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Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 11th January 2026 The Guardian Martino’s, Chelsea Grace Dent hailed the “beautiful bedlam” of restaurateur Martin (‘The Dover’) Kuczmarski’s “glitzy, sexy, mock-Italian trattoria” in Sloane Square – a place so superbly designed and operated, at once so cool and so laidback, […]
Well-travelled chef Ed Baillieu, previously executive chef of the Pelican in Notting Hill and the Hero in Maida Vale, has opened his first venue in London – close to where he grew up in Putney. Ruth’s, a neighbourhood restaurant and bar, has taken over a corner spot on the Lower Richmond Road occupied for 40 years […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about over the holiday period up to 4th January 2026 The Guardian Poon’s at Somerset House, Aldwych Grace Dent was an immediate convert to Amy Poon’s relaunch of the family’s restaurant brand in the New Wing of Somerset House, declaring it simultaneously “sweet, confident, feminine, […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 14th December 2025 Financial Times Vetch, Liverpool Jay Rayner had his faith in top-end tasting-menu establishments and their frequently self-important, grandstanding chefs restored – well, “(almost)” – by dinner at this “sweet, modest and clever restaurant”, where chef Daniel McGeorge […]
After a six-year, £73million investment, Guinness this week opened its Open Gate Brewery visitor experience in Covent Garden, complete with three eating spots from two high-profile chefs. The most glamorous option is Gilroy’s Loft on the fifth floor, where a menu of oysters and seafood is served by a team headed by chef Pip Lacey. […]
Ambitious French seafood restaurant Mazarine opened this week in Hanover Square, Mayfair, under former Le Gavroche head chef Thierry Laborde. Mazarine is from restaurateurs Khaled Dandachi and Fred Srouchi, the duo behind nearby Italian Sparrow Italia, who say the new venture is “conceived and curated with the discerning guest in mind”. Khaled added: “Mazarine in […]
A glossy new Cantonese restaurant called Dim Sum Library opens in Covent Garden next week, from the Hong Kong-based Aqua group, the people behind Aqua Shard and Hutong. Dim Sum Library has taken over the Long Acre address of the group’s former Italian restaurant Luci. Browsers will be able to watch the chefs in action […]
MasterChef: The Professionals winner Alex Webb opens his first restaurant as patron next week – seafood-focused Orion in Wimbledon Village. Classically trained Alex worked in top London kitchens including Hélène Darroze at the Connaught, Dinner by Heston and the Savoy before his 2020 MasterChef win, followed by a residency under his own name at the Intercontinental […]
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 […]
Former Kiln chef Tom Geoffrey has popped up to replace Khao Bird in the upstairs residency at the The Globe Tavern in Borough Market, where he is presenting Barang – his take on Cambodian cooking. Khao Bird decamped this month to permanent digs in Soho, and Borough regulars now have the opportunity to compare Cambodian […]
