Studio Frantzén at Harrods has closed permanently after only two years, and plans to relocate to a new address in London this summer. It will be replaced by the new in-house Grill on Fifth, which opens next week. Swedish superstar chef Björn Frantzén’s London outlet has been the marquee attraction headlining the Knightsbridge department store’s […]
Gary Usher has announced the closure of Burnt Truffle in Heswall on the Wirral, his original crowdfunded venture, just short of its tenth birthday. Almost 900 individual donors pledged £100,000 in what Gary believes was Britain’s first non-investment restaurant fundraising campaign, enabling him to open Burnt Truffle in July 2015 as a follow-up to his […]
An ambitious new West African restaurant has opened with little fanfare in Baker Street. Shakara, close to Marylebone’s Chiltern Firehouse, offers cooking inspired by Nigeria, Ghana and The Gambia accompanied by live music. Chef Ayo Adeyemi has helped curate the opening menu following a two-year stint at highly rated restaurant Akoko, while former MasterChef: The […]
Brindisa Tapas bars have just celebrated their 25th anniversary. Harden’s caught up with founder Monika Linton HARDEN’S: Monika, many congratulations on the first quarter century of Brindisa Tapas – but the bars are just the tip of the iceberg, the most visible aspect of the import company you set up in 1988 to import Spanish food. […]
Giorgio Locatelli has closed his Marylebone flagship after 23 years, indicating that the decision was forced on him and that he has no plans to quit the London restaurant scene. The tousle-haired Italian chef and his wife Plaxy opened Locanda Locatelli 23 years ago in the Hyatt Regency – Churchill hotel, off Portman Square. The […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant reviewers were writing about in the week up to 5th January 2025 The Guardian Juliet, Stroud Grace Dent gave a big thumbs-up to this modern European bistro from sculptor Daniel Chadwick, owner of the Woolpack in nearby Slad and her “favourite type of hospitality character… vision-led, distinctly non-corporate and […]
A new long-term guest residency opens at Highbury’s Compton Arms next week. Rake, from chef duo Jay Claus and Syrus Pickhaver, promises “unfeigned, restorative British” fare with a focus on whole-beast butchery and sustainable fish from Cornwall. The pair have a combined 20 years’ experience in highly rated establishments including Quo Vadis, Brat and Acme […]
