Swedish chef Joakim ‘Jokke’ Almqvist launches the latest edition of Punk Royale, his “messy, no-bullshit” take on Nordic fine dining, in London today (12 September) – vowing “we’re not here to play it safe“. Jokke founded Punk Royale in Stockholm in 2015 and followed up with branches in Copenhagen and Oslo. The new venue, just off […]
Raymond Blanc is stepping back from his role as chef-patron of Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons to become a “lifetime ambassador” for the hotel and restaurant, which will close for 18 months at the end of this year to allow for a “visionary redevelopment”. Raymond, now 75, founded Le Manoir in a village near Oxford […]
Endo at the Rotunda, rated Britain’s No 1 restaurant in the 2025 Harden’s 100 list, is closed following a fire that burned for almost 14 hours in the Helios building – the former BBC television centre in White City – on Saturday. The London fire brigade was called to the scene at 3.15am and brought the […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week to 7th September 2025 The Guardian Duck & Rice, Battersea Grace Dent was puzzled and left a little flat by a visit to the new flagship dining option at the former Battersea Power Station, now a luxury shopping complex that is […]
Former refugee restaurateur Imad Alarnab will open a new all-day deli-cafe in Somerset House next week – Aram, a follow-up to Imad’s Syrian Kitchen in Soho. Aram – an ancient name for what became Syria – will offer breakfast items such as zaatar croissants alongside cardamom coffee and Syrian mint tea, followed by more substantial Middle Eastern-inspired […]
Highly rated Newcastle chef Kenny Atkinson makes his London debut next week with the opening of Solaya, a high-rise restaurant on the 25th floor of the art’otel in Hoxton. Kenny opened the House for Tides on Newcastle’s historic Quayside 11 years ago and followed up with the more refined Solstice next door, which was immediately […]
An ambitious modern Indian restaurant opens in Putney today with the aim of providing high-end Mayfair-style dining in southwest London. Raaz is the debut restaurant from chef Imran Mansuri, who trained at Benares and Tamarind, was part of the launch team at Jamavar and was most recently executive head chef at Kalomba. He says: “We’re […]
Clare Smyth has announced plans to open a “luxury bistro” in Chelsea this autumn called Corenucopia – a play on her Notting Hill flagship, Core. The new venture will take over a site close to Sloane Square on Holbein Place, which was most recently occupied by Tabisco, a short-lived Italian steakhouse. Clare already has another big […]
Oli’s Thai, the massively popular Oxford restaurant whose closure in early 2022 upset its legion of fans, reopens today – on its original site in Magdalen Road. Owners Rufus & Ladd Thurston closed the business after a nine-year run, replacing it with Elle’s Deli to improve their work/life balance – in particular, to spend evenings with […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week to 1st September 2025 The Guardian Inis, Hackney Wick Grace Dent found a “little patch of sanity” amid the gentrification of the 2012 Olympic zone, in a new all-day venture by the canal that is “Irish in spirit” – in its […]
