Edinburgh sommelier James Clark (left in picture) launches his debut project today (4 October) – Sotto, a wine bar and restaurant in Stockbridge that celebrates Italian food and wine. Sotto – meaning ‘under’ or ‘beneath’, a reference to the under-street cellar where the wines are stored – comprises an upstairs ‘enoteca’ and a ground-level trattoria led by Calabrian-born Francesco […]

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Mexican chef Santiago Lastra launches his follow-up to smash-hit Kol next week. Fonda will open on Thursday (3 October) in Mayfair’s Heddon Street, opposite heavyweights Sabor and Ambassadors Clubhouse. Named after a Mexican style of family-run local restaurants, Fonda will be more accessibly priced than ‘fine-dining’ Kol, with meals structured around the ‘coma’, a traditional […]

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A chef couple from Edinburgh have opened their first restaurant, Nàdair, serving a daily-changing five-course set menu that celebrates prime Scottish ingredients. Head chef Alan Keery and pastry chef Sarah Baldry met while working together in the kitchen at one of the city’s leading restaurants, Wedgwood. The 20-cover Nàdair (Gaelic for ‘nature’), on Roseneath Street […]

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Chef Aaron Potter opens his debut restaurant, Wildflowers, today in Newson’s Yard, a former Pimlico timber yard converted into a new ‘design destination’. Billed as ‘Mediterranean-inspired’, with high-quality seasonal produce cooked over coals, Wildflowers has a separate wine bar upstairs serving cicchetti-style snacks. Most recently executive chef at Maria G’s, Aaron has previously worked for […]

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As one Manchester institution, Simon Rimmer’s Greens vegetarian restaurant, announced its closure this week, another would-be Manc institution took flight – Louis (see photograph), billed as a “love letter” to Italian-American dining, complete with live jazz and a ‘no-phones’ policy. Greens announced its closure with a post saying, “It is with deep regret that the board […]

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The husband-and-wife chefs behind Bristol Korean restaurant Bokman are to launch their second venture next week. Dongnae, from Kyu Jeong Jeon and Duncan Robertson, opens next Friday (27 September) on foodie Chandos Road in Redland. They say, “The name Dongnae (동네) means ‘neighbourhood’ in Korean, and we’re absolutely thrilled to become part of the vibrant […]

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