Gary Usher, the king of Kickstarter chefs, is chasing his third round of crowdfunding to launch the fourth restaurant of his northwestern empire – with fellow chefs led by Tom Kerridge (pictured) rallying to help. Usher needs pledges totalling £200,000 – significantly more than in his first two campaigns – by June 8 in order to proceed with his planned restaurant Wreckfish in Liverpool. […]
The Wahaca chain of Mexican restaurants has admitted liability in a number of cases following an outbreak of the norovirus last year, and is expected to pay out five-figure damages to a number of customers, according to a report in the Evening Standard newspaper. About 360 customers and staff contracted the virus in the outbreak which […]
⦿ Jay Rayner of The Observer reviewed Plot in Tooting, “a sliver of a restaurant serving terrible cocktails and great food in one of south London’s traditional covered markets”. “Thick curls of squid, crusted with a chorizo crumb on a salad of tomatoes that taste of something, is a bit of textural fun. It’s followed by a dainty […]
High-flying young chef Danny Gill has returned to his home town of Lincoln to buy the pie shop where he first worked as a 15-year-old kitchen porter. Brown’s Pie Shop, around the corner from the city’s cathedral, is a Steep Hill institution that celebrates its 50th anniversary next year. Described in the latest Harden’s Survey as “a taste of […]
Fresh from the launch of Radici in Islington, Italian chef Francesco Mazzei has announced plans to open a third restaurant in the new Battersea Power Station development this summer. Fiume – Italian for river, in reference to the Thames-side location – will serve Italian classics under the day-to-day running of head chef Francesco Chiarelli, Mazzei’s fellow-Calabrian. There will be […]
Cargo 2, the second phase of the multi-restaurant (with a bit of retail) development using smartly reconstituted shipping containers at Bristol’s Wapping Wharf, is to open on May 26. Headliners are led by Spuntino, the first offshoot of the Italian-American small-plates specialist in London’s Soho, which will feature a US diner-style interior. Local acts are well represented, […]
Michel Roux Jr, from the cooking dynasty that has personified French cuisine in Britain for half a century, is to oversee an establishment serving traditional English food. The Wigmore bar, in Regent Street’s grand Langham hotel, will offer dishes inspired by the English pub and tavern, such as raised veal and ham pie and devilled lamb’s kidneys – although diners will […]
⦿ Jay Rayner of The Observer reviewed Koj, MasterChef finalist and former City banker Andrew Kojima’s “cheerfully low-key” Japanese comfort food joint in Cheltenham. “Koj Fried Chicken – work out the initials yourself – is halfway between the softness of American southern fried, and the full-on crunch of Japanese karaage. Sesame flavoured mayo sends it happily on its […]
⦿ Jay Rayner of The Observer reviewed Claude Bosi at Bibendum, welcoming the former Hibiscus head honcho’s arrival at Sir Terence Conran’s light-filled 1987 classic. “What emerges is Bibendum redux, a restaurant with a profound understanding of the simple virtues; of a classical repertoire which is robust enough to take a little refinement.” “The starters list is full […]
Summer has arrived on Oxford Street, with the seventh opening this month of the Roof Deck Restaurant on Selfridges’ roof – this year with a Californian theme. The open-air deck is lined by timber beams and tropical palms – and, with all due respect to London weather, there is a retractable roof to protect diners from rain […]