Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the New York-based superstar French chef, is to open a new restaurant at the Connaught Hotel in Mayfair in the spring of next year. As yet unnamed, the new venue will provide informal all-day dining, including breakfast and afternoon tea. Vongerichten said it would “reflect my signature farm-to-table cooking style but with a few surprises”. […]
⦿ The Observer’s Jay Rayner reviewed Foley’s in Fitzrovia, a restaurant taking inspiration from the Near and Far East under former Palomar sous chef Mitz Vora. “Individually each dish really does deliver a thrilling whack. But tasting six in a row starts to feel like being shouted at repeatedly by the kitchen.” ⦿ Grace Dent of ES […]
Peyton and Byrne, the catering company responsible for restaurants and cafés in many of London’s most prominent museums, including the National Gallery (pictured), has gone into administration after two loss-making years. The loss of key contracts with Kew Gardens and the British Library was apparently the final straw for the company, which was founded by Oliver […]
Veneta, a Venice-inspired restaurant from the Salt Yard group, will be the first food venue to launch in the £400million St James’s Market development behind Piccadilly Circus when it opens its doors on Monday October 24. It will be the fifth establishment in chef Ben Tish’s 10-year-old Salt Yard group, which is headed by a Fitzrovia flagship praised […]
Highly rated young chef Ben Murphy is leaving the Woodford in South Woodford, less than a year after it opened as his first restaurant. Murphy, 25, a protégé of the great Pierre Koffmann and with a CV that includes stints at the Greenhouse in Mayfair, Le Bristol in Paris and Eleven Madison Park in New […]
⦿ Marina O’Loughlin of The Guardian reviewed Jikoni 7/10 in Marylebone, the first restaurant from “chic and beautiful” TV chef and writer Ravinder Bhogal, which she found “immensely girly“. “Jewel-coloured saris and handmade Indian tablecloths notwithstanding, the girliest element is the food, which is light years from the usual Brit curry machismo… You can’t escape the cuteness: […]
Chefs must use their influence to guide consumers towards more sustainable ways of eating, Andrew Stephen, CEO of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, said this week. He was speaking at a sold-out dinner hosted by Peter Harden and Raymond Blanc, president of the SRA, at the Belmond Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, and attended by a food-loving crowd including […]
The team behind east London high-flying former pop-up The Clove Club has announced plans to open a “Britalian” restaurant and bar in St John Street near Smithfield meat market next month. Orkney-born chef Isaac McHale said Luca would present British produce “through an Italian lens”, with dishes such as ravioli of grouse with potato and […]
The Sethi siblings, the family behind some of London’s most notable South Asian restaurants in recent years including Gymkhana and Hoppers, are launching a delivery-only service with Deliveroo on Monday October 17. Motu Indian Kitchen, meaning “fat man” in Hindi, will produce “feast boxes” starting at £20 for delivery in Fulham, Clapham, Chelsea, Wandsworth and Putney. Karam […]
⦿ Fay Maschler of the Evening Standard reviewed Elystan Street 4/5, Phil Howard’s new restaurant in Chelsea, where she ate some “sublime” dishes but gasped at the prices and missed having a tablecloth. “Smoked mackerel velouté with Porthilly oysters — from the River Camel estuary — with leek hearts and eel toast is a secular […]