Rufus Thurston launched Oli’s Thai with his wife Ladd in 2013, and followed up with tapas bar Arbequina, which he opened with Ben Whyles and Ben Bateman three years later. Harden’s caught up with him as he prepared to unveil a second branch of Arbequina in Oxford Covered Market later this spring. HARDEN’S: Oli’s Thai […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 22nd March 2026 Financial Times Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High, City of London Jay Rayner ascended to the 60th floor of 22 Bishopsgate to sample the new offshoot of Gordon Ramsay’s flagship, whose £250 menu – just £10 less than the Prestige […]
Two new handroll sushi bars are about to launch in London’s West End, offering a different twist on Japanese dining. Temaki opens next week in Maddox Street, Mayfair after a five-year run in Brixton Market that ended last summer. Billed when it opened as London’s first handroll specialist, it won high ratings in the Harden’s […]
The Gladwin brothers will next week open their first country pub, the Black Horse at Amberley in West Sussex – close to Nutbourne, the family estate and vineyard where they grew up. Richard, Oliver and Gregory have launched five rustic farm-to-fork venues in London under their ‘Local and Wild’ brand, beginning in 2012 with the […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 15th March 2026 Daily Telegraph Simpson’s in the Strand William Sitwell hustled a table for the first night of full trading at “the hottest ticket in London”, earning bragging rights as the first national critic into print on restaurateur […]
The Cotswolds set (and visitors in search of the honey-coloured stone idyll) have another lovingly restored old pub to choose from with the reopening of the Wild Duck at Ewen, near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, after a seven-year closure. The 16th-century Grade II listed inn has been glossily refurbed by Sam and Georgie Pearman, the couple […]
The Aegean too hot in August these days? Never mind: a trio of smart new tavernas in central London will make it easier than ever for stay-at-homes to enjoy a taste of Greece this summer. First to launch this week was Maza in Bruton Place, off Berkeley Square, from Christina Mouratoglou and Adrien Carre, the […]
Luke Selby this week hosted the first in a series of intimate ‘chef’s table’ dinners that will preview dishes planned for his new restaurant that launches at Palé Hall near Bala in north Wales later this year. Luke joined the luxury hotel on the edge of Snowdonia as chef partner in February after serving as […]
Jamie Oliver this week relaunched his Jamie’s Italian brand in the UK with a new opening in London’s West End – almost seven years after the original brand collapsed into liquidation with the loss of 22 venues and more than 1,000 jobs. The new branch can accommodate 140 guests across three storeys in Irving Street, off […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 8th March 2026 The Guardian Trillium, Birmingham Grace Dent warmed to a “weird, bold, silly restaurant”, where high-profile Brummie chef Glyn Purnell has “miraculously” managed to translate Michelin-style cooking for what she called a “semi-rowdier yet still upmarket stage”: “there’s […]
