Birmingham-based chef Aktar Islam, whose stellar flagship Opheem has taken Indian cuisine to new heights in recent years, opens his first London venue today (May 1) – with another restaurant following later this month in Bristol. Oudh 1722, his London debut, has taken over the former site of Lupins in a listed Victorian building on the […]
Aktar Islam started cooking the age of 13 at his father’s restaurant in Birmingham, and his widely acclaimed flagship Opheem is the highest-ranked Indian venue in the Harden’s 100 list. We caught up with him ahead of his London debut with Oudh 1722, which launches on 1st May next door to Borough Market. Hardens: Aktar, […]
Chef and foodwriter Ravinder Bhogal is to open a second branch of her restaurant Jikoni this weekend at the stunning new V&A East Museum in Stratford, east London. Ravinder opened the original Jikoni in Marylebone 10 years ago, winning high praise in this year’s Harden’s Guide for her “delicious and original Indian-fusion cooking”. She and […]
The veteran teams behind two of London’s most influential restaurant groups from the past 30 years – upmarket Indian group MW Eat and Smithfield-based St John – this week announced moves that herald their retirement from leadership roles. MW, comprising Chutney Mary, Veeraswamy, Amaya and four Masala Zones, has been acquired for an undisclosed sum by […]
More than 10,000 diners have sampled the vast new Royal Nawaab restaurant in the ‘Stockport Pyramid’ building on the edge of Manchester, in a two-week soft launch ahead of its formal opening this month. The glass pyramid was the head office of the Co-Op Bank for 23 years until 2018, and has been converted at […]
Britain’s oldest Indian restaurant, Veeraswamy, is facing closure on the eve of its centenary with its landlord, the Crown Estate, declining to renew the lease on its premises, just off Piccadilly Circus in Regent Street. The Crown Estate says it needs the first-floor restaurant’s street-level entrance so it can renovate the offices above in the […]
The death was announced this week of Bradford ‘Curry King’ Shabir Hussain, the founder of Akbar’s, at the age of 56. His 10 restaurants across the North, the Midlands and Scotland closed to marked his passing, and will reopen today (Friday 18 October). Known as ‘Bash’, the charismatic restaurateur launched Akbar’s as a 28-seater in […]
Dishoom is to open two new branches of its Permit Room all-day café-bars in the university cities of Oxford and Cambridge this year, following the sub-brand’s launch in Brighton last year. Cambridge opens first, on 20 June, with Oxford celebrating the new academic year in October. The brand is named after the alcohol permits issued […]
Asma Khan of Darjeeling Express has been named as one of the 100 most influential people of 2024 on Time magazine’s annual list. The Calcutta-born chef and restaurateur started out by running a supper club in her home, and now operates Darjeeling Express from permanent premises in Kingly Court, Soho, with what she calls an […]
Chef-restaurateur Vivek Singh has opened a new branch of his highly rated Cinnamon Bazaar restaurant in southwest London’s smart Richmond upon Thames. It has taken over the former Carluccio’s site, close to Richmond station and handy for the theatre. The brightly decorated venue features Indian street-food dishes complete with a ‘chaat trolley’ (pictured). Open from […]
