Romanian-born chef Alex Craciun, who made his name at Jason Atherton’s Sosharu, has returned to London after nine years to open a Japanese-inspired restaurant called Aces Foodcraft in Fitzrovia. The restaurant, which opens tomorrow (1 November), operates on two levels: during the daytime it is relatively casual, with a seasonal à la carte menu, daily […]
A lavish Maltese-owned Japanese restaurant has opened in a Grade II-listed former bank in Marylebone. Converted at a reputed cost of £15million, it features a cocktail bar in what was the underground safety deposit vault. Aki – from ‘akitsu’, an old Japanese word for dragonfly – is a short walk from Oxford Circus in Cavendish Square. […]
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 […]
A vibey contemporary Japanese restaurant whose two floors are linked by a dramatic poured-concrete staircase opened in Soho this week. Moi (pronounced to rhyme with ‘boy’), in Wardour Street, is the first launch from an ambitious new company, Mad Restaurants, founded by entrepreneur Artem Login of the international café brand L’Eto. Former Gordon Ramsay chef […]
Chef Scott Hallsworth is to install his Freak Scene concept at 100 Wardour Street in Soho for a four-month residency, bringing a funky pan-Asian edge to the Evolv Collection, formerly known as D&D London. Evolv’s new chief executive, Martin Williams, is looking to modernise the group and appeal to a broader, younger customer base. Scott, […]
Veteran Leeds Japanese restaurant Fuji Hiro has been given a new lease of life, and will reopen next week following its closure earlier this year after almost three decades. James Douglas, co-founder of the Red’s True Barbecue chain, stepped in to acquire the lease and renovate the Merrion Centre venue. He said: “Fuji Hiro has […]
A new casual sushi and sake bar called Noren opens in Mayfair this week, introducing the mini hand-roll ‘makezu’ sushi (pictured) to London, alongside a range of sakes, shochus, wines and beers. From the group behind Chisou, Noren has taken over the premises on South Molton Street vacated earlier this year by another Japanese venture, […]
The team behind highly rated Italo-Japanese fusion specialist Angelina in Dalston is to open a bigger, more relaxed pasta and grill restaurant in Shoreditch next week. Called Osteria Angelina, the venue is in the new Norton Folgate development next to Shoreditch station. It follows in the footsteps of the original Angelina, which opened in 2019 […]
The team behind Notting Hill restaurant Dorian is opening a tiny sushi bar next week, in a former antiques shop directly across Talbot Road. Eel Sushi Bar will be a 10-seat spot only for walks, operating from midday to 10pm every day under the wonderfully named former Dinings chef Nicky Noodle. Access to Dorian’s cellar […]
A Japanese diner serving Osaka-style ‘Dad’s home cooking’ – possibly superior to its British equivalent – and a third branch of Middle Eastern vegetarian restaurant Bubala are the latest arrivals at the Coal Drops Yard development behind King’s Cross station. Oton, the Japanese option, has opened from the team behind Okan in the former County Hall […]
